Football team fumbles Youth Day celebration

Although most of the 11,123 people who attended Saturday's football game against Dartmouth left feeling disappointed by the loss, one group of young fans took the defeat particularly hard. Approximately 1,000 school-age children were invited to the game as part of the Athletic Department's first Youth Day -- a program designed to encourage community interaction with Penn student-athletes. The day was to culminate in a "Meet the Team" ceremony after the game, where the kids had been told they could take pictures with various players and get autographs. But the department made a "last-minute decision" to cancel the event after the Quaker's heartbreaking 23-15 loss. "We decided the team was just too worn-out, both physically and mentally, and that it would be a more beneficial program for all involved at another time," Director of Football Operations Jerome James said. "We had about 22 players [out of a total of 77] who were either injured or seriously dehydrated, and we just couldn't commit a united team," he added. The decision caught Youth Day's organizers -- who had been planning the event since last year -- by surprise. "The kids were certainly very disappointed," said Marketing and Special Events Coordinator Katrina Dowidchuk, who organized the event. "We're trying to remedy the situation as best we can -- sending the kids T-shirts and programs -- but it really doesn't compare." One child, 8-year-old Max Wheeling, wrote The Daily Pennsylvanian on Sunday after missing the chance to meet the players the day before. "After the game, my dad, my brother, my friends and I all went down to the field to get the players' autographs. But no Penn players came out, only some Dartmouth players," he wrote. "I guess since Penn lost, the players thought the kids wouldn't want their autographs. But we actually did." Providing a possible remedy for the weekend's snafus, another Meet The Team event is scheduled for the night before the October 25 Family Weekend game against Brown. "Hopefully the athletes will be more relaxed, and emotionally in a better stance," James said. Athletic Department officials stressed they are working to reassure community members of their importance to the University. "We are still committed to running more programs, and we think student athletes are and will be good role models," Dowidchuk said. Monday, James spoke to several parents of disappointed children, and he said the parents indicated that they still plan to attend future football games with their families. "I wanted to give them a sense of what we were thinking when we made the decision -- and that we wanted to make it the best event possible," he said. Besides attending the football game, approximately 200 Youth Day participants participated in sports clinics Saturday morning. The clinics -- which included men's and women's basketball and crew, as well as volleyball -- were run by University coaches and athletes. "Those worked out great, and we definitely want to do more," Dowidchuk said. Youth Day participants also enjoyed a picnic lunch at Franklin Field, and a few lucky kids participated in a football tossing contest on the field during halftime.

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