Classic Day

The producers of the greatest college football game decided that there would be several themes for the fans this year at Penn State. This week the theme was Classic Day for the game against Syracuse. I can’t quite figure out the significance. Perhaps it was a ploy to occupy the minds of the fans so they would forget this game was dubbed a cupcake on the schedule. Maybe it was to market and sell all those tie-dyed Penn State shirts that peppered the bleachers. Or possibly it was to play classic rock and Motown during time-outs instead of “Sweet Caroline” or “Living on a Prayer” (oh right, they played those too).

Whatever the reason it didn’t create the same atmosphere that a “whiteout” does. But then “whiteouts” are usually late games against Big Ten opponents. The student section gets packed since they can actually get up and be on time for an 8:00 p.m. game. The atmosphere is electric with fans that have had all day to overindulge in mind- altering drinks. The energy psyches everyone up and the noise is soooo loud it vibrates your whole body. If that’s not enough, you need to wear tinted glasses to shield your eyes from the 110,000 bright white tee shirts. All of this is what gives Penn State football the reputation of “The Greatest Show”. That “show” will be coming to Beaver Stadium September 26 in a revenge game against Iowa.

Contrary to “Welcome to the Great Show” that flashed on the big screen in the stadium, this week’s game was only a bit better than Akron. Of course we won with the score Penn State 28, Syracuse 7 and our favorite player scored a touchdown, but for “the Pride” the great show was our tailgate.

If we had a theme for our tailgate it would be “Family, Friends, Food and Football”. In addition to nearly all our family and usual guests, we had a dozen friends from New York in for the game (and yes they came to root for Penn State). It was our largest tailgate in five years.

Our menu wasn’t the “classic” hamburger and hotdogs. We had pulled pork, a delicious pierogi casserole, macaroni salad, crab ball, corn salsa, taco dip, baked lima beans, fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course no tailgate ends after the main course so we had brownies, cookies, and cup cakes for dessert. Oh by the way did I mention before the game we had coffee, juice, coffee cake, donuts and Bob’s Bagels.

The day started off less than stellar as it rained all day Friday and was misting Saturday morning. Everything was wet. We set up an EZ- up tent and put out the awning on the motor home so even rain couldn’t dampen our show. But since God is a Penn State fan (that’s why the sky is blue and white) he called off the rain not only for the tailgate but also for the game. At one point after our favorite player scored, the sun even peeked out to take a look.

Greatest Show or not there is still nothing better than a tailgate and football game in Happy Valley. What better way to spend time with your family and friends over some food and a Nittany Lion football game.