I've been coming to Penn State football games for a long time, but my first game in the student section was one I will never forget. At my first game as a Penn State student, I saw a nail-biting victory over Appalachian State. Thankfully, Penn State pulled away in overtime to win 45-38. The game was crazy no doubt, but I also learned a lot about Penn State Football games:
1. 105,000 people is A LOT of people.
I have been in a sold-out Beaver Stadium before, and it is one of the best environment in college football. This time was different though. Being in the main source of noise made it feel even louder and feel like there were even more people. Also it looks really cool when 105,000 people do the wave, even if it takes a few tries.
2. Don't take an opponent for granted.
I am not going to say that the athletes took their opponents for granted. Because I know that great programs don't do that, and Penn State football is a great program. But, I will admit that myself and most other fans probably took Appalachian State for granted. Needless to say, that won't happen agin.
3. Trace McSorley is clutch.
It was far from a perfect day at the office for Trace, but he stepped up when we needed it and performed in the clutch.
4. Miles Sanders is a name to remember.
Miles Sanders has been living in Saquon Barkely's shadow for the past two years, and that is a hard job to have. But now his patience pays off and he gets to live in the spotlight he's been working for. In the opening game, he scored two touchdowns and a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
5. Your arm can get kinda tired after waving that pom pom for a while.
The student section was more exciting than I ever imagined. Although, I did get pretty tired yelling, cheering, and waving that darn pom pom to every song, chant, and good play that was made. But there is no doubt that I will get a pom pom again next game.
6. How college football overtime works.
I didn't enter Beaver Stadium to learn this last week, but I did. Turns out, even though you might want to play defense first because you get a chance to score, either way, it can still work out if you have to play offense first.
7. A win is a win.
It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination but Penn State came out on top of that scoreboard. At the end of the night we put a tally in the win column not the loss column, and that's all that matters.
Needless to say, I can't wait for the next one!
