Wait, on the row to victory?
Philadelphia is a city steeped in a rich tradition and history within the rowing community. The Dad Vail Regatta, the largest collegiate competition in the country, was held on the Schuylkill River along Boathouse Row for 70 years. The Schuylkill is still home to the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the premier high school race in the world.
Luke Putter decided to bring a taste of Philly to London as a member of the Thames Rowing Club.
Born and raised in Newtown Square in Delco, Putter was a water polo player at The Haverford School with dreams of playing collegiately. However, he went into the spring of 2024 – his senior year – without an offer that satisfied him. He had several friends who competed on the crew team and decided to give rowing a try. By midseason, he was a part of the varsity 4+ boat (four rowers with a coxswain) that placed third at the Stotesbury Cup and enacted revenge the following week against the two schools ahead of it by capturing gold at the SRAA National Championships.
"When everything comes together correctly, it's a feeling that you can't really get in any other sport," Putter said, "because in a four or an eight, you need to have four guys or eight guys doing exactly the same thing, and when you get it to click perfectly, it's a great sensation."
After the season, Putter met with the rowing coaches at Penn to discuss joining the team. The coaches presented Putter with an interesting scenario – train with Thames Rowing Club for a gap year and enroll at Penn as a member of the Class of 2029. The coaches saw the potential in Putter and figured that if he could pick up the sport and win a National Championship in a couple of months, what could happen with an entire year to focus on developing his technique?
"I was a little bit shocked at first because I'd never been to Europe," Putter said. "It took me a couple of days to wrap my head around it, and then when I realized how cool the opportunity was, I jumped on it immediately."
Putter moved across the Atlantic last August just as the Eagles' preseason was getting underway. His father, Andrew, is a Season Ticket Member who hosts legendary tailgates in Lot H before every home game. Luke didn't want to miss out on the action, so he made sure to find a way to watch every game this past season and was home to witness the NFC East-clinching rout of the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in December.
Several of Putter's teammates at the Thames Rowing Club are British students participating in similar gap-year programs, preparing to embark on the journey to American universities in the fall. Putter educated them on the game of football and what it's like to be an Eagles fan. Typically, he'd have friends over to his flat to watch the games, but by the time the Super Bowl came around in February, he had cultivated enough of a fanbase that he needed a bigger place to host everyone. "Go Birds!" was becoming a familiar refrain around London.
"It was amazing," Putter said of the Super Bowl win, "from the first quarter when we saw the Eagles just get it out of the gate and then carry from there."
Hoping to channel some of that championship energy, Putter wore a Midnight Green Eagles hat when he rowed for Thames this spring. On Sunday, Putter's four-man boat represented Thames in the final of The Britannia Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, arguably the most prestigious rowing competition in the world – the Super Bowl of the sport. In the unique head-to-head format, Thames went up against the London Rowing Club, which would translate to an NFC Championship Game between the Eagles and Cowboys.
As Putter helped maneuver the boat into the starting position for the race, he was in awe of the thousands of people lining up along the banks of the Thames River, many in formal attire as some of the viewing locations have strict dress codes as this is one of the marquee events of the British Social Season. Of course, there was Putter in his Eagles hat.
"It was absolutely insane," he said. "Rowing up to the start line for the final on Sunday was surreal because there were thousands of people on the bank, just 20 yards away. They're all staring at you, making sure you're doing everything perfectly."
And Putter did. Thames completed the mile-plus course in 6:49, edging out the rivals by a boat length.
"The feeling was incredible. It's like all the work throughout the whole year, not even just this year, but like everything I've ever done in swimming, water polo, all the hours of just intense training, it all flashes before your eyes," Putter said. "It all feels like every hangout with friends or any event that you missed just to commit to making training the priority, it all feels worth it in that moment because you accomplished what you set out to do."
Putter will return home a champion. And with a few added Eagles fans as well.
