Hail to the Lions!
Written: Nov 06 '00 (Updated Nov 06 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Greatest College Football Stadium on Earth
Cons: seating a tad cramped.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Beaver Stadium |
Before my freshman year, I received the application for students to get season tickets to the Penn State home games. It took me all of about 15 seconds to open the application, fill it out, write the check ($36 a season!!) and send it in. Within weeks, I had my season pass - something I would get annually until I graduated (despite the $6 - $12 increase per season). Now, as an alumni, I don't donate enough to qualify for seats yet (1 seat, yes, 2 seats, no - and who wants to go alone, especially since I can't make all of the games anymore). But I still make it back for 1-2 games a year.
Introduction
Beaver Stadium is the Mecca of Penn State football, with Joe Paterno acting as the spiritual leader of the Nittany Lion faithful. Every football Saturday, the place becomes the third biggest city in the state (only Philly and Pittsburgh are larger), and there is more blue and white going around than you can shake a stick at. To give you an idea of the fanaticism, check out the parking lot on TV when they televise a game. There are people who spend most of their vacation just on football weekends to make it to the games.
The Spectacle
Beaver Stadium has changed in the years since I have been there, altering from it's cozy 84,000 people to almost 97,000 at present, although with the new deck installed, there will be over 100,000 keeping its standing at the 3rd largest college-only stadium in the country (Michigan and Tennessee have #1 and #2, and the Rose Bowl is used by Pro teams, so doesn't qualify).
Beaver Stadium sits on the far east side of campus, across the street from the new (and highly regarded) Bryce Jordan Center. It is a edifice which draws oohs and aahs from all who see it - moreover, it just has a feeling that is more than stone, steel and concrete. Moving across the parking lots in the throng of thousands, you catch your breath as you realize that you are entering an almost holy place where thousands of people can have identical moments of joy or agony (save for those visiting fans - who are alwasy cheering at the wrong time).
The stadium is set up so that the students take up the half of the south stands and a majority of the east stands. Alumni, fans and visitors get the rest, except for a slice of the northeast corner given to the visiting teams' fans. The pressbox sits high upon the west wall, the 'old' deck on the north face (which while high up, offers an incredible view), and the new addition is going up on the southern wall, above the freshman territory.
The field is lovingly cultivated and is known as one of the best fields in the country (perhaps to the world-class turf management degree at Penn State?). Someday I just hope to touch that field to feel what those players must feel when running across the hallowed ground.
The seats are a bit tight at times, since they are benches with the numbers designed to squeeze as many of the adoring fans in as possible. In the student sections, it used to be you simply showed up and saved an area for your friends, who crammed in together. New ticket policies have the students turn in their vouchers for designated seats. Thus, a group has to show up together to sit together - a bit of a hassle. C'est la vie, though - it's still worth it every time.
The stadium itself hums with the power of 100,00 fans cheering on their beloved team. The wave moves around the stadium, delighting 99% of students and alumni alike (I account for the other 1%), there are the cheers from one side of the stadium to the other of "We Are" - "Penn State", the counting of the Lion's pushups and the passing of the Lion (where the mascot jumps into the arms of the crowd who carry him to the top of the stadium) and of course, the game which has a completely different life live than on TV.
The Students
Typically, the students are the rowdiest bunch in the stadium, and they should be. They're young, their fanatical, often times they are drunk and they are living the Penn State experience then and there. I did it when I went there, and the times - even in the snowstorms, the cold rain as well as those bright, warm, beautiful days - were all worth it.
The student sections have a life of their own, from the traditional marshmallow toss to the more dangerous 'plastic cup tossing' (hey, I ended up with 30 plastic cups for the house from one of these...). When I was there, we stocked up on oranges from the dining hall to pelt the Syracuse Orangeman. Incredibly, he allowed himself to be passed up the stands (dumb, DUMB!), where he was set upon by ruthless students and barely escaped with his health, if not most of his foam costume (the police got him before the students at the top of the crowd could answer to the cries of 'O-ver ... O-VER ... OOOO-VER', to which the Orangement started frantically fighting for his life).
I also remember games where I froze my butt off but never thought twice about standing up to get my face on TV during a kick (back in the day before the nets, when we would catch the footballs). The students epitomize the feelings at Penn State, even if they are sometimes a little nuts in their attempts. But that's what makes the games worth it.
The Additions
The extensions have been done tastefully and represent a beautiful addition to the home of Nittany Lion football. The new Southern Deck (still being built) looks to match the northern platform well. To build it, they moved the scoreboard to the northern tier and improved it greatly. No longer is there a low-definition screen better suited to Pepsi ads than replays - the new screen is a 1000% better. The other scoreboard has been placed in the southwest corner, and although it is a simpler scoreboard, it does a nice job.
Overall
This is the best place to see a game in the country. Okay, I haven't been to all of them, but I have seen football games at the Vet (Temple), Univ. of Delaware, Colorado, Sun Devil Stadium (Arizona State & the Fiesta Bowl), Virginia and Cornell - none of them come close. It isn't only the stadium, but the feelings of the fans, they way they interact among each other and with the team, within those blessed walls, which make it what it is. Beaver Stadium is a changing venue, but one which will always epitomize to me what seeing a live sporting event is all about.
WE ARE PENN STATE!!
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In Honor of Adam Taliaferro
In a game against Ohio State on Sept. 23rd, Penn State freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro was caught on a freak play and suddenly lay motionless on the field with a compression fracture of his spine. Adam has made a remarkable recovery in the past few weeks, gaining back movement in almost all of his extremities. But the path will prove to be difficult for this courageous young man. When I went to homecoming, not only were the normal stadium people getting donations for Adam, but numerous other groups were doing the same, including individuals at tailgates. At present, over $102,000 has been contributed to help Adam overcome his injuries, including more than $32,000 at the Homecoming game. Ohio State fans have also had a fantastic outpouring of money and support towards Adam, something which every Nittany Lion fan appreciates.
If you would like to send support or donate to the Adam Taliaferro fund, please check out these links. Thanks for your support. Go Lions!
Send Best Wishes
http://www.gopsusports.com/adam/index.cfm
Donate to the fund (secure link)
https://www.lionlink.psu.edu/credit.nsf/AnnualFund
- choose Adam Taliaferro Fund from the 'Please designate my gift to:' line.
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How do you know that God is a Penn State fan? Because the sky is blue and white
Recommended:
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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