But I also love that the season brings the return of my favorite sport, football. I look forward to watching the Eagles, the Steelers and the Ravens. But in a little less than two weeks I get to watch my favorite college football team, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Watching them becomes a Saturday priority and I seldom miss a game.
Many folks think that I must have graduated from Penn State since I have followed them so closely for many years. I did attend one class there, but that is all. However, while attending Susquehanna University, I traveled with the football team as the school's NCAA statistician for four years. That was when they had great teams and I have many great memories of those years. Then for 25 years I covered high school football games for area newspapers and that was an exciting job.
I guess I always had an interest in Penn State football but it wasn't until I attended my first game at Beaver Stadium that I became hooked on the excitement of following their teams. When I learned more about how to get there, where to park, and the seating arrangements, attending games became something I looked forward to.
And after attending a few games with me, my wife began to enjoy the atmosphere as well. There is something special about the fun of tailgating, smelling the food, watching folks prepare for the game and then seeing the band march to the stadium. When our health was better we also used to enjoy walking downtown and getting caught up in all the excitement there. Then there is the pregame festivities with the teams warming up, the band arriving and performing, the drum major appearing and making his flip to the cheers of thousands, and then the teams entering. And of course the games are usually very exciting with sometimes more than 100,000 fans cheering on the teams. All of this made a special day that we both enjoyed.
But getting good tickets and finding good parking was a major issue. When we first started going we would put a sign on our car "We Need 2" and then begin the trip to Happy Valley. Sometimes we would be stopped by someone even before we got out of Lancaster County. And almost always we made our purchase before even crossing the Susquehanna River above Harrisburg. And I never paid more than face value. And we were always successful, except once, and that was for the Alabama game. But even for that big game we were stopped and offered tickets but at twice the face value. I said no and at Lewistown we decided to head home and watch that game on television.
The best years were the ten years when an elderly gentleman from Columbia used to sell me most of his tickets for the season. They were good seats and during those years the handicapped parking was at the north end of the stadium, very near these seats. We were able to get in and out very quickly and that was great. But things changed. He passed away and his son sold the seats to others or used them himself.
Then they moved the handicapped parking to a different location, farther from the stadium. And as we got older we also became more selective of seating locations. We still were able to get some good tickets from some sources that I found, but we found that the handicapped shuttles would only run when they were full. So that meant to beat the crowds at the end of the game we often had to run/walk a considerable distance to get to our car. And as we got older this became more of a problem.
The best experience was the year my oldest son was able to get a suite from one of his customers. Outstanding view and accommodations. Plenty of food and parking right next to the stadium. A once in a lifetime experience for us.
But the end of our trips unexpectedly came two years ago when they again moved the handicapped parking area, this time away from the stadium to an area hotel lot. This meant not being part of the main tailgating and being forced to depend upon the shuttles which only run when they have a full load. Too far to walk and too inconvenient. So now we spend our Saturdays in front of a television and while we can see the game very well, we miss all the excitement of being there which television can't provide.
Will I ever go back again? Yes, I would love to, if I could get good tickets with seats that are easy to get to, as well as reserved parking in one of the reserved lots close to the stadium. But unless you know the right people, those are impossible or very expensive to get. And I don't know the right people and I don't have a fortune to spend.
Now what type of season will they have this year? I have no idea. They are rebounding well from the Sandusky scandal and the NCAA sanctions. And that is a story for another blog. Franklin has been a very successful recruiter but he hasn't yet proven that he is a good game coach. And they are now playing in what might be the toughest conference in football with Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. But win or lose, I'll be watching and cheering them on! Now less than two weeks to the first kick-off!
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