My First Visit To Penn State's Beaver Stadium

This past Saturday I was one of 108,445 people in attendance at the Penn State-Indiana game, my first ever visit to Beaver Stadium.

To put that number into some sort of perspective, I compared it to the types of crowds I was accustomed to from my college's football team.  One would have to add up the attendnace figures of my alama mater's last 32 home football games to top the figure from Penn State on Saturday. 

And that number was from a game in the rain against Indiana.

If you are someone who went to or currently attends a college with a major football program, what I witnessed this past weekend probably is nothing new to you, and this article likely is not worth your time. 

But I am sure there are tons of sports fans out there like me—fans who grew up in an area where pro sports dominated and when it came time to choose what college to go to, made the decision to attend a school where the question during football season of “what are you doing on a Saturday” was likely met with a number of different answers.  

I have always been a college football fan, but I was a fan of the sport in general.  I had some teams (Notre Dame) and coaches (Steve Spurrier) that I would root against.  But I never attached myself to any particular school.  

I would watch games on Saturdays from all across the country, and while sometimes I wondered what it was like to be a student or alumni from one of those schools, I really had no idea what I was missing.

Until this past weekend. 

I should point out that I am not a Penn State fan, never have been, and before a few years ago, I don’t think I even knew someone who went to the school.  But when I moved from Boston to Washington, D.C. in 2002, without a doubt the most common alma mater of people I have met has been Penn State.  Included in that group is my girlfriend who for years has asked me if I wanted to go to a game, and finally this year I agreed to go.

Going to a game at Penn State isn’t quite like what I was used to.  The game was played on Saturday at 12:00.  My girlfriend and I, along with five friends who are all Penn State grads, drove up to State College together.  On Friday.  In an RV. 

At one point during the drive from Rockville, Maryland, we stopped for gas and I asked how close we were and was told we were in State College.  Suddenly I began to get very excited because I really had no idea what to expect. 

We pulled into the RV only parking lot around 11:00 p.m. on Friday.  Just that there is a need for an RV only parking lot was staggering to me.  But that would only be the beginning.

I looked out the window and saw row after row of other RVs, most with Penn State flags flying high above, and people walking all over the place, all wearing Blue and White.  And just past the lot I could see Beaver Stadium.  

The sight of Beaver Stadium was beyond impressive, especially to someone who during college went to football games at a field (not even a stadium) with 7,000 seating capacity, and who has only attended pro football games at the not-in-existence anymore Foxboro Stadium.

Once everything was set up—our own flags, chairs, grill, cooler stocked with beer, soda and water, satellite dish, and wide screen HD TV, we began tailgating.  And just like I had observed at NFL games I had attended, people would walk by and we would say hello and talk.  Because even though we didn’t know each other, we were all there for the same reason—to see Penn State.  

The friends who we went to the game with and who own the RV, have season tickets and make it to every game, so of course there were also several other RVs filled with people that they knew, including the family of one of the Penn State players.  

The main difference for me about this tailgate was when it was happening—a good 12 hours before kickoff.  

After staying up until 5:30 in the morning, drinking an adult beverage or two, watching various highlights and then a few movies (Die Hard and The Departed), it was time to try to catch some sleep.  But before I did, I took a quick walk around to just look at everything one more time—the sheer number of RVs already there, all filled with Penn State fans, and of course the stadium where I would be sitting in less than seven hours.

About two and a half hours later, I was up again.  With the anticipation of a sports fan who knew he was about to experience something new, I got down off my bunk, quickly put on clothes, and raced outside.  To no one’s surprise, I was far from the first person outside.

Following the morning tailgating portion, it was soon time to actually go to the game. Because of the rain, I was deprived of a few things, such as getting to see the band on the field prior to the game.  

But once inside, my girlfriend and I made our way through the tunnel in the end zone. She was a few steps ahead and showed the usher our tickets to make sure we were moving in the right direction.  While she did that, I took a second to take it all in.  

There was not much time to stare as there were hundreds of people all around me, all going in different directions.  But for a few quick seconds, I did not care about stopping traffic.  

Taking our seats, I continued to look around, trying to make sure to not miss anything.  There were some people in Indiana colors, but for the most part, it was a partisan crowd, and seemingly they all wore their jerseys and hats.  

This isn’t exactly surprising, but the shear number of blue or white jerseys stands out. This is particularly true for Penn State I would think because of the simplicity of their jerseys, and that the jersey hasn’t changed.  There is no throwback or alternate jersey or anything like that.  If you want to wear a Penn State jersey, you have two choices—blue or white.  

Due to the weather, the game was rather sloppy for the first half, and I think because of that I was not getting the full effect of what it was like to be among 100,000 fans.  

But Penn State scored 17-unanswered third-quarter points, and suddenly I knew I was getting the entire experience.  The highlight for me came in the fourth quarter when senior wide receiver Derrick Williams took the ball on an end-around, and rushed 36-yards for a touchdown into the end zone right in front of where we were seated.  

The game soon ended, and we filed out of the stadium, and as has been the case since we arrived, we were surrounded by people in Penn State colors for our walk back to the RV.  The post-game tailgate soon commenced, complete with hot dogs, chili and fried anything you can possibly think of.  

Later in the evening, I saw more of the whole Penn State atmosphere, heading downtown to several local bars.  People in Penn State jerseys, sweatshirts, etc continued to be everwhere, and even though the game was now a few hours in the past, I still heard the familiar "We Are...Penn State" chant.

As I have met more and more Penn State fans, I have heard that chant all the time—on the street, in bars, while watching games at someone’s apartment, even at weddings.  And each time, I know I probably rolled my eyes and mocked it for not exactly being the most clever chant I have ever heard.

But hearing it on Saturday at the stadium, and 100,000 people yelling, “We Are,” and then “Penn State,” I have to admit was pretty cool.  

All of these years, I definitely knew that it must be unbelievable to go to these games, whether it is Penn State or any of the other top programs.  But thinking it, and seeing it first hand are two completely different things.  

I would advise anyone who considers themselves a football fan, to find a way if possible at some point, to get to a big time college football game, and make sure to take in as much as possible, up to and including the two-night stay in the RV.

Now that I have been once, I want to go all the time.  And maybe now too I will be on the lookout for friends from SEC or Big 12 Schools to have a chance to make a few comparisons.