A Saturday at Franklin Field: My First Penn Football Game
Semester Abroad: Exchange at Penn
Hanxi, one of the Exchange at Penn Correspondents, shares his experience here at Penn during the Spring 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
When I entered Franklin Field with my PennCard, the sound of the marching band was already echoing through the old stadium. I thought to myself, well… football, it’s just a very “American thing.” I was only here to see what it was actually like. I mean, how exciting could it really be? After all, I didn’t even know what a “touchdown” meant. But as the game between Penn and Dartmouth began and the crowd erupted after our first score, I quickly realized how wrong I was.
Things began to change when our kind American friends from Penn learned that it was our very first football game. One of them immediately became our own “commentator.” She explained every rule and every play with so much enthusiasm that we couldn’t help laughing and asking more questions. Every time the score changed, she turned to us, gesturing excitedly and saying, “See? That’s why it counts!” Within minutes, the confusion turned into curiosity, and the game suddenly started to make sense.
By the end of the first quarter, we already knew how the game worked such as what counted as a “down,” why everyone cheered at a “touchdown,” and even when to yell “Go Quakers!” ourselves. Standing there among the crowd, surrounded by laughter and high-fives, I suddenly understood something that went far beyond football: at Penn, it’s almost impossible to feel excluded.
During halftime, my friends and I went to grab some food from a Penn stand. We ended up with crispy fried chicken and cold soda. Each piece of chicken was juicy inside and perfectly crunchy outside. With greasy fingers and laughter all around, we stood watching as the cheerleaders danced and the marching band played. And when they started the Star Wars theme, I couldn’t help smiling — the whole stadium just came alive.
Later, we got the chance to stand by the tunnel and welcome the players as they came back from the field (thanks to PennAbroad!). Before I even realized it, I had already reached out my hand and joined everyone in cheering and high-fiving them. The energy around us was so strong that for a moment I forgot I was just a “visitor”. I was part of the crowd, part of the team, part of Penn.
Then came the toast.
Yes, actual toast.
Hundreds of slices flying like golden confetti under the stadium lights. It’s a Penn tradition that students throw toast into the air after the third quarter, a quirky way to “toast” the team. It was ridiculous, hilarious, and something you want to remember forever.
Not long after the final whistle blew, we won.
The band burst into song, the crowd turned into a wave of red and blue, the cheers shook the whole stadium. I was high-fiving strangers, losing my voice, smiling so hard it hurt. I still didn’t understand every detailed rule, but at that moment none of it mattered.
Walking out of Franklin Field that night, I realized I had come to watch a game but ended up finding something much warmer. It was a sense of belonging that will stay with me, far beyond the scoreboard.