A Real College Football Experience
Written: Oct 19 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Tailgating second-to-none; Incredible atmosphere; Fun for all ages
Cons: Ticket availability; Bathroom facilities
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| bgabel's Full Review: Beaver Stadium |
As a Penn State alumnus, I may be jaded and biased but how could anyone, short of a Cornhusker or a Seminole, fail to become enamored of Beaver Stadium and Happy Valley? Penn State's current football season notwithstanding, game day at Beaver Stadium is simply the quintessential college football experience. Intensity, energy, anticipation, sprawling, wide-open spaces, merry times, electrified fans, beer, food aromas, acres of blue and white, crisp, autumn mountain weather, gorgeous campus, huge stadium capacity, zillions of people, good attitudes, carefree thoughts, beer, RVs, big screen TVs, buffet lines, blimps, horizon-less tailgating. Sure, other stadiums may have a strong tailgating experience, but only Beaver Stadium is in Happy Valley.
With a rated capacity of 94,000+ and a usual attendance of 96,000-97,000, Beaver Stadium draws many, many of the Penn State faithful to State College during the fall weekends. Even more telling, more people are often to be found OUTSIDE the stadium during the game; there are that many fans. If there is a higher concentration of blue and white anywhere, it's called the sky.
Since Penn State tends to get many 12:05PM games, thanks to its East Coast location and typical television coverage, many tailgaters are still drunk from the night before. Bloody Mary's (with extra hot sauce to wake you up) seem to be a good choice for many, although cold beer is still the preferred beverage. Unfortunately, the politically correct administration banned kegs at tailgates in the early '90s, so the grounds of Beaver Stadium have become a treasure trove for aluminum producers like Alcoa. I'm not one for early morning alcohol consumption, and maybe that's a good thing, because there aren't enough places to pee inside or outside the stadium.
I absolutely love how overboard some people go to enhance their tailgating experience. It's not uncommon to see massive RVs parked alongside gas grills, long buffet tables, dining tables and chairs, wet bars, big screen TVs and sofas RIGHT ON THE GRASS! If they can haul it, people will bring it and plunk it on the ground. Since you can get lost in the sea of RVs, cars and trucks, many experienced tailgaters fly flags or inflatable characters to mark their spot. It's a real carnival atmosphere.
Of course, the lucky fans with the RVs pay big bucks to have special season parking spots for their rigs. Most of the parking immediately near the stadium is reserved for certain season pass holders. However, because Penn State still is a lot of wide-open space, parking is not a problem for ordinary folks who show up for the day. Just remember that if it rains, your vehicle will be encrusted with mud as most parking is on grass.
Beaver Stadium itself is a great place to play football. Thanks to the bleacher seating, Beaver Stadium holds a lot of fans, but it isn’t massively imposing like an NFL stadium. Beaver Stadium is about as intimate as a group of 90,000+ people can expect. However, since PSU tickets are very hard to come by, scalpers make sure a few extra thousand fans cram the stadium with their fake, duplicated tickets. As a result, don’t always expect to find your seat unoccupied. Generally, this is OK because bleachers offer the ability to squeeze people in. When the wind is howling and snow is falling, you might want extra people to ward off of the cold. Those aluminum benches are COLD!
The stadium itself isn’t very ornate or unique. Three of the sides reach to the heavens and the other, southern side is open, allowing a view of Mt. Nittany. Enjoy the view while it lasts because PSU is bottling up that side with new, swanky club boxes for the corporate elite. Capacity will finally surpass 100,000, but not all alumni are happy about the loss of ambiance with a fully enclosed stadium. The northern side contains the most undesirable seats since its expansion deck is elevated up into the jet stream. I’m scared to go up there because the stair grading is very steep.
Of course, what makes Beaver Stadium great are the fans. It might not be the loudest stadium, but who doesn’t know about “WE ARE PENN STATE!” or the growling lion sound? Fans give the stadium flavor. Students get about 12,000 seats on the southeastern end; this is definitely the most enjoyable seating section. You’ll get bombarded with marshmallows and if you are lucky, icy cold, sticky soda. The PSU Marching Blue Band occupy the very southern section and keep the giddy freshmen section located beneath full of excitement. The visiting team’s fans get the northeastern section and are safely far enough from the rowdy students. Everywhere else is “open” ticket seating. Frankly, I like sitting near the student section, because all of the old, retired alumni filling some of the western seats don’t get excited enough.
Concessions are provided by the University’s Housing and Food Service and are fairly decent, in quality and price. Bathroom facilities are a major issue, though, as there are simply not enough of them. Of course, part of the problem is that everybody waits until a break in the gameplay and you could build 10,000 toilets and it wouldn’t be enough. Access to the stadium is generally acceptable as it has about 8 gates all around. Your best bet is to get inside the stadium at least 1 hour before kickoff.
I have many memories of PSU football at Beaver Stadium. I especially remember knocking off Notre Dame sometime in Fall 1991 and charging the field to take the goalposts. I also remember the shocking, demoralizing loss to Michigan in November 1997. The college football experience is heightened when you are surrounded by tens of thousands of rabid fans, drunkenly singing fight songs and not giving a care about the rest of the world. There’s a little bit of magic in Happy Valley.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bgabel
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Location: SE Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 87 members
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