Journey to Happy Valley, part 2
The game day experience at Penn State is a treat. Throwing Michigan out of the equation since I may be a tad biased, Penn State is definitely the best place to see a football game in the Big Ten. You have the best combination of pleasant fans, good football, and great stadium atmosphere.
We spent the entire day on Saturday tailgating, starting with a “good morning” burger and beer around 11AM. We pretty much stuffed a bunch of unhealthy food and beer into our systems throughout the day while waiting for the 8PM kickoff. I went on a three-mile search for CableGirl when she called to say she was parking her car. If she had given a better description of her location, I would have only had to walk 500 feet to find her. However, I was still happy to see her.
RytheRed had a friend from college in a nearby RV. His friend’s parents are Victors Club members (huge UM donors) and have the sweetest RV ever with satellite TV, wireless internet, etc. We hung out there for a while, as did many others including the guy who runs Mgoblog. By the time 7PM rolled around, we were all fired up and ready for some fun under the lights in Beaver Stadium.
Our seats were near the top of the upper deck. However, we were in the Michigan section, so it was ok. A nearby fan snuck in a portable TV to watch the end of the Tigers game. Word spread quickly when Ordonez hit a home run, and our section went crazy. We were definitely ready for a game now.
So was Penn State.
I warned FlyingV that Beaver Stadium would be louder than any stadium he had ever been to before. I don’t think he understood exactly what I meant. Based on my past two trips here in 1999 and 2001, I knew that the crowd would be loud. Watch this video the crowd chant “We Are…Penn State” shortly before the game started.
We were definitely impressed by the volume. When Michigan started their first offensive possession, the crowd ramped it up even more. FlyingV gave me a look of amazement over how loud the crowd was. It was awesome, even though it was for the other team. The PA system often plays “Zombie Nation” after a big Penn State play. The crowd goes crazy during the song. The upper deck shook violently when this song was first played. I was glad I was in the upper deck and not underneath these seats at this point. Thankfully, things quieted down as the game progressed since Michigan was “delivering the pain”.
Even though the final score was 17-10, I never felt scared. Michigan was in control of the game from the moment Penn State missed a field goal on their opening drive. It took nearly 24 hours for my voice to return to normal. What an awesome game.
I think every Big Ten football fan must see a game at Beaver Stadium some day. However, I have three complaints from the trip.
1) PA system – I thought it was bush league that the PA system would pump in music to fire up the crowd AFTER MICHIGAN BROKE THE HUDDLE. Henne is calling the signals under center and there is music coming from the PA system. That can’t possibly be allowed. Penn State has great fans and a sweet atmosphere, which makes it even more upsetting that they resort to these tactics to make the stadium louder. This didn’t happen every play and went away as the game progressed, but it should never have happened in the first place. It made the stadium feel more like a minor league baseball game than a big time college football game.
2) PA system (con’t) – I was disappointed that Penn State used their PA system to play music and that the marching band rarely played music. It seemed like they played something about 4 times a quarter, and never during TV timeouts. College bands are one huge advantage over a pro sports atmosphere, so it was unfortunate.
3) Logistics – Penn State cannot logistically handle an 8PM kickoff. The parking situation there is disastrous, especially when everyone leaves town after the game. It took people three hours to make the one-mile drive from the parking lots to the highway after the game. The RV was huge for us since we could just wait until Sunday morning to leave. Also, Penn State did not provide trash cans or dumpsters at the tailgating sites and there were nowhere near enough port-o-johns, which lead to long lines and other “problems”. When everyone is tailgating for an extra eight hours on game day, Penn State should be better prepared for these things. The parking lots looked like giant landfills on Sunday because no one had any place to put their trash unless they drove off with filled trash bags in their cars.
I took very few pictures this past weekend, so I am not going to bother posting any here. The trip definitely lived up to my expectations, and I would have said that even if Michigan lost.
