If you’re an Ohio State Buckeye, a Michigan State Spartan, or a Purdue Boilermaker, you’re licking your wounds after tough losses. If you’re a Michigan Wolverine, a Wisconsin Badger, a Northwestern Wildcat, a Minnesota Gopher, or an Indiana Hoosier, you’re breathing a sigh of relief that you escaped with victories in tight games.
If you’re an Iowa Hawkeye, an Illinois Illini, or a Penn State Nittany Lion, you’re feeling pretty good about lopsided wins. Especially after that amazing win the Hawkeyes had last week where they blocked two consecutive field goals, Hawkeye fans must be feeling great about beating their in-state rival, Iowa State. The Illini beat up in-state rival Illinois State 45-17, even after Juice Williams was injured early in the game.
After yesterday’s Penn State game, at a neighboring tailgate with a satellite TV, we had the opportunity to cheer on Wisconsin as they won against Fresno State in second overtime. What a finish! We could say the same thing about the Michigan win against Notre Dame – we were home in time to watch the second half.
In fact, a friend of mine posted a picture on my Facebook wall from the stands at Michigan just before the end of the game. At least, I assume he was at the game since I know he has season tickets and he uploaded the photo from a mobile device. In any case, he was celebrating Michigan’s final drive to win the game.
So I commented on his photo, “9 seconds left…YES!!! Want you guys undefeated when we play you in Ann Arbor.”
Well evidently that didn’t sit well with one of his Michigan friends, because he sent me an apology via email about a post that he removed from his wall. He also told me with a grin that I could post scores on his wall at any time. We respect each other, and he knew what I meant. He also probably wants to see Penn State come into Ann Arbor undefeated. And he likes Penn State. Except when Michigan and Northwestern play us.
Here’s where I made a mistake. I replied via email, telling him that I never saw the insulting post. At the time Ohio State was up 10-7 against USC. So my reply included “Now OSU is beating USC 10-7. Go Ohio State! Sorry, but they’re Big Ten too!”
His response? “I cheer for all Big 10 teams except Ohio State…If the Trojans whip them 100-0, it’s not enough!!!”
Too late now, I recall that this friend, who has an undergraduate degree from Michigan and a graduate degree from Northwestern, had a particularly bad experience at Ohio Stadium several years ago that adds fuel to the traditional Ohio State-Michigan firestorm of intense rivalry. So now I owe him an apology. I shouldn’t have even mentioned Ohio State. I should have known better. In any case, my Michigan friend must be happy this morning about Ohio State losing to USC last night.
As for me, I’m not happy at all. Especially since the game was at Columbus, and Ohio State played well. You have to credit USC and the brilliance of Pete Carroll, as well as the poise under pressure of their true freshman quarterback, 19-year-old Matt Barkley. That final “drive” was an amazing feat against Ohio State’s defense. They had contained USC most of the game. This was a tough loss for Ohio State fans.
We always root for the Big Ten when they play non-conference opponents, especially an opponent as highly ranked as USC, who hasn’t lost to a Big Ten team under the Pete Carroll era. In fact, the TV trivia question last night was “When was the last time USC lost to a Big Ten team?” The answer? It was in 1996, when Penn State played USC at the Meadowlands in the Kickoff Classic. John Robinson was the coach.
So now the media will again question the strength of the Big Ten conference, and that doesn’t help Penn State in its national rankings one bit. It’s already begun!
Also when it comes to Ohio State-USC, it’s a matter of which team we like the best. We root for Ohio State because they’re Big Ten. We want to play the highest ranked opponents we can at any game. Just as we want to play an undefeated Michigan in Ann Arbor, we also hoped to play an undefeated Ohio State team at Beaver Stadium.
Also, Terry grew up in Ohio as an Ohio State fan, and so he doesn’t feel animosity towards them, unless an OSU win somehow affects Penn State standings. His passion for Penn State began in 1970 when he moved to Pennsylvania, and takes priority. But that old history is hard for him to totally dismiss, and it’s hard for me to ignore.
We also see no reason to wish USC any success, especially after our humiliating loss to them in the Rose Bowl last year. We would just as soon see them get out of national championship contention as soon as possible, and that didn’t happen last night.
But we have a lot of Big Ten games to play before November! In addition to Michigan, Iowa is still undefeated, so are Minnesota, Northwestern, and Indiana. Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan State are still huge threats in conference play. And we really don’t know how good we are yet.
One game at a time, so they say! We have to beat Temple this week. And I need to stop speculating about the future and restrain from looking ahead.
Photo panorama - View From Our Seats - Penn State vs Iowa 2011 - by Carolyn M. Todd
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Win Is A Win. But Have We Improved?
It's good to see Penn State win handily against Syracuse, but Terry was very unhappy with how we won. "We're lousy!", he kept yelling to me in the stands. Even when we were up by 28 points.
What bothered Terry more than anything else was the fact that we couldn't score a touchdown from the one-yard line. He would have preferred that we take a field goal on that drive as well. "When you have the chance, take the points!," he yelled.
I think we expected improvement over last week's game. And improvement, especially in the running game, was hard to discern. We were limited to 78 yards rushing, and achieved 240 yards passing. We were ahead by only 14 points at the half. We weren't comfortable with a win until well into the 4th quarter.
On the other hand, we sort of expected a tougher game. So a 28-7 win isn't bad. Our defense basically shut down Syracuse, and created a couple of turnovers. They put the needed pressure on Greg Paulus, Syracuse's quarterback, and Ryan Nassib, his backup. The defense held the Syracuse offense to 200 yards total, and only 13 first downs. Syracuse achieved only 65 yards rushing.
So...what's the problem? A win's a win, right? I'm not sure I'm as dissatisfied as Terry is. I see the game as more of a defensive battle in that we controlled Syracuse effectively. But I'm concerned about the ground game and the inconsistent offensive line, despite the fact that we scored four touchdowns.
What do you think?
P.S. Two Syracuse fans in front of us disguised themselves in Penn State gear. Evidently they were afraid to show up in orange for fear of being harassed. But they showed their true colors on one of Paulus's completions. We had a good time teasing them after that, in a good-natured way. They really didn't have anything to worry about, at least in our section of the stands!
