Germantown Academy and Penn Charter maintain the oldest prep school football rivalry in the country. The competition has been a prominent part of the tradition in both schools for 135 consecutive years. The rivalry grew through the gradual extension of more sports competitions being added to the day. Every year, the host school alternates, allowing students from both schools to experience a day at the opponent’s home. The day is filled with school pride and friendly competition, and is a staple in fall sports for both the Patriots and the Quakers.
Since 1996, GA has brought the trophy home thirteen times and tied five times. The football match is the main game of the day, bringing students from different grades, alumni, parents, teachers, and many other members of the community to the stands to cheer on the team. The football games are often very close with high stakes. The record right now is in favor of PC, 86-37-11. After a hard fought loss for the Patriots football team last year that ended in a 21-20 score, GA hoped to take home the Competition Cup on November 13, yet fell short of that goal once again.
In the week leading up to GA/PC day, Spirit Week is a fun tradition to build excitement. This year, the festive dress-down days included pajama day, “what’s in your closet” and “anything but a backpack,” surfers vs. greasers, dress your age, and grade colors. “Anything but a backpack” was a new addition to the wacky dress-downs and was a huge hit. Some students brought in bins, suitcases, a mop bucket, strollers, and shopping carts. My personal favorite was the surfers vs greasers day.
On GA/PC day, all varsity fall sports are highlighted for both girls and boys teams. The student-athletes play in hopes of their school bringing home the competition cup, which is awarded to the school with the most cumulative wins. Food trucks and various tents line up in the parking lot as the day is a great way to spend time with family and friends in support of the school. The memorable day also concludes the fall sports season.
While most of the GA/PC day traditions are staying the same or very similar there are some new exciting changes that GA has made to create more safety as a result of COVID-19. One of the most prominent changes affected the rally the day before GA/PC day. Instead of hallway decorating, each grade decorated a golf cart with a particular theme. These golf carts promoted friendly competition between grades. This new event for GA/PC day seemed to be a popular activity amongst GA students as all of the Upper Schoolers threw themselves into their creations. The annual pep rally was held outside at the stadium, a large space in comparison to the gym that allowed students to spread out and limit the possible spread of COVID-19. The stadium was another crowd pleaser as students were excited to watch the new parade element of the rally and possibly get a better view while sitting on the bleachers.
Personally, I feel that golf-cart decorating will become a new tradition, as will holding the pep rally outside. The 2021 GA/PC day pep rally seemed to be a huge success with lots of room to spread out; a perk being that hundreds of people were not crammed in a gym. The golf carts added a new spin on the pep rally, allowing people in other grades in the Upper School (aside from the seniors) to be highlighted instead of just sitting in the stands. The junior class even won the golf-cart decorating challenge with their “Patty the tank” creation.
With additions added to GA/PC day and the events that lead up the big day, new traditions seem to have formed. GA might not have gotten the outcome they wanted on the big day, minus GA boys soccer’s big Inter-Ac win over PC, but the changes due to COVID-19 has allowed room for new ideas to form and new experiences for all.