Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
F or Penn Staters, one of the best things about a Nittany Lion foot- ball game day is that it's not really just a day. It's not even just a weekend. The buzz on campus ahead of a big game starts building early in the week and intensifies by the hour. On Thurs- day, the first of the RVs start rolling into State College, and if it's a really big game, some picturesque spot on campus will be prepped for ESPN's "College GameDay." By the time Saturday afternoon arrives and the blue Penn State school buses have made their way through the gaunt- let of cheering fans, bringing the Nittany Lions to the stadium's south entrance, everything has built to a crescendo. At kickoff, the stadium is literally vibrating with excitement. That's what the atmosphere was like when Penn State played Ball State Sept. 11. It was the university's first conventional game day since Nov. 30, 2019, when the Nittany Lions wel- comed 98,895 fans for the team's reg- ular-season finale against Rutgers. The 650-day gap created a pent-up demand for the traditional Penn State football experience, and it resulted in 105,323 fans showing up for the game against the Cardinals, PSU's largest crowd for a home opener since 2008. A packed Beaver Stadium is, by defini- tion, a spectacular scene. But as much as he appreciated the atmosphere in and around the Nittany Lions' home field, With 105,323 fans in attendance, Penn State nearly filled Beaver Stadium to capacity for its first home game of the season, a 44-13 victory over Ball State. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M