The "Classic Day" was fun for those who participated, and the music was great. Most fans seemed "unconscious and unaware" that such a theme day was declared until they arrived at the stadium. The weather forecast didn't help the theme day, although fortunately there was no real rain - just a bit of drizzle - during the game.
What bothered Terry more than anything else was the fact that we couldn't score a touchdown from the one-yard line. He would have preferred that we take a field goal on that drive as well. "When you have the chance, take the points!," he yelled.
I think we expected improvement over last week's game. And improvement, especially in the running game, was hard to discern. We were limited to 78 yards rushing, and achieved 240 yards passing. We were ahead by only 14 points at the half. We weren't comfortable with a win until well into the 4th quarter.
On the other hand, we sort of expected a tougher game. So a 28-7 win isn't bad. Our defense basically shut down Syracuse, and created a couple of turnovers. They put the needed pressure on Greg Paulus, Syracuse's quarterback, and Ryan Nassib, his backup. The defense held the Syracuse offense to 200 yards total, and only 13 first downs. Syracuse achieved only 65 yards rushing.
So...what's the problem? A win's a win, right? I'm not sure I'm as dissatisfied as Terry is. I see the game as more of a defensive battle in that we controlled Syracuse effectively. But I'm concerned about the ground game and the inconsistent offensive line, despite the fact that we scored four touchdowns.
What do you think?
P.S. Two Syracuse fans in front of us disguised themselves in Penn State gear. Evidently they were afraid to show up in orange for fear of being harassed. But they showed their true colors on one of Paulus's completions. We had a good time teasing them after that, in a good-natured way. They really didn't have anything to worry about, at least in our section of the stands!
The "Classic Day" was fun for those who participated, and the music was great. Most fans seemed "unconscious and unaware" that such a theme day was declared until they arrived at the stadium. The weather forecast didn't help the theme day, although fortunately there was no real rain - just a bit of drizzle - during the game.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fashion Advisory: 60’s Themed Dress for Tomorrow’s Game!
Penn State has declared the theme for tomorrow’s game against Syracuse “Classic Day” and is encouraging everyone in the stands to wear their 1960’s clothes to the game. Well, that sounds like fun, but I have to ask, “What 1960’s clothes?” After all, the 1960’s ended 39 years ago.
If you are even old enough to have lived in the 1960's you would have to have quite a closet to hoard clothes that are that old. The oldest piece of clothing I have in my closet is a 1986 Boston Red Sox T-shirt commemorating their American League Championship and an ill-fated World Series run against the New York Mets. Although there may be some older T-shirts tucked away in my basement from my social activist days in the 1970's.
But of course, that’s the point. From a marketing perspective, theme days are a great way to spur people to buy more Penn State licensed clothes. If you’re not a hoarder and can’t figure out what to wear, you can go to any retailer locally and buy a new, tie-dyed, officially licensed Penn State T-shirt to fit in with the 1960’s theme. And while you’re preparing for Classic Day, you may as well buy your Penn State licensed “favorite jersey” because next week’s game against Temple has been declared “Favorite Jersey” day.
But what if you’ve already got more Penn State clothes in your closet than you can possibly wear in a season, or you are just being a little more careful with your money this year and are focusing on needs, rather than wants, in this rough economy?
There are probably plenty of clothes in your closet that will fit the bill for “Classic Day”. For “Favorite Jersey” day, a simple white T-shirt and a black Sharpie pen to write your favorite number on it will do the trick.
The 1960’s focus seems to be on tie-dye shirts, at least among my students. The Woodstock phenomenon seems to come to mind when people think of the 1960’s, but Woodstock occurred in August of 1969, at the very end of the decade. As for myself, I was a teenager in the 1960’s and subject to high school dress codes and my mother’s stern approval of what I wore. I entered college in the fall of 1969. Tie-dye shirts for me came in the 1970’s.
I also overheard a fan at last week’s game say, “In the 1960’s we dressed up for games.” That got me curious - what were we really wearing in the 1960’s?
I asked some of my old friends on Facebook this week and looked at some 1960’s fashion shows on Youtube.
Twiggy was the famous model in those days, and she was extremely thin, some would call her anorexic, wearing the London-based “mod” look: white geometric design shifts. Jacqueline Kennedy of course had a strong influence. As did actresses like Audrey Hepburn. There were tent dresses, a-line skirts, very brightly colored and boldly printed dresses, and – how could we forget – vinyl dresses!
I remember paisley dresses and lots of plaid. Crochet vests that I made myself. Sleeveless shifts. Bell-bottom jeans. My Facebook friends remembered paisley tights that you wore with skirts or jumpers. Sweater sets and pleated skirts. Granny dresses. “Poor boy” striped shirts. Corduroy jumpers with turtlenecks. Stretch pants with stirrups matched with big shirts. Empire waist dresses and shirts. Mini-skirts with white “go-go” boots. My mother wouldn’t let me wear those!
As for hair? In the early to mid-1960’s we all followed Jackie Kennedy. Bouffant style teased hair. We rolled our hair in orange juice cans and slept on them to create that effect. Then we all had "flips" and bangs. Later in the 1960’s we flattened our long hair with irons. In junior high and high school heavy eye makeup was in.
For men, the “mod” look was white tailored shirts with thin ties. There was heavy influence by Italian designers, so the cut on suits was tight. But as the “psychedelic” era evolved there was also emulation of some female fashion trends: paisley shirts, bold print shirts, as well as cowboy shirts, bell-bottoms. The hippie era of course spawned t-shirts, jeans, and of course tie-dyes.
So for Classic Day, you can either adopt the “hippie/psychedelic” look or be, well, classic, even a little dressed up. I have a navy blue Penn State cardigan sweater set that easily could be from the 1960’s. I’ll add a 3-stranded pearl necklace that I inherited from my Mom, straight from the Jackie Kennedy era. And perhaps just to acknowledge the hippie era, I’ll wear my boot cut jeans, the closest thing I have to bell-bottoms.
I’ll save my spending on new Penn State clothes for the bowl trip!
If you are even old enough to have lived in the 1960's you would have to have quite a closet to hoard clothes that are that old. The oldest piece of clothing I have in my closet is a 1986 Boston Red Sox T-shirt commemorating their American League Championship and an ill-fated World Series run against the New York Mets. Although there may be some older T-shirts tucked away in my basement from my social activist days in the 1970's.
