My Penn State Experience
I traveled to State College for the game and thought I would share my experience with anyone who cared to read.
First, my party left Ann Arbor around 9PM Friday, and embarked on an epic 7 hour drive which featured a dead headlight, running over a deer, and almost drifting off the road multiple times (thank goodness for rumble strips). We arrived at our host's residence at around 3:30 AM.
We ate breakfast at Denny's on Atherton street, decked out in our maize shirts and my silly foam wolverine hat. Everyone here was very friendly and good natured about the game. i guess they all felt really sorry for us, knowing what was in store.
We parked in lot 11, and received many boo's and nasty looks on the way to the HUB, where we were going to get our tickets. Many calls of "App State!" "2-4" "Holy Toledo?" and my personal favorite, "...Michigan?" were heard. Many would then say something along the lines of, "You have a nice hat, though."
We ended up walking around the campus, which is very nice. We received many of the same remarks, but we noticed an alarming number of "welcome to State College!" and other unexpected gestures of good will and sportsmanship.
We headed to a Michigan tailgate at Lot 21 and hung around there for 3 hours until gametime. Cries of "App State" were answered with "9 Straight!" but overall spirits were good and everyone was mostly friendly.
Our seats were in section NL, row 31, which is in the right corner of the north endzone. The stadium definitely seems more "NFL" than other college stadiums. The Jumbo tron was much nicer than the POS they had at Notre Dame, considering this actually had a video screen, but still paled in comparison to Michigan's.
Penn State's student section is definitely more impressive than Michigan's. They are able to keep the opposing team's fan out of the area, so the entire section is an unadulterated sea of white. Everyone has pom-poms as well, truly a spectacular site. Michigan can certainly learn a few things on what a student section should look like. Oh yeah, the S was pink with a black background, as a tribute to the original school colors of Penn State.
As for the game experience, several things ruined it for me:
-Penn State may as well have not had a marching band. They rarely played, and if they did, it was always "Seven Nation Army" or one of their fight songs. Nothing else.
-Prerecorded music played over the PA system really ruins the college game experience. What's even worse is that they only played the same 3 songs over and over again. I went from thinking "Zombie Nation" was pretty catchy during tailgating, to hating it with a fiery passion after the game.
-That GODDAMN FUCKING ANNOYING STUPID LION ROAR! It's not intimidating, it's just really FUCKING ANNOYING.
-That GODDAMN FUCKING ANNOYING STUPID "WE ARE PENN STATE" Cheer. What's even more annoying is that when we were up 17-10 and looking good, some of us started yelling "Ten Straight!" instead of "penn state." While that temporarily shut up and pissed off the PSU guys around us, it certainly made us feel like idiots at the end.
-I heard all this hype for how loud Beaver Stadium was, but it wasn't noticeably louder than the Big House. In fact, the Big House was definitely a lot louder than Beaver Stadium during the second half of Wisconsin
After the game, we returned to our tailgating area to find that some dickheads had overturned all of our table and trash bags and everything. As we started to clean up, some very nice older Penn State Alumni helped us.
Overall, I was pleased with the fans, as they were no more obnoxious or rude than we probably are, and many were very welcoming and hospitable.
I was disappointed with the stadium, as all of the prerecorded music, the lion's roar, and the 3 song library for the marching band contributed to one of the most repetitive and annoying shows ever.
October 19th, 2008 at 9:08 AM ^
October 19th, 2008 at 11:58 AM ^
I went to Penn State three games ago when we were actually good, a viable threat and nobody felt sorry for us. Although I agree that their campus is pretty, I'd strongly disagree most with the point you made about the fans being nice and accommodating. I visited Columbus as well that year when they were #1 and we were #2, and I'd have to say that the Penn State fans were worse than Ohio State fans. Numerous food items were thrown at us, my party was almost assaulted twice and a general feeling of unwelcomeness pervaded. Many people that I've talked to have confirmed my observation about Penn State fans vs. Ohio State fans, and I, for one, was pretty surprised.
Re: the mountain lion noise. Yes, annoying as hell. Re: "WE ARE PENN STATE" Yes you are, and we've beaten you 9 of 10 years thus prompting the "WE OWN PENN STATE" cheer started when I was there. When we get good again this streak will continue.
October 19th, 2008 at 1:35 PM ^
I traveled to Happy Valley 5 years ago to see Penn St. host tUOS. I was very impressed with the whole atmosphere of Happy Valley on game day. I sat in the north endzone, by the strip of tOSU fans, so i had to deal with the gayness of Buckeye fans, like i do everyday living in Ohio. Definately a place I'd like to go back to, but that drive is so damn long. I agree that the Lion roar is awful. I was in Ann Arbor for last years game, and found that most of the PSU fans were very nice and respectful. I'd rather listen to the "We are Penn St" chant rather than the spelling of the name of the state I reside.
October 19th, 2008 at 1:47 PM ^
October 19th, 2008 at 1:49 PM ^
There is so much more noise and passion, and the students actually get into it.
I never understand why people single out our student section for criticism. Having sat in the student section for four years and then in the general admission sections as an alumnus for a few years now, I don't know why anyone would get on the students. Yes, there are some drunken fratboy/sorority types who are just there to be there, but on the whole, our students are way, way more into the game than our alums, who largely have a "I'll sit here stonefaced until you entertain me" attitude.
October 20th, 2008 at 3:22 PM ^
That's funny that they were still doing the "App State" thing since we beat them last year. The lesson to be learned there is wait until you beat a crappy team before you make fun of them for losing to another crappy team.
I have always thought that the "WE ARE...PENN STATE" cheer is pretty cool and I don't mind the lion roar, but the piped in music is extremely lame.