The famous Penn State bucket list: A personalized list of everything one must do before leaving this beautiful bubble called Happy Valley and entering into the real world. At the top of my list, since freshman year has been: “Go to an away football game.” And guess what? After three years, I have finally been able to cross it off my list after attending the Penn State vs. Temple game. And let me tell you why this was an amazing experience you should all take part in.
Location:
I’ve always had this idea in mind of what an away game would be like. I picture a stadium full of angry and violent faces wearing the opposite team’s color while I, along with a couple of my friends, courageously wear blue and white as we ignore all the “boo’s” and “Penn State sucks” chants directed at us. However, these illusions in my head were just a tad bit different from reality, to say the least.
Temple is located in Philadelphia, which is home to approximately 50 percent of Penn students (or so it feels) and it is the place where a great number of alumni go after graduation. Therefore, rather than the ratio of Penn State to Temple fans being one to 67,593, it was more of a 50/50 situation. There were so many people decked out in blue and white that at times, I forgot I wasn’t at a home game. Even the tailgating fields were mixed, with some people wearing colors from both teams. This one man tailgating next to us had two sons, one who went to Temple and one who went to PSU, and so he wore a Temple jersey with a Penn State zip-up on top. Because of the proximity of Penn State to Temple, the tailgating experience was extremely positive and friendly. Penn State and Temple fans intermingled with each other with little animosity.
Close game:
We have played football against Temple and beat them every year since 1941. That’s right, 69 years of Penn State glory! So on the 70th year, would anyone expect anything different? Of course not. Well actually, many Penn State fans, including myself, were a little too confident when answering that question. We did win in the end, yet the game was way too close for comfort. Temple was leading all up until about the 4th quarter when Penn State finally picked up their game. Although this game was extremely stressful to watch, our final victory made it all worth it. And remember the Temple friendliness I was just talking about in the last section? Yeah, not so friendly anymore. But no matter how many “F*** Penn State” chants were thrown at us, no one could take away that glorious feeling of victory as we strode off the stadium.
Makes you appreciate PSU and all its perks:
Attending this game gave me a few more extra boosts of Penn State pride. It made me realize that we are so incredibly lucky to have our own stadium and that yes, we really do have the best tailgates in the nation.
Temple football plays at the Lincoln Financial Field, home to the Philadelphia Eagles. It is a beautiful stadium, I can’t argue against that. All I can say is it feels nice to say that Beaver Stadium is all ours and no one else’s. If you live on campus or downtown you can easily walk to the games and not have to worry about buses, taxis, or any sort of ride. Â
Also, the tailgating fields outside Beaver Stadium are so well prepared for any football weekend. There is just the right amount of port-a-potties available and a seemingly endless tailgating space. Now, I know we all despise port-a-potties, but trust me, having loads of them is definitely a perk. God forbid you have to go to the bathroom while tailgating for a Temple game. With lines that seemed miles long, I stood in line for a full 40 minutes waiting. Also, since many others weren’t so patient, I unfortunately experienced many uncomfortable sightings of public urination.
Besides the few little critiques I have thrown at Temple, the experience was one of a kind and I appreciate Temple’s welcoming attitude towards Penn Staters. If going to an away game isn’t part of your bucket list yet, then add it, and make sure you add a little star next to it and write “Temple.”