But of course, that’s the point. From a marketing perspective, theme days are a great way to spur people to buy more Penn State licensed clothes. If you’re not a hoarder and can’t figure out what to wear, you can go to any retailer locally and buy a new, tie-dyed, officially licensed Penn State T-shirt to fit in with the 1960’s theme. And while you’re preparing for Classic Day, you may as well buy your Penn State licensed “favorite jersey” because next week’s game against Temple has been declared “Favorite Jersey” day.
But what if you’ve already got more Penn State clothes in your closet than you can possibly wear in a season, or you are just being a little more careful with your money this year and are focusing on needs, rather than wants, in this rough economy?
There are probably plenty of clothes in your closet that will fit the bill for “Classic Day”. For “Favorite Jersey” day, a simple white T-shirt and a black Sharpie pen to write your favorite number on it will do the trick.
The 1960’s focus seems to be on tie-dye shirts, at least among my students. The Woodstock phenomenon seems to come to mind when people think of the 1960’s, but Woodstock occurred in August of 1969, at the very end of the decade. As for myself, I was a teenager in the 1960’s and subject to high school dress codes and my mother’s stern approval of what I wore. I entered college in the fall of 1969. Tie-dye shirts for me came in the 1970’s.
I also overheard a fan at last week’s game say, “In the 1960’s we dressed up for games.” That got me curious - what were we really wearing in the 1960’s?
I asked some of my old friends on Facebook this week and looked at some 1960’s fashion shows on Youtube.
Twiggy was the famous model in those days, and she was extremely thin, some would call her anorexic, wearing the London-based “mod” look: white geometric design shifts. Jacqueline Kennedy of course had a strong influence. As did actresses like Audrey Hepburn. There were tent dresses, a-line skirts, very brightly colored and boldly printed dresses, and – how could we forget – vinyl dresses!
I remember paisley dresses and lots of plaid. Crochet vests that I made myself. Sleeveless shifts. Bell-bottom jeans. My Facebook friends remembered paisley tights that you wore with skirts or jumpers. Sweater sets and pleated skirts. Granny dresses. “Poor boy” striped shirts. Corduroy jumpers with turtlenecks. Stretch pants with stirrups matched with big shirts. Empire waist dresses and shirts. Mini-skirts with white “go-go” boots. My mother wouldn’t let me wear those!
As for hair? In the early to mid-1960’s we all followed Jackie Kennedy. Bouffant style teased hair. We rolled our hair in orange juice cans and slept on them to create that effect. Then we all had "flips" and bangs. Later in the 1960’s we flattened our long hair with irons. In junior high and high school heavy eye makeup was in.
For men, the “mod” look was white tailored shirts with thin ties. There was heavy influence by Italian designers, so the cut on suits was tight. But as the “psychedelic” era evolved there was also emulation of some female fashion trends: paisley shirts, bold print shirts, as well as cowboy shirts, bell-bottoms. The hippie era of course spawned t-shirts, jeans, and of course tie-dyes.
So for Classic Day, you can either adopt the “hippie/psychedelic” look or be, well, classic, even a little dressed up. I have a navy blue Penn State cardigan sweater set that easily could be from the 1960’s. I’ll add a 3-stranded pearl necklace that I inherited from my Mom, straight from the Jackie Kennedy era. And perhaps just to acknowledge the hippie era, I’ll wear my boot cut jeans, the closest thing I have to bell-bottoms.
I’ll save my spending on new Penn State clothes for the bowl trip!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Orangemen Return to Beaver Stadium
For the first time since 1990, the Syracuse Orangemen will play our Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. After last weekend’s close game against Minnesota, where they lost in overtime, I’m curious as to how this team will perform against Penn State.
A team that I viewed as sort of “ho-hum” after last year’s blow-out win has turned into a team that might be quite exciting to watch. I do hope it’s not too exciting!
I’m also curious about their new Duke point guard-turned-Syracuse quarterback. Greg Paulus, as a high school quarterback for Christian Brothers Academy in Dewitt, New York, a suburb of Syracuse, led his team to a 13-0 state title, and a #13 national ranking by USA Today. He was also named the 2004 Gatorade national player of the year in football. Last week was his first college snap. After a brief time in pre-season he beat out two Syracuse contenders for the position who had more experience at the college level. In his first game he completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
My guess – and it’s only a guess - is that Paulus’s past experience gave him an intangible edge– he has learned what it is like to win, both in high school and at Duke. Sometimes a team needs a leader that knows how to win, who has experienced what that feels like. In addition, at Duke, he was coached by one of the best coaches in sports, Mike Krzyzewski. You can’t be a 3-year starter for Duke without being a competitor and you can’t be a successful point guard without being a leader.
That’s what Doug Marrone, the new head coach, needs if he wants to turn Syracuse around. Leadership, and perhaps someone who is completely open to a new way of doing things.
Speaking of Doug Marrone, he has coached exactly one game in college football – last week against Minnesota. But he was offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, and a starting offensive lineman for Syracuse from 1983-1985. He knows football. Despite a young team, Syracuse almost won last week against a Big Ten team.
A couple of people have told me, “But Penn State’s defense is much better than Minnesota’s.” They’re not worried, they think Penn State has more weapons than Minnesota. I agree. We have proven leadership on our team and we have experienced success, intangibles that make it hard to fail, especially in front of a home crowd.
But I worry about the hunger of Syracuse. A team that is hungry – and angry about a close loss the week before - is a tough team to play, regardless of their talent. My guess is that they will leave it all on the field on Saturday. They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
It is said that the most improvement in a team occurs between the first and second games of the season. Penn State has the most talent and experience, both in coaching and on the team, but which team will improve the most?
I guess that’s why we play the game!
A team that I viewed as sort of “ho-hum” after last year’s blow-out win has turned into a team that might be quite exciting to watch. I do hope it’s not too exciting!
