On Friday at around 4:45PM, which we all know is about to be the heart of rush hour traffic, four Penn State students set out for Indy. Of course we were picking up one more on the way so that we would pack five people in a small Corolla. We were all full of emotion. We were excited about many things; I was excited to be in a dome style stadium and not freezing my butt off for hours. I was also excited to see our players compete for a title that they deserve. Call me an eternal optimist, call me naive, call me whatever of your choosing but I always have faith in our boys to pull off the win. I was so convinced that we were going to win the teacher in me was already feeling sorry for all the children dressed head to toe in Wisconsin gear. Here's what I will always remember from the incredible game that I am sure we will be celebrating for years to come, and telling our children about; that we attended a momentous game and road tripped to it nonetheless.
1. Waiting in line to get a picture in front of the massive B1G sign, and the Penn State student with the sign that said "Wisconsin Puts Ice In Their Beer."
2. Getting food at Hard Rock Cafe and having a hilarious waitress who could curse like a sailor, and said that because she has been there for 17 years, she "knows her ****." Oh yeah and Wisconsin fans tried to start a restaurant wide cheer of "Let's go Badgers!". And then were completely shut out by all Penn State fans coming in hot with our infamous "WE ARE...!" chant. Wasn't even a contest.
3. Coming into Lucas Oil Stadium and thinking it looked like the Mall of America compared to Beaver Stadium. We still love you Beaver Stadium, and your size does not even compare!
4. Waiting in line for Licensed Big Ten Championship gear and then the employee saying they would have winning team merchandise after the game. To which a Wisconsin fan jokingly said "You probably won't want to stay after the game then..." Um, guess we showed you...
5. Buying bottled drinks from a certain food venue and realizing that they take the caps off...Why? Do you seriously want more spills and messes??
6. Beaver Stadium needs to invest in elevators like Lucas Oil Stadium pronto, STAT, on the double. You get the picture...
7. When we stopped them on fourth and one and everyone around me started bawling tears of joy. I have never seen fans more overcome with emotion!
8. James Franklin was full of class with everything he said. We could not stop cheering for him!
9. An older Wisconsin fan coming up to us after won, shaking our hands and saying "Congratulations! You guys deserved this!".
10. An older couple that was part of a group, walking next to us out of the stadium. The wife said "...It's just a game!" and the husband said "It's not just a game!".
That last one sums it up. To us Penn Staters and all of Nittany Nation, this is the game that we have been waiting for, and this was our time. Our time to start fresh, put everything behind us, and show everyone that if you are willing to work hard anything is possible!
