I wanted to see a Temple football game for a while, and finally got the chance this season. Even though I’m not as big a sports fan as I was during my childhood, I still get out to a few Phillies games, one every few years. I had been talking about this for a while with my brothers, and we all thought it was a good idea to go to a Temple game sometime. Through the generosity of my brother John, we all made a trip to Lincoln Financial Field on October 1 to see Temple take on Toledo. From the viewpoint of a Temple fan, the game itself wasn’t too good, because they lost fairly badly to the Rockets. In the second half, it became a one-sided Toledo rout. But I knew by their opponent that that was a good possibility, and I knew also that there were positive things I would take away from the experience, win or lose, and I’ll try to share my thoughts on it.
I didn’t really follow any sports while I was a student at Temple. It was a while after I graduated that I started to take an interest in the football team. The program was notoriously abysmal throughout my years as a student there, and for many years afterward. Finally, after the 2004 season, the Owls got bounced from the Big East, and it looked like it might finally be over for football at Temple. From what I understood, it would not be worth it financially to downgrade the football team to Division IAA status. They were perennially among the worst of the 120 or so NCAA Division I schools, and, if I remember right, they had more than one winless season over that stretch of time. The poor performance combined with the lack of fan support at home games was enough for the Big East heads to cast Temple adrift. But the university made two moves that, to me at least, were wise and saved the program. After two seasons as an independent, Temple was able to get a football-only invitation to the Middle American Conference. It didn’t have the level of competition or the BCS automatic qualifier status the Big East had, but Temple would fit in better there. Next, they hired Virginia offensive coordinator Al Golden, and there seemed to be something different about him, as he seemed to be bringing a more positive and enthusiastic attitude with him. I had a feeling that things were going to change. Of course, it was just a feeling and it could have turned out to be very wrong, but fortunately this time my feelings were right. The Owls got progressively better each year, and finally, in 2009, they ended up with a winning season and their first bowl appearance in 30 years.
Fast forward to now, a few years later. Golden is gone, but the change of culture he brought to the team is still here so far. It seemed like now new coach Steve Addazio was actually taking it up a notch. Going into this game, Temple had just come off of what may have been their biggest victory in recent years, as they had dominated Maryland 38-7 on the Terps home field the previous Saturday. They had also come close to defeating Penn State a few weeks earlier. It looked like this might just be their breakout season, and it seemed likely they were headed to the MAC Championship Game in Detroit. If they could steamroll through the rest of their season, maybe they could even get a national ranking, although that was a stretch. And while thinking of those possibilities, I kept in mind that this game could turn out to be a disappointment. The Owls were facing a better team than their record indicated. The Rockets had just come off a disputed loss to Syracuse, and a few weeks earlier had come close to defeating Ohio State. But after considering all that, I still though that Temple was the better team. I found out I was wrong, and we ended up leaving early in the fourth quarter when we determined the game was out of reach. It was a similar situation to the week before, when most of the Maryland fans were long gone by the time the clock ran out. Except now, it was us, the Temple fans, who were leaving early. We had another reason to get out early, since the Phillies were scheduled to play at 5pm. We wanted to get out before the traffic for that game started pouring in. My brother had a VIP parking permit that someone from his work gave him, and the Phillies traffic had not arrived yet, so we got out quickly and were on I-95 in about three minutes.
But other than watching my team lose badly, going to this game did help me remember what I liked about all the games I went to at the Vet and Citizens Bank Park. And I was able to see the Linc for the first time. I grew up watching the Phillies and Eagles play at Veterans Stadium. The Vet opened in 1971, when professional sports were just starting to become a multi-billion dollar industry, and football had just caught up with baseball in popularity. The stadium design was also following the general trend of dual-purpose stadiums that housed both the football and baseball teams of a big city. When I first went to the Vet, I was about 10 years old, and only knew about professional sports from what I saw on television. As we were approaching the stadium on I-95, what struck me about the Vet at first was that it resembled a giant cake. Once I got inside, it seemed different from what I saw on the small screen, because there are some things that the cameras can’t capture. I found that although the field looked good on TV, and still looked good from the stands, other parts of the stadium were not as neat and clean. And of course being there gave me the experience of trafficking with other sports fans up close. Most people acted civil and just had a good time, but there were always those who couldn’t just enjoy the game, and there were always a few people who drank too many of the stadium’s overpriced beers.