I’m also curious about their new Duke point guard-turned-Syracuse quarterback. Greg Paulus, as a high school quarterback for Christian Brothers Academy in Dewitt, New York, a suburb of Syracuse, led his team to a 13-0 state title, and a #13 national ranking by USA Today. He was also named the 2004 Gatorade national player of the year in football. Last week was his first college snap. After a brief time in pre-season he beat out two Syracuse contenders for the position who had more experience at the college level. In his first game he completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
My guess – and it’s only a guess - is that Paulus’s past experience gave him an intangible edge– he has learned what it is like to win, both in high school and at Duke. Sometimes a team needs a leader that knows how to win, who has experienced what that feels like. In addition, at Duke, he was coached by one of the best coaches in sports, Mike Krzyzewski. You can’t be a 3-year starter for Duke without being a competitor and you can’t be a successful point guard without being a leader.
That’s what Doug Marrone, the new head coach, needs if he wants to turn Syracuse around. Leadership, and perhaps someone who is completely open to a new way of doing things.
Speaking of Doug Marrone, he has coached exactly one game in college football – last week against Minnesota. But he was offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, and a starting offensive lineman for Syracuse from 1983-1985. He knows football. Despite a young team, Syracuse almost won last week against a Big Ten team.
A couple of people have told me, “But Penn State’s defense is much better than Minnesota’s.” They’re not worried, they think Penn State has more weapons than Minnesota. I agree. We have proven leadership on our team and we have experienced success, intangibles that make it hard to fail, especially in front of a home crowd.
But I worry about the hunger of Syracuse. A team that is hungry – and angry about a close loss the week before - is a tough team to play, regardless of their talent. My guess is that they will leave it all on the field on Saturday. They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
It is said that the most improvement in a team occurs between the first and second games of the season. Penn State has the most talent and experience, both in coaching and on the team, but which team will improve the most?
I guess that’s why we play the game!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
PSU vs. Akron: A Good Start, But Not Great
Yesterday's game was as expected: a solid win against an opponent that doesn't have the horsepower to compete with a team of Penn State's caliber. Quarterback Darryl Clark and his wide receivers put on a passing clinic. We were especially impressed with his connections with No. 6 Derek Moye, who caught 6 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
It was a good thing that the passing game went well. Akron basically forced Penn State to pass. They stopped our running game in its tracks, and that's a huge concern.
Of our 515 yards in offense, 379 yards were through the air. We achieved only 136 yards in rushing, and 37 of those were by a member of the punting team, Andrew Dailey, on a fake punt.
That play, by the way, woke up a sleepy crowd in our section of the stands. We all turned to each other and said, "Hey, what the heck was that?" Nice play and a complete surprise. But resorting to tricks because you can't establish a run might work against Akron. It won't work so well in the Big Ten.
There were times, too, when we thought that Darryl Clark's passes were dangerously close to being intercepted. We thought he took some chances that fortunately worked out, as we breathed some sighs of relief.
We were impressed with Penn State's defensive performance. Akron had a very experienced offense, and it was basically shut down for most of the game. It was good to see Sean Lee back in action. We were wondering what happened to Navorro Bowman -there was some confusion in the stands at first due to his change in number from #18 to #11 but then we didn't see #11 on the field after the first few plays. Sorry to hear that he has a right groin injury. But Nathan Stupar stepped up and had a great day.
Okay, we had a great first half. But we didn't score in the second half at all. Akron must have made some defensive adjustments. Or our team fell asleep. Or both.
The Penn State team has to learn to play 60 minutes, not 30. That was another dangerous sign. It might be easy to hold a lead against Akron, but a 31-0 half-time lead can be quickly wiped out in a second half. We've all seen it happen. What seems like a "laugher" turns into a tight game at the end.
It was good to see Kevin Newsome take his first snaps and create some excitement. He put Penn State in the position to attempt another score at the end of the game, but they ran out the clock instead.
People in the stands had mixed feelings about this. Some felt the score wasn't high enough to maintain our poll standings. Others felt that running up the score isn't our style, so to heck with the polls. I'm with the latter group. The game was won and the score was never close. I'll worry about the polls after October 3rd.
As for the crowd, the student section was full about 18 minutes into the game. Probably due to a relentless sun in their faces, it was pretty empty by the beginning of the 4th quarter. In fact the entire stadium appeared to make an early exit. It took us about 15 minutes to get home after the game. No traffic at all.
What are your thoughts about yesterday's game?
It was a good thing that the passing game went well. Akron basically forced Penn State to pass. They stopped our running game in its tracks, and that's a huge concern.
Of our 515 yards in offense, 379 yards were through the air. We achieved only 136 yards in rushing, and 37 of those were by a member of the punting team, Andrew Dailey, on a fake punt.
That play, by the way, woke up a sleepy crowd in our section of the stands. We all turned to each other and said, "Hey, what the heck was that?" Nice play and a complete surprise. But resorting to tricks because you can't establish a run might work against Akron. It won't work so well in the Big Ten.
There were times, too, when we thought that Darryl Clark's passes were dangerously close to being intercepted. We thought he took some chances that fortunately worked out, as we breathed some sighs of relief.
We were impressed with Penn State's defensive performance. Akron had a very experienced offense, and it was basically shut down for most of the game. It was good to see Sean Lee back in action. We were wondering what happened to Navorro Bowman -there was some confusion in the stands at first due to his change in number from #18 to #11 but then we didn't see #11 on the field after the first few plays. Sorry to hear that he has a right groin injury. But Nathan Stupar stepped up and had a great day.
Okay, we had a great first half. But we didn't score in the second half at all. Akron must have made some defensive adjustments. Or our team fell asleep. Or both.
The Penn State team has to learn to play 60 minutes, not 30. That was another dangerous sign. It might be easy to hold a lead against Akron, but a 31-0 half-time lead can be quickly wiped out in a second half. We've all seen it happen. What seems like a "laugher" turns into a tight game at the end.
It was good to see Kevin Newsome take his first snaps and create some excitement. He put Penn State in the position to attempt another score at the end of the game, but they ran out the clock instead.
People in the stands had mixed feelings about this. Some felt the score wasn't high enough to maintain our poll standings. Others felt that running up the score isn't our style, so to heck with the polls. I'm with the latter group. The game was won and the score was never close. I'll worry about the polls after October 3rd.
As for the crowd, the student section was full about 18 minutes into the game. Probably due to a relentless sun in their faces, it was pretty empty by the beginning of the 4th quarter. In fact the entire stadium appeared to make an early exit. It took us about 15 minutes to get home after the game. No traffic at all.
