My first Penn State game in 6 years

I went to school at Penn State and am a fan of Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions. My first game was three stadium expansions ago, and I have been at Beaver Stadium as Penn State beat Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Alabama.... but last Saturday's game versus the Chants was one of my favorite.

I need to thank Matt Lincoln for taking me with him to help cover the Chants. It was a busy, whirlwind of a trip and I am still exhausted. We flew into State College Friday morning on the team plane. As soon as we landed it was all business. We took the guest bus straight to the stadium to get a tour or the stadium, including the luxury boxes and the Penn State locker room. These are parts of the stadium that I had never seen before. We left the tour group to get some work done. I filed my weather report, while Matt worked on his reports for the 6 and 11pm Friday news. We were finished just in time to catch the CCU team as they arrived at the stadium for the first time. We wanted to catch the reaction of the players as they entered this huge stadium. The players spent about a half an hour getting their bearings at the stadium before heading out to the pracice field. Matt and I went to WPSU, Penn State's PBS television station. We used their facilities to send our material beck to WBTW, just in time for the 6pm news.

Game day, Saturday. We got up bright and early, but still had to sit in miles of traffic to get to the stadium. It may have been quicker to walk, but we were lugging all of our equipment. We settled into the press box high above the field, got a quick breakfast and got to work. Matt hit the field, while I watched the first half from the press box. This picture of the Chants taking the field shows how high up it was.



I made my way down to the field during the second quarter. The CCU marching band put on a nice show at halftime, plus Penn State honored the 40th anniversary of the 1968 team that went undefeated. Some Penn State greats were there, including Jack Ham, Franco Harris and current CCU Athletic Direcor Warren "Moose" Koegel. Here is Moose as his name was announced.



Being on the field for the second half was amazing. This is why this has to be one of the top Penn State games I have ever been to. You don't get to see, hear and feel the game like this when you are in the stands. The sound of the hits was amazing. When I was close to the game action, you could feel the ground shake as these guys run toward you. I had to constantly pay attention to what was going on.... both to the game to keep from getting tackles on the sidelines, and to all the Big Ten Network TV people running around and driving camera carts. I saw a few people that I know and have not seen in years. My friend Bob that I went to school with was there. I had talked to him on the phone the night before, but he was staying in his RV near the stadium, pretty far from where I was, so I did not get to meet up with him. I was surprised to see him on the field, but he is friends with someone who owns a minor league baseball team that was able to get a field pass. I also ran into my friend Joe. He is a TV meteorologist in Altoona, PA. We went to school together, and actually worked together for a few years. I have not seen Joe in 12 years, and even back then he would work at Beaver Stadium as an usher so he could watch the games. He is still doing this. He even vacations in Myrtle Beach every year, so he is going to look me up next time he is down.

At one point I made it over to the Penn State sidelines. I wanted to get a peak at JoePa (I get within 10 feet of him), and just watch the sidelines for a while. I saw Wally Richardson there. He is a former Penn State QB, but also the brother of current CCU QB Will Richardson. I introduced myself and asked if I could snap a picture for SCNow.com. He was very polite and friendly.



Toward the end of the game I had to hustle. Most of our equipment was still in the press box, high above the stadium. Matt needed help shooting the end of the game, but we also wanted to make sure we had all of our stuff ready so after the game we could bring it right to the bus. The team was leaving imediately after the game, and both Matt and I were nervous that they would leave without us. After Matt shot his final shots of the game, I grabbed our equipment and found our bus. Matt went right to the press conference, and I joined him shortly. I left the field through the tunnel that the CCU players had to leave through, and I was impressed with all of the Penn State fans congratulating the Chants, and wishing them luck for the rest of the season. I never realized that Penn State fans were so friendly. At the press conference, Coach Bennett praised Coach Paterno, and although he was upset with the final score, he was still glad they made the trip.



The flight home was nice and easy, and I was back at the station by 7:00. A great trip.... I hope Matt takes me along with him more often!

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