We spent the entire day on Saturday tailgating, starting with a “good morning” burger and beer around 11AM. We pretty much stuffed a bunch of unhealthy food and beer into our systems throughout the day while waiting for the 8PM kickoff. I went on a three-mile search for CableGirl when she called to say she was parking her car. If she had given a better description of her location, I would have only had to walk 500 feet to find her. However, I was still happy to see her.
RytheRed had a friend from college in a nearby RV. His friend’s parents are Victors Club members (huge UM donors) and have the sweetest RV ever with satellite TV, wireless internet, etc. We hung out there for a while, as did many others including the guy who runs Mgoblog. By the time 7PM rolled around, we were all fired up and ready for some fun under the lights in Beaver Stadium.
Our seats were near the top of the upper deck. However, we were in the Michigan section, so it was ok. A nearby fan snuck in a portable TV to watch the end of the Tigers game. Word spread quickly when Ordonez hit a home run, and our section went crazy. We were definitely ready for a game now.
So was Penn State.
I warned FlyingV that Beaver Stadium would be louder than any stadium he had ever been to before. I don’t think he understood exactly what I meant. Based on my past two trips here in 1999 and 2001, I knew that the crowd would be loud. Watch this video the crowd chant “We Are…Penn State” shortly before the game started.
We were definitely impressed by the volume. When Michigan started their first offensive possession, the crowd ramped it up even more. FlyingV gave me a look of amazement over how loud the crowd was. It was awesome, even though it was for the other team. The PA system often plays “Zombie Nation” after a big Penn State play. The crowd goes crazy during the song. The upper deck shook violently when this song was first played. I was glad I was in the upper deck and not underneath these seats at this point. Thankfully, things quieted down as the game progressed since Michigan was “delivering the pain”.
Even though the final score was 17-10, I never felt scared. Michigan was in control of the game from the moment Penn State missed a field goal on their opening drive. It took nearly 24 hours for my voice to return to normal. What an awesome game.
I think every Big Ten football fan must see a game at Beaver Stadium some day. However, I have three complaints from the trip.
1) PA system – I thought it was bush league that the PA system would pump in music to fire up the crowd AFTER MICHIGAN BROKE THE HUDDLE. Henne is calling the signals under center and there is music coming from the PA system. That can’t possibly be allowed. Penn State has great fans and a sweet atmosphere, which makes it even more upsetting that they resort to these tactics to make the stadium louder. This didn’t happen every play and went away as the game progressed, but it should never have happened in the first place. It made the stadium feel more like a minor league baseball game than a big time college football game.
2) PA system (con’t) – I was disappointed that Penn State used their PA system to play music and that the marching band rarely played music. It seemed like they played something about 4 times a quarter, and never during TV timeouts. College bands are one huge advantage over a pro sports atmosphere, so it was unfortunate.
3) Logistics – Penn State cannot logistically handle an 8PM kickoff. The parking situation there is disastrous, especially when everyone leaves town after the game. It took people three hours to make the one-mile drive from the parking lots to the highway after the game. The RV was huge for us since we could just wait until Sunday morning to leave. Also, Penn State did not provide trash cans or dumpsters at the tailgating sites and there were nowhere near enough port-o-johns, which lead to long lines and other “problems”. When everyone is tailgating for an extra eight hours on game day, Penn State should be better prepared for these things. The parking lots looked like giant landfills on Sunday because no one had any place to put their trash unless they drove off with filled trash bags in their cars.
I took very few pictures this past weekend, so I am not going to bother posting any here. The trip definitely lived up to my expectations, and I would have said that even if Michigan lost.
posted by GaryGinew at 10:38 PM
1 Comments:
Your description of tailgating sounds almost verbaitim what I read on the rivals boards. Sure that wasn't you?
I also read (on the boards) that one unfortunate fan had his ticket out, waiting in line to get into the stadium, when a student grabbed it out of his hand and took off into the crowd. The police were no help and the dude had to spend an extra $140 for a scalped ticket. How CRAPPY is that? Even BWI posters were complaining about some of the bad behavior of the students (not all, naturally, but enough to make an impact). Did you experience any of that?
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