What are your thoughts about yesterday's game?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Buy Ice, Pack the Cooler, "Dress" the Car, Check for Tickets, Get to the Game!
The tailgating scene at Beaver Stadium is the best in the country. At least, we've never seen anything quite like it anywhere else, and we've been to a lot of different stadiums. Why? We have the advantage of lots of agricultural land and parking lots surrounding Beaver Stadium to accommodate the crowds who pour into University Park on any given football Saturday. A lot of stadiums just don't have the luxury of space.
The scene is one massive party, with some very elaborate preparations by many tailgaters: charcoal grills, satellite dishes to carry the game on TV, tents, and all sorts of games. Not everyone has a ticket to the game, so they just come for the party.
And the food! There are some people I've met in this town who spend 2-3 days just cooking for their weekly tailgate. I'm not one of them. I'll go to the Wegman's grocery store for something special if we have guests. They have an amazing selection of tailgate food.
Elaborate preparations are not for us. We usually keep it very simple. We pack our one cooler, at least 25 years old, with mostly soda, a few beers, and some ice. We have one grocery bag with miscellaneous items and snacks. We have a tray in the cooler that might carry a sub or some cheese and fruit. We throw four chairs into the trunk, perhaps a table. We throw extra layers of clothing if we need them into the trunk, check that we have our tickets and parking pass. That's about it. But we do have two rituals: mascots and magnets.
We add to our car an old, stuffed lion, at least 30 years old, a blue and white hand-knit prayer shawl, also old, and the mascot of the opposing team we play. These will adorn the roof of our car at the tailgate. We are very superstitious about bringing these to every game. We think they add luck and increase our chances of winning.
Today, we "dressed" our car with Penn State magnets. We used to do this when we owned a white car years ago and drove 185 miles to a home game from Easton, PA. For a while, we also brought them to away games. We always rented white cars from Avis so the magnets would stand out. But later we owned a red car, then a green one, and the magnets didn't look quite right. They adorned our refrigerator instead. And carrying magnets with us on airplanes became burdensome, so we stopped. But Avis always gives us a white car anyhow. It's in our record. They apologize when they don't have one.
This summer, we purchased a midnight blue car - Penn State navy blue. I had the magnets in mind when I convinced Terry to shy away from the red one he preferred. Besides, I didn't want us to drive a red car to Beaver Stadium for the Ohio State game!
So all 26 of the magnets we have collected over the years were positioned on our new car for the drive to Beaver Stadium. Terry thinks I'm crazy, but I will insist on it from now on. It turns heads as we drive down the street.
Finally, we're ready to go. There's a final check to make sure we really do have the tickets and parking in our possession. We leave for the stadium - 7 miles away on back roads. It takes about 15 minutes, 30 minutes if it's a big game.
We park behind the North End Zone in the shadow of the stadium. A pleasant grassy reserved parking lot with some very nice people around us. A mix of old people, younger people, and kids. We see them week after week during football season. Many of them have elaborate tailgates and tons of people who meet them there. And on a sunny day like today, everyone has a great time. It's a very family-oriented, pleasant environment where we park. Lots of kids throwing footballs, older people get into a game of "tailgate golf" or bean bags. It's easy to forget that the reason we're here is the game, especially on a sunny day like today.
We're always the first to pack up our tailgate and leave for the gates - that's one of the reason we keep our tailgate simple! About 75 minutes before the game Terry starts getting antsy. He wants to watch the pre-game warm-ups and be in the seats an hour before the game. I like to take lots of photos of the "scene" surrounding the stadium. I usually tell him I'll meet him in the seats and take pictures until the pre-game show.
In the stadium there are old friends. Terry has had the same seats for 31 years at Beaver Stadium. So has Larry, who sits right in front of us, and his son Darryl, who has had a few tours of duty in Afghanistan. I always breath a sigh of relief when I see him each fall. Dave and Sharon, old friends from Allentown, and Dave's sister Janet and her husband John, who make their annual trek up from Florida for the first game of every season. We have two extra tickets next to us that we use for guests. Today our guests were Ben and his friend. As a kid, Ben used to come to games with his father Mike, a former colleague of mine and a Penn State grad. We hadn't seen Ben for six years, and he is now a college graduate. His friend, a Tulane graduate, had never been to a Penn State game. He was awestruck.
So reunions - in the parking lot - in the stadium. Tailgate by tailgate, row by row, everyone reunites for yet another season and gathers for one purpose: to see Penn State win. We really are a family. And if you combine all these individual experiences together it's one BIG family. The 2009 Penn State White-Out T-Shirt says on the back, "Don't Be Intimidated. It's Just Me and 110,000 of my Friends". It's really true.
The first game of the season, on a perfect summer-like day. It doesn't get any better than this, especially when we win!
The scene is one massive party, with some very elaborate preparations by many tailgaters: charcoal grills, satellite dishes to carry the game on TV, tents, and all sorts of games. Not everyone has a ticket to the game, so they just come for the party.
And the food! There are some people I've met in this town who spend 2-3 days just cooking for their weekly tailgate. I'm not one of them. I'll go to the Wegman's grocery store for something special if we have guests. They have an amazing selection of tailgate food.
Elaborate preparations are not for us. We usually keep it very simple. We pack our one cooler, at least 25 years old, with mostly soda, a few beers, and some ice. We have one grocery bag with miscellaneous items and snacks. We have a tray in the cooler that might carry a sub or some cheese and fruit. We throw four chairs into the trunk, perhaps a table. We throw extra layers of clothing if we need them into the trunk, check that we have our tickets and parking pass. That's about it. But we do have two rituals: mascots and magnets.
We add to our car an old, stuffed lion, at least 30 years old, a blue and white hand-knit prayer shawl, also old, and the mascot of the opposing team we play. These will adorn the roof of our car at the tailgate. We are very superstitious about bringing these to every game. We think they add luck and increase our chances of winning.
Today, we "dressed" our car with Penn State magnets. We used to do this when we owned a white car years ago and drove 185 miles to a home game from Easton, PA. For a while, we also brought them to away games. We always rented white cars from Avis so the magnets would stand out. But later we owned a red car, then a green one, and the magnets didn't look quite right. They adorned our refrigerator instead. And carrying magnets with us on airplanes became burdensome, so we stopped. But Avis always gives us a white car anyhow. It's in our record. They apologize when they don't have one.
