'Not Penn State," read the Penn Bookstore's popular T-shirts, a fitting slogan for a university that so frequently boasts of its students' wit and school spirit.
And if you stroll down Locust Walk on a beautiful Saturday in the fall, you're likely to see some students sporting that very shirt as they make their way to Van Pelt Library for a day of studying.
What you might not realize, however, is that just moments away, a football game is being played in one of the country's most historic stadiums.
Year after year, overall attendance at Penn football games -- particularly that of students -- remains mediocre, making the memories of the glory days of Ivy League football seem more and more distant. You wouldn't know that Penn is the No. 1 "Happy to be there" school by going to one of the Quakers' gridiron matchups.
And year after year, The Daily Pennsylvanian complains about the poor turnouts, urging the athletic department to improve its marketing strategies and fix a problem that has become very depressing.
But for the overarching idea of combating small crowds, perhaps Penn should take a closer look at the school from which it desperately tries to distinguish itself.
On Saturdays in State College, Pa., the Nittany Lions are the only show in town. Even when the team limped to a miserable 4-7 record in 2004, "Happy Valley" averaged 103,111 spectators per game, fourth-most in the nation.
The reason that Penn State and other major Division I schools draw so many people to games is due not just to the high quality of play, but also to the unmistakable football culture present on campus.
Game days there and at every SEC or Big 12 school are local holidays, where neighborhoods shut down and everyone flocks to the stadium. Students are up and drinking bright and early, congregating with all of the die-hard fans for the traditional tailgate in the parking lot.
Although the buzz surrounding Penn football never will be the same as that of a major football program, the University should make every effort to breed a football culture of its own in West Philadelphia.
Even though we're not Penn State doesn't mean we can't create that type of environment. Many high schools across the country stage huge pep rallies and tailgate parties each week, attracting droves of students to watch a style of play that is far less competitive and interesting -- and with far less history -- than the Ivy League has.
For football games, Penn should utilize its facilities, specifically the space behind Franklin Field, to host a pep rally of sorts, with free admission for students, faculty and staff -- and do it more than just before the first game of the year. For students, the opportunity to enjoy free food, show school spirit and partake in an age-old tradition synonymous with football games could prove to be a formula for success.
And for those who harp on the major drawback (cost), consider that Penn spends many times what an event like this would cost on one night of New Student Orientation festivities. An event like this would go much further in making students glad they came to Penn than would a dance party in Van Pelt.
The Penn men's basketball team generates so much student interest because of the school's ability to replicate a raucous college basketball environment. "The Line," an event during which students camp out at the Palestra to pick season tickets, helps foster a vibrant culture across Penn's campus, where attending a game is a popular activity.
If large numbers of Penn students can get excited about sleeping on the floor of a basketball court for a night to support a team that has not won a postseason game since 1994, they could certainly show up to Franklin Field to cheer on a team that has historically enjoyed success in its conference.
With the Line and opportunities to compete against more impressive opponents, the basketball program derives its strength from making the team seem like a big deal to fans -- and that's what matters most.
Penn should certainly try to schedule more interesting non-conference football games. And it should definitely rail against the ridiculous ruling recently put in place by the Federal Communications Commission that exempts Comcast Corp. from having to make Penn games available to other cable and satellite providers. One of the first steps towards establishing football as something to get excited about is to broadcast it to everyone who wants to watch.
But all of these ideas should contribute to the larger agenda of giving football a true identity on campus, marked by tailgate parties and all of widespread fanfare that makes the game of football so popular and important in America.
Penn will never have a huge turnout like you see every week in Austin. We are in the middle of West Philly, after all.
But with a large student body brimming with school pride, a former NFL stadium and a large endowment, Penn has all of the right ingredients to generate an atmosphere that makes us less envious of the one thing our in-state neighbors have going for them.
Andrew Todres is a College sophomore from New York, N.Y. His e-mail address istodres@sas.upenn.edu.
