OPINION: From Where I Sit – A Commonwealth Campus Perspective of PSU Football

On Sept. 24, I visited Penn State University Park (UP) to attend my first-ever Penn State football game and it was something I have never experienced before.  The Penn State Nittany Lions played the Central Michigan Chippewas and beat them 33-14 to keep an undefeated record of 3 – 0.

My dad, a few friends who already attend Penn State UP, and I had a very fun day.

We parked about a mile away in the Nittany Parking Deck and we walked to Beaver Stadium. As we were walking, there were so many others doing the exact same thing and everyone was decked out in their Penn State gear.

I wore a PSU sweatshirt as well as t-shirt for when it got too hot. Additionally, I bought a PSU bucket hat to block the sun from my head and neck.
We continued walking and eventually could hear faint music. As we inched closer and closer to the stadium, it grew louder. It was kind of crazy how far away you could actually hear it.

Closer to the stadium, there were dozens of tents lined up where lots of people were tailgating. Unfortunately, we did not attend the tailgate, but I feel like that would have been an extremely fun experience.

From there, the fun actually began. The streets were lined with people, and we had to

find our way to the gate. In fact, there were so many people, I almost got lost from my group a couple of times.

I have been to my fair share of Pittsburgh Steelers games, but this was nothing compared to what I experienced at the Penn State game. Acrisure Stadium, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a maximum capacity around 68,000 guests.

At Beaver Stadium, there are a whopping 106,000 plus seats, which is insane and almost all the seats were filled! I don’t think I have ever been in an area with that many people before.

After we got into the stadium, we went to the student section, which is something I had never experienced either. For the entire game, except for halftime, we stood on top of the bleachers cheering on the Nittany Lions.

Lots of students had these pom poms and they would use them throughout the entire game, including when the Nittany Lions kicked off, had a huge play, scored a touchdown, or just for any other reason.

I wish I had one to use throughout the game. My guess is students received them from previous games like the “White-Out” or “Stripe-Out” games and they kept them to use at upcoming games.

Comparing those pom poms to a Steelers game, they reminded me of “The Terrible Towel.” They seem to be used for similar reasons.

Also, the student section was very loud at times, especially when the opposing team had their backs to the student section.

Although I really enjoyed the game, my favorite part was when they played “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond on the loud speaker and the entire student section sang it. Actually, the people controlling the music turned it off and the students kept on singing, which was really interesting. I have seen a lot of videos on the Internet about this and always wanted to experience it.

I am going to do everything I can to buy season tickets when I move up to main campus next year so I can continue experiencing the energy and excitement from PSU football. Also, I highly suggest for all Commonwealth Campus students to attend at least one PSU football game because it is such an unforgettable experience.

Photos Courtesy: Carlin Whalen

Story by: Carlin Whalen (cjw6426@psu.edu)