This summer, we purchased a midnight blue car - Penn State navy blue. I had the magnets in mind when I convinced Terry to shy away from the red one he preferred. Besides, I didn't want us to drive a red car to Beaver Stadium for the Ohio State game!
So all 26 of the magnets we have collected over the years were positioned on our new car for the drive to Beaver Stadium. Terry thinks I'm crazy, but I will insist on it from now on. It turns heads as we drive down the street.
Finally, we're ready to go. There's a final check to make sure we really do have the tickets and parking in our possession. We leave for the stadium - 7 miles away on back roads. It takes about 15 minutes, 30 minutes if it's a big game.
We park behind the North End Zone in the shadow of the stadium. A pleasant grassy reserved parking lot with some very nice people around us. A mix of old people, younger people, and kids. We see them week after week during football season. Many of them have elaborate tailgates and tons of people who meet them there. And on a sunny day like today, everyone has a great time. It's a very family-oriented, pleasant environment where we park. Lots of kids throwing footballs, older people get into a game of "tailgate golf" or bean bags. It's easy to forget that the reason we're here is the game, especially on a sunny day like today.
We're always the first to pack up our tailgate and leave for the gates - that's one of the reason we keep our tailgate simple! About 75 minutes before the game Terry starts getting antsy. He wants to watch the pre-game warm-ups and be in the seats an hour before the game. I like to take lots of photos of the "scene" surrounding the stadium. I usually tell him I'll meet him in the seats and take pictures until the pre-game show.
In the stadium there are old friends. Terry has had the same seats for 31 years at Beaver Stadium. So has Larry, who sits right in front of us, and his son Darryl, who has had a few tours of duty in Afghanistan. I always breath a sigh of relief when I see him each fall. Dave and Sharon, old friends from Allentown, and Dave's sister Janet and her husband John, who make their annual trek up from Florida for the first game of every season. We have two extra tickets next to us that we use for guests. Today our guests were Ben and his friend. As a kid, Ben used to come to games with his father Mike, a former colleague of mine and a Penn State grad. We hadn't seen Ben for six years, and he is now a college graduate. His friend, a Tulane graduate, had never been to a Penn State game. He was awestruck.
So reunions - in the parking lot - in the stadium. Tailgate by tailgate, row by row, everyone reunites for yet another season and gathers for one purpose: to see Penn State win. We really are a family. And if you combine all these individual experiences together it's one BIG family. The 2009 Penn State White-Out T-Shirt says on the back, "Don't Be Intimidated. It's Just Me and 110,000 of my Friends". It's really true.
The first game of the season, on a perfect summer-like day. It doesn't get any better than this, especially when we win!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
College Football is Here! Why Is It So Much Fun?
I can't even count how many times this topic has come up: What is it about college football - and Penn State - that has you hooked? Why do you go to all those games?
There are four aspects of the game that are attractive to me: the customer experience of being physically present at a game, the chance to watch young players evolve over 4-5 years, the game itself with its complex strategic elements, and the post-game banter at the workplace after a game.
Marketers talk a lot about the customer experience. We try to figure out what is it that makes customers want to come back and partake of our products or services again. Penn State has built one of the best customer experiences in the nation. That experience includes the tailgating, the interaction with other fans, the pre-game and halftime shows, the crowd, the crazy student section, the post-game tailgates waiting for the parking lots to clear out.
For away games it is visiting a new campus, experiencing their unique traditions and atmosphere, and good-natured bantering with opposing team fans – often being invited to one of their tailgates on an impromptu basis. None of this experience can be obtained by watching a game on TV. For a football novice like myself when I started attending games, it was this customer experience that was the first “hook” – I knew nothing really about the game at first.
The second aspect that hooked me was the chance to see players evolve over time. Over a stretch of 4-5 years, you watch each of these young men develop their skills from their first appearance in a spring Blue-White scrimmage game to their final appearance on Senior Day, their last home football game. You watch them play every down during their career. You watch their freshman mistakes and the ups and downs. You feel the grief when they get injured. You feel the joy when they turn into difference-makers between winning and losing a game. You are thrilled when they graduate, but also sad because they definitely will be missed.
Most of the college football players you come to know and love over 4-5 years will graduate and become successful in other fields besides sports. Only a handful will enter the NFL, and very few of those will survive more than a few years. A school like Penn State ensures success not only on the field, but also off the field, through carefully monitoring their academic progress and ensuring that they are prepared for life beyond football. I can vouch for that personally. Nobody in athletics has ever pressured me over a student-athlete's grades. Even when I gave an "F" on a mid-term to a critically important football player who was a difference-maker in every game!
Over time, I’ve learned how the game is played. It’s easy to learn the basics, but harder to learn all the offensive and defensive schemes. I’m still not totally confident in all the X’s and O’s, but I can now recognize certain plays as they develop on the field, have fun second-guessing what plays might come next, or what plays might have worked better than the failure that just occurred. I now follow the entire line-up of players and not just the ball. I pay more attention to things like good blocks and tackles that allow plays to be successful. I have appreciation for the competitive strategy involved. It’s a game that appeals to the intellect as well as the more base emotions when plays go right or go wrong. It’s simply engaging once you know enough to follow what’s happening.
And there are constant surprises. Just ask Joe Paterno. Even with all his experience with the most wins in college football, he can be out-coached. That's what makes it so fascinating.
Finally, there’s the post-game banter. When I started my life with Terry, I worked in marketing at a company in New Jersey. I didn't have an appreciation for the role that sports plays in the workplace. But once I became a devotee of Penn State football, there would be a string of visitors in my office on Monday morning – Penn State fans or Big Ten fans or even some who despised Penn State – who came by just to comment on the game, to get my take on “what really happened” because they knew I was there and all they saw was what was shown on TV. Being an avid Penn State fan enhanced my reputation in the workplace and carried over to work-related teamwork.
I also can’t count how many men would come to my office and ask me how to get their wives involved in the game. They were secretly jealous of my husband Terry that I was so committed to going to the games with him. I never quite had an answer for them. I had been converted from a non-sports fan but I really couldn't articulate how to do it for others.
