Nebraska vs. Penn State: 10 Things We Learned About Penn State Fans Today

To say the least, it's been a rough week to be a Penn State fan and an even rougher one to be located in Happy Valley.

It was a week that turned the university upside down, and throughout it all, including the Nittany Lions 17-14 defeat at the hands of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Penn State fanbase will survive.

Saturday afternoon was a situation that could have gotten way out of control but didn't, due largely in part to the fans attending the game.

Here's 10 things we learned about the Penn State fans.

The Good Outweighed the Bad

Whether you believe this game should have been played or not, the fans at Beaver Stadium showed that they in whole are better than the collection of idiots that took to the streets after the firing of former head coach Joe Paterno.

Despite a reported bomb threat called in on Friday night and added security, there didn't seem to be any problems among the crowd.

The student body showed that they shouldn't be judged as a whole by the actions of a handful of idiots.

They Have a Voice and It Was Heard

I'm no Penn State fan by any means, but even I had chills when the "We Are Penn State," chant really got going after the Nittany Lions pulled within 17-14 in the fourth quarter.

What took them so long though? I know the game wasn't going their way but the 100,000-plus at the game could have had a better impact.

Either way, that's what college football is supposed to be about.

They Are a Family

It was a very emotional week and many teams like to claim that they are family, but Penn State showed it today when over 100 former players attended the game to show their support for the current team.

Seeing them on the sidelines cheering like they were fans in the stands was something special.

Supportive

It really doesn't matter weather or not you feel that Paterno should have been fired or not. The fact of the matter is that he was.

There are plenty of ways to show support for the former coach and tipping over news vans isn't one of them.

Instead, the massive amounts of signs and fans dressed up as Paterno sent a much better message than what they attempted to do earlier in the week.

Not Just a Football Game

Give the fans credit for keeping in mind that while there was a football game being played, there is still a much more serious tragedy going on at Penn State.

Sports often gives us an escape to get away from the seriousness of the world sometimes. This shouldn't have been one of those cases and it wasn't.

The student body did a great job of remembering that there are still victims out there, and that was the most important thing on this Saturday afternoon.

Protests at a Minimum

One concern heading into Saturday's game had to be a collection of people protesting why there was a football game being played.

As far as my knowledge, there wasn't a whole lot of that going on before the game which is good.

While certainly everyone has their right to express their own opinions, save that for a better time. Too much protesting might have started something before hand

Loyalty

It's always nice to see people don their teams colors and stick by their team through good and bad. That's what you saw on Saturday, a display of loyalty.

I can't blame anyone that jumped off the Nittany Lions bandwagon throughout the scandal, but you have to admire those who will stick it out through the good and the bad.

Classy

Once the game started, it was as if it were any other Saturday afternoon game at Beaver Stadium.

But it really wasn't.

The fans treated it as such though.

And then in the fourth quarter, the crowd let out a massive Joe Paterno chant that showed both respect and offered up a thank you for over 60 years of service to the university.

Then in one final classy touch, the crowd let out one final "We Are Penn State," as the current players were about to head up the tunnel for the final time this season.

People may forget how the current team is affected as well by the tragedy, and the show of love from the crowd had to mean something to the Penn State players.

Very classy touch.

Emotional

From the tailgaters in the parking lot to the players on the field, there was a ton of emotion being displayed Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

There were tears being shed and everyone from the victims to Paterno were on the minds of the capacity crowd.

Beginning with both teams kneeling in prayer at midfield before the gates opened to the Nittany Lions coming out of the tunnel arm in arm to a roar of "We Are Penn State," it was hard for anyone in the crowd not to be emotional on a day like this.

MVP

Looking for the player or players of the game? Look no further than the crowd at Beaver Stadium, who united as one and did so in a civilized matter.

Things really could have got out of hand and if they did, Penn State would have been embarrassed even further.

As a crowd, they sent a message on how to react to a negative situation when placed in a large crowd.

Kudos to the Penn State fans.