In an effort to help promote the sport of American football abroad, the Penn Quakers flew to China for an exhibition matchup and a football clinic. Aside from a week of promoting the game and educating the growing football community in China about the game, the highlight of the trip was The Global Ambassadors Bowl against a team of all-stars from the American Football League of China. It took little time for the Ivy Leaguers to establish their dominance over the Chinese all-star team en route to a lopsided victory.
Penn quarterback Mason Quandt completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Fleury on the second play of the game. After the defense forced an early turnover with Jacob Martin intercepting a pass to setup a quick touchdown pass from Ryan Glover to Rory Starkey for another touchdown. Penn’s defense added a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown and Penn held a 57-0 lead at halftime in Shanghai. The final score was 85-0.
An 85-0 win for @PENNfb in the Penn-China Global Ambassadors Bowl organized by @globalsportsguy but the friendships made and experiences of a lifetime for #QuakersInChina were the true winners in Beijing and Shanghai this week. #UPrising
— Global Football (@globalsportsguy) March 9, 2019
Game recap: https://t.co/zh1NxTT1E5
Penn’s trip to China has included stops in Beijing and Shanghai with a hike on The Great Wall of China, a tour of Tiananmen Square and more. The trip to Cina is the highlight of the Penn spring practices this year, which will conclude with the spring game on March 30 in Philadelphia. The trip to China, like previous trips taken by other programs like Michigan and trips that are fairly common in college basketball, are allowed under NCAA rules and are a good way to help promote a sport in a region of the world where the game continues to grow.
As Penn’s dominance over the overmatched group of all-stars players suggests, the sport of football has a long way to go in China. But games like these are not the ultimate reason for the trips. The more important part of the trip is interacting with local citizens and athletes that are still learning about the game and helping to grow the game in their home countries.
But I hope you took Penn +80 if you could find it.