That post-game banter continues at Penn State with the students and colleagues, but it's somewhat different now that I'm teaching at Penn State, because it's all PSU fans. I often start my classes with a few photos from each Saturday’s game. The students love the photos when we win. They don’t want to be reminded though of a loss. They begged me not to show the Iowa pictures last year! I did anyway to their chagrin, because the customer experience of being at Iowa – a great tailgating environment with very friendly fans, a wonderful atmosphere in the stadium – is worth knowing about. I wasn’t so excited about showing my students the Rose Bowl pictures. I stuck mostly to the Rose Parade. There wasn’t much to say about the game.
So now...a new season! The opening game is always fun, and the speculation about how the season will turn out will be intense! Time to get ready... it's less than 48 hours away!
There are four aspects of the game that are attractive to me: the customer experience of being physically present at a game, the chance to watch young players evolve over 4-5 years, the game itself with its complex strategic elements, and the post-game banter at the workplace after a game.
Marketers talk a lot about the customer experience. We try to figure out what is it that makes customers want to come back and partake of our products or services again. Penn State has built one of the best customer experiences in the nation. That experience includes the tailgating, the interaction with other fans, the pre-game and halftime shows, the crowd, the crazy student section, the post-game tailgates waiting for the parking lots to clear out.
For away games it is visiting a new campus, experiencing their unique traditions and atmosphere, and good-natured bantering with opposing team fans – often being invited to one of their tailgates on an impromptu basis. None of this experience can be obtained by watching a game on TV. For a football novice like myself when I started attending games, it was this customer experience that was the first “hook” – I knew nothing really about the game at first.
The second aspect that hooked me was the chance to see players evolve over time. Over a stretch of 4-5 years, you watch each of these young men develop their skills from their first appearance in a spring Blue-White scrimmage game to their final appearance on Senior Day, their last home football game. You watch them play every down during their career. You watch their freshman mistakes and the ups and downs. You feel the grief when they get injured. You feel the joy when they turn into difference-makers between winning and losing a game. You are thrilled when they graduate, but also sad because they definitely will be missed.
Most of the college football players you come to know and love over 4-5 years will graduate and become successful in other fields besides sports. Only a handful will enter the NFL, and very few of those will survive more than a few years. A school like Penn State ensures success not only on the field, but also off the field, through carefully monitoring their academic progress and ensuring that they are prepared for life beyond football. I can vouch for that personally. Nobody in athletics has ever pressured me over a student-athlete's grades. Even when I gave an "F" on a mid-term to a critically important football player who was a difference-maker in every game!
Over time, I’ve learned how the game is played. It’s easy to learn the basics, but harder to learn all the offensive and defensive schemes. I’m still not totally confident in all the X’s and O’s, but I can now recognize certain plays as they develop on the field, have fun second-guessing what plays might come next, or what plays might have worked better than the failure that just occurred. I now follow the entire line-up of players and not just the ball. I pay more attention to things like good blocks and tackles that allow plays to be successful. I have appreciation for the competitive strategy involved. It’s a game that appeals to the intellect as well as the more base emotions when plays go right or go wrong. It’s simply engaging once you know enough to follow what’s happening.
And there are constant surprises. Just ask Joe Paterno. Even with all his experience with the most wins in college football, he can be out-coached. That's what makes it so fascinating.
Finally, there’s the post-game banter. When I started my life with Terry, I worked in marketing at a company in New Jersey. I didn't have an appreciation for the role that sports plays in the workplace. But once I became a devotee of Penn State football, there would be a string of visitors in my office on Monday morning – Penn State fans or Big Ten fans or even some who despised Penn State – who came by just to comment on the game, to get my take on “what really happened” because they knew I was there and all they saw was what was shown on TV. Being an avid Penn State fan enhanced my reputation in the workplace and carried over to work-related teamwork.
I also can’t count how many men would come to my office and ask me how to get their wives involved in the game. They were secretly jealous of my husband Terry that I was so committed to going to the games with him. I never quite had an answer for them. I had been converted from a non-sports fan but I really couldn't articulate how to do it for others.
That post-game banter continues at Penn State with the students and colleagues, but it's somewhat different now that I'm teaching at Penn State, because it's all PSU fans. I often start my classes with a few photos from each Saturday’s game. The students love the photos when we win. They don’t want to be reminded though of a loss. They begged me not to show the Iowa pictures last year! I did anyway to their chagrin, because the customer experience of being at Iowa – a great tailgating environment with very friendly fans, a wonderful atmosphere in the stadium – is worth knowing about. I wasn’t so excited about showing my students the Rose Bowl pictures. I stuck mostly to the Rose Parade. There wasn’t much to say about the game.
So now...a new season! The opening game is always fun, and the speculation about how the season will turn out will be intense! Time to get ready... it's less than 48 hours away!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
#1's abound: Best Student Section, Best Party School, and then there's Zippy!
Football season is finally here, and we have a lot to anticipate for Saturday's game. First and foremost, we will get to see what the new Penn State football team has to offer. It's hard to know at this point in the season what we have.
Joe Paterno has already stated "We're lousy". But that doesn't mean we won't win. It just means that there will be some kinks to work out in Penn State's armor. The key to the first game of any season is which team is LESS lousy than the other team. The team that's more adept at working out the first game kinks will be the team that wins the game.
The 12 noon start works a bit in Akron's favor. Why? Because the #1 Student Section in the country, as declared by Kirk Herbstreit this week, is a bit slow when it comes to these early games. If they follow the typical pattern for a 12 noon game, the student section won't be full until perhaps 20 minutes into the first half. And without the students, the atmosphere isn't quite as intimidating as it could be.
If Akron scores early in the first half and builds confidence in themselves going into half-time, the game will be closer than some might predict. We need the student section - their energy and noise and craziness! Herbstreit's declaration is well-deserved - for games that start at 3:30 p.m. or later. Or for the second half of any game. But I've seen 12 noon games where a "lesser" team has capitalized on the more subdued 1st half atmosphere, and Penn State has struggled to catch up and win.
