COLUMN: Franklin Field attendance was a disgrace

If you were not one of the 5,074 people at Saturday's football game, you are truly pathetic. At this institution, which has consistently been one of the leaders in Ivy League attendance, 5,074 fans at any football game is simply inexcusable. It didn't rain a drop, and it certainly wasn't that cold out, but for some reason, about 15,000-plus students failed to come out and support the Red and Blue. In contrast, 11,500 people showed up for Penn's rain-soaked, nighttime opener against non-conference Colgate. And there were about 6,500 people watching the Penn-Columbia nailbiter. But despite the 5,000-person deficit at the Columbia game, I smiled. I figured that the missing 5,000 Quakers faithful were students, home over fall break. I figured that with those 5,000, plus the number of students actually at the game, the Penn student representation was somewhere around 7,500 fans. At Penn, which is known as the place where students are studying at Rosengarten instead of cheering at Franklin Field, this seemed incredibly encouraging. I was dead wrong. No matter what, I can't understand why attendance actually dropped after people got back from break. I don't care that the Quakers are 0-2 in the Ivy League. I don't care that we were playing non-conference Lehigh. More than 5,074 people should have been there -- many more. And the blame lies mostly in the student body. Although many of the alumni and reserved seats were empty, it was the visible bare aluminum of the student section that was embarrassing. And as unhappy as I am with the fans who did show up, sleep for three quarters, throw their toast and leave -- at least those people actually showed up -- that's more than most of you can say. The point is this: if you're still reading this column, then you must have some interest in Penn sports. If you're reading this but weren't at the game, then what is the point of having any interest at all? As much as I hate to say it, Penn is a bandwagon school. And there is nothing worse than those 'fans' who sit the fence. At a school with so much pride in its athletics programs and so rich in sports history, our collective generation of students has the potential to inevitably end it all. I can only wonder if I'll ever see a football game where the majority of the fans actually know all the words to "Jeff Davis," or "Fight On, Pennsylvania." I can only wonder if I'll ever see a crowd again that doesn't have to be egged on by the band to make some noise. But most importantly, I can only wonder what will happen to the athletic programs when our generation of students becomes the alumni, and our support of the department becomes so vital. I'm not saying that it's wrong to be in Rosengarten on a given Saturday afternoon, or that Franklin Field has to have all 60,000 seats filled. But I am saying that it is dead wrong to take pride in your school's teams and not go out to support them. Besides, going out to scream, shout and be obnoxious to other schools for a few hours isn't exactly a chore -- even without the vodka-filled flasks and pre-game kegs-'n'-eggs, it can be fun. But when 5,074 people show up, or should I say when 6,500 people don't show up, you are an embarrassment to the school and its traditions.