Being that this was a Temple game, which was in less demand than the Eagles, we were able to get seats about four rows up from the Toledo sideline. As far as I can remember, that was the closest I ever got to the playing field. It was around the 20 yard line, so it made the other end of the field hard to see. However, because of modern technology, the large end zone video screen allowed us to watch all that was going on when the play moved to the other end. Remembering the Vet, I was able to appreciate how the Linc was designed for football. There is a huge deck with an open space that allows fans to see the game if they happen to get up to use the restrooms or go to the concession stands. There was also a plaza on the lower level, outside the stadium, but on the grounds, inside the gates. There were several bandstands there, and one of them was occupied by a cover band playing classic rock songs. My brother told me that during Eagles games, there are several bands playing, although I don’t know if they played simultaneously. It seemed that a lot of the concession stands were closed, although I imagine that during Eagles games everything is open. When Temple faces an opponent like Penn State, or in 2013, when they will play Notre Dame, I would also imagine that everything will be open and going full steam. I didn’t venture up there, but the upper tier of the Linc looked almost vertical from where I sat. At the very top, it looked like there was very little except a small wall, behind which is a drop of several hundred feet.
I didn’t think there would be too much rowdiness at the Temple game, as I assumed a college football game would be more of a family event than a professional game. It looked like that anyway, as I saw several families with their student children. There are also little features of the game that I don’t see, which occur while the network breaks for commercials. During that time, while viewers at home are watching ads for cars and restaurants, random contests for the fans take place on the field. One involved letting a male student attempt a field goal from the 10 or 15 yard line. There was a passing contest with a female student trying to catch three passes from Hooter, the Temple mascot. Since this was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there was a lot of pink in the audience, aside from the usual cherry and white of Temple. The dance team was also used to promote that cause. Another obvious difference between being at the game and watching it on TV is being among the crowds, as I noted above. The television cameras don’t get all that goes on in the stadium. They may zoom in on a few fans, or show quick flashes around the stadium, but other than that, they don’t capture the fan culture at football games.
College games are also notable for the enthusiasm that is generated, both by the marching bands and the cheerleaders. The Temple band occupied a section directly across the field from where we were sitting. The cheerleaders were there, as well, but our view of them was obstructed. The Temple Dance Team, which is a separate unit from the cheerleading squad, also performed on and off the field. The general impression I get from college cheerleaders is that the enthusiasm and acrobatics are more the focus than glamor and choreography, which is what seems to be the focus of NFL and NBA cheerleaders. As far as the fans themselves, we were on the Toledo side of the stadium, so I got a much closer look at their fans than the Temple fans. The Toledo fans brought cowbells with them, and banged them every time the Rockets made a big play, which was often, and more frequent as the game went on. I don’t know if that is a regular part of high school and college football, since I can’t remember seeing a college football game since I was a child.
Since we entered and left by the VIP entrance, one thing I didn’t catch much of was the tailgating, which is another huge part of the culture in the NFL and college games. That’s where the diehards are, kind of like a fraternity. Sometime if I get to see another Temple game, I would like to just go through the parking lot and meet some of the tailgaters. If nothing else, getting to know them and move about freely among them would probably give me something interesting to write about in a future article or blog.
After our fourth quarter bail out, the ride home was mostly quiet. The Linc is right next to the highway, and I could see into the stadium for a few seconds while we passed by. From the car, it looked like most of the people appeared to be in the stands as we were making our way home, although I doubt many of them were still around when the final seconds ticked off the clock. But despite two more losses after the Toledo game, The Owls are still 8-4, and in all reasonableness should get a bowl invitation on Sunday. I think their best days still lie ahead. I won’t be able to go to every home game, and I actually prefer games against MAC opponents that will be less crowded and demand a smaller price. And although I do prefer watching at home, I still want to get out to more Temple games in the upcoming years.
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