I'm confident that Penn State will win this game. But we need more than that: we need the chance to build experience and depth in our positions. We need to score big early, not late, so the second and third string players get some playing time, especially our new quarterbacks. We need the student section because they matter. Their noise and enthusiasm carries the rest of the stadium.
Often on a Monday morning I have shown the students a photo of the half-empty student section and asked them why they weren't there at kickoff. I show them the time on the scoreboard when the section is finally full. I get the inevitable answer: "But I tried to get there early and the gates were too slow." What time did you arrive at the gates, I ask. "Oh I was there a full 15 minutes before kickoff." LOL. It's a bit impossible anywhere at Beaver Stadium, even with reserved seats, if you wait that long to enter! We're at the gates an hour before kickoff to watch the pre-game warm-ups and then the pre-game show. Even a 15-minute delay getting to the gates can cause us to barely make it for the Star Spangled Banner.
Here's where the #1 party school as designated by the Princeton Review conflicts with the #1 student section as declared by Herbstreit. It's not that the students are sleeping in on a Saturday morning. They're at their very organized and elaborate tailgates by 8 or 9 a.m. It's just that the students are reluctant to leave their parties, and eternally optimistic about how long it will take to get to their seats once they arrive at the gates. The game isn't their only priority.
I shudder to think of what might happen this Saturday with the new student ID system for ticket exchange and gate entry. I hope it works smoothly and that it actually speeds up the process of admission at the gates. I will hear the complaints in class on Monday if there are problems!
In the meantime, we have Zippy to welcome, Akron's award-winning mascot. Zippy was declared the 2008 #1 mascot in a contest sponsored by Capital One. I don't remember much about the last time we played Akron, but I do remember Zippy as being an especially entertaining mascot. There should be some fun antics on the field between our Nittany Lion and Zippy.
When we joined the Big Ten in 1993, we started collecting the stuffed mascots of every opposing team at away games. Each fall, we line up the mascots in the order that Penn State plays the teams on our fireplace mantle. At the beginning of the season, all mascots are standing. If we win, we turn them face down. If we lose, the mascots remain standing. Right now our Iowa Hawkeye mascot is the only mascot that's standing on our mantle. I normally like to buy these mascots in person at away games. I couldn't find one at the Rose Bowl for USC. It's okay. I don't really want to be reminded of that loss.
But I just ordered a stuffed version of Zippy to be delivered by overnight express to our house. It's worth adding Zippy to our mascot collection. He's a very cute kangaroo!
Once Zippy arrives, we will re-arrange our mascots on the mantle - all standing up in the order we play them - to start the new season. An annual ritual.
Ahh! Football!!! It's upon us. Go Penn State!!! Let's win some games and build some experience.
Joe Paterno has already stated "We're lousy". But that doesn't mean we won't win. It just means that there will be some kinks to work out in Penn State's armor. The key to the first game of any season is which team is LESS lousy than the other team. The team that's more adept at working out the first game kinks will be the team that wins the game.
The 12 noon start works a bit in Akron's favor. Why? Because the #1 Student Section in the country, as declared by Kirk Herbstreit this week, is a bit slow when it comes to these early games. If they follow the typical pattern for a 12 noon game, the student section won't be full until perhaps 20 minutes into the first half. And without the students, the atmosphere isn't quite as intimidating as it could be.
If Akron scores early in the first half and builds confidence in themselves going into half-time, the game will be closer than some might predict. We need the student section - their energy and noise and craziness! Herbstreit's declaration is well-deserved - for games that start at 3:30 p.m. or later. Or for the second half of any game. But I've seen 12 noon games where a "lesser" team has capitalized on the more subdued 1st half atmosphere, and Penn State has struggled to catch up and win.
I'm confident that Penn State will win this game. But we need more than that: we need the chance to build experience and depth in our positions. We need to score big early, not late, so the second and third string players get some playing time, especially our new quarterbacks. We need the student section because they matter. Their noise and enthusiasm carries the rest of the stadium.
Often on a Monday morning I have shown the students a photo of the half-empty student section and asked them why they weren't there at kickoff. I show them the time on the scoreboard when the section is finally full. I get the inevitable answer: "But I tried to get there early and the gates were too slow." What time did you arrive at the gates, I ask. "Oh I was there a full 15 minutes before kickoff." LOL. It's a bit impossible anywhere at Beaver Stadium, even with reserved seats, if you wait that long to enter! We're at the gates an hour before kickoff to watch the pre-game warm-ups and then the pre-game show. Even a 15-minute delay getting to the gates can cause us to barely make it for the Star Spangled Banner.
Here's where the #1 party school as designated by the Princeton Review conflicts with the #1 student section as declared by Herbstreit. It's not that the students are sleeping in on a Saturday morning. They're at their very organized and elaborate tailgates by 8 or 9 a.m. It's just that the students are reluctant to leave their parties, and eternally optimistic about how long it will take to get to their seats once they arrive at the gates. The game isn't their only priority.
I shudder to think of what might happen this Saturday with the new student ID system for ticket exchange and gate entry. I hope it works smoothly and that it actually speeds up the process of admission at the gates. I will hear the complaints in class on Monday if there are problems!
In the meantime, we have Zippy to welcome, Akron's award-winning mascot. Zippy was declared the 2008 #1 mascot in a contest sponsored by Capital One. I don't remember much about the last time we played Akron, but I do remember Zippy as being an especially entertaining mascot. There should be some fun antics on the field between our Nittany Lion and Zippy.
When we joined the Big Ten in 1993, we started collecting the stuffed mascots of every opposing team at away games. Each fall, we line up the mascots in the order that Penn State plays the teams on our fireplace mantle. At the beginning of the season, all mascots are standing. If we win, we turn them face down. If we lose, the mascots remain standing. Right now our Iowa Hawkeye mascot is the only mascot that's standing on our mantle. I normally like to buy these mascots in person at away games. I couldn't find one at the Rose Bowl for USC. It's okay. I don't really want to be reminded of that loss.
But I just ordered a stuffed version of Zippy to be delivered by overnight express to our house. It's worth adding Zippy to our mascot collection. He's a very cute kangaroo!
Once Zippy arrives, we will re-arrange our mascots on the mantle - all standing up in the order we play them - to start the new season. An annual ritual.
Ahh! Football!!! It's upon us. Go Penn State!!! Let's win some games and build some experience.
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