Few things in this world beat the roar of a college football stadium, and fewer stadiums in this world roar louder than Beaver Stadium.
This weekend, the Nittany Lions are set to play the Oregon Ducks in a highly anticipated White Out matchup. The game is expected to shatter the decibel meter, as a sea of the Penn State faithful will aim to disrupt the Oregon offense on every snap. In fact, James Franklin says that he is “expecting this to be an environment like no one has ever seen.”
But while we can seemingly count on an electric stadium full of disruptors on the regular, it’s something we shouldn’t take for granted.
Let me give you a bit of a history lesson. In 1993, Penn State was flagged for “excessive crowd noise” in a game against Michigan, resulting in the referees taking a timeout away from the Nittany Lions. This was the third warning the fanbase had received during the game, which is why the penalty took effect.
This was no ordinary game, either. Penn State was undefeated at the time and ranked in the top-10. Much like the people who will pack Beaver Stadium this Saturday, those fans had their hearts and minds set on a Nittany Lion National Championship. Penn State wound up dropping the game to Michigan by one touchdown, marking its first-ever Big Ten loss.
Though the NCAA did away with this rule in 2006, fans didn’t always have the freedom to impact the game like they do today.
Part of the reason why college football is the greatest sport on the planet is because of fans. Whether it’s a White Out in Happy Valley, a Checker Neyland in Knoxville, or a night game in Baton Rouge, the sights and sounds of a sold-out crowd ooze with pride and school spirit. A driving force behind the many upsets in college football is the fact that the 12th man truly does exist.
Once again, scenes like this are never a guarantee. Appreciate Saturdays like these and the sensations that come with them.
In 2019, the Beaver Stadium crowd gave college football fans one of their most iconic moments. As Mo Bamba played on the loudspeaker, the noise and pent-up excitement from the fans forced Michigan to use a timeout before the clock had even started running.
Less than one year later, in a game against Ohio State in the same stadium, you could hear a pin drop.
Yes, the world had been overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The point is that people didn’t quite appreciate the now-infamous “Mo Bamba timeout” until they had nothing.
So when you walk into Beaver Stadium on Saturday, scream your heart out. Take it all in. Feel the stadium shake, listen as 110,000 voices become one, see the bright lights shining down on the monochromatic mayhem. Cause a false start, or multiple, for that matter. For these are the nights you will never forget.
This is Saturday night in Happy Valley, and there’s no place I’d rather be.
Jamie is a third-year statistics student from Chappaqua, NY. He loves to swim and is a member of the club team here at Penn State. Jamie is also in the Schreyer Honors College, and wishes there was an advanced course in college football fandom (scored 118/133 on the mascot quiz). Avid ping-pong player, dairy lover, and has met two U.S. Presidents, in case anyone was wondering. If you have anything to share, or want to debate the AP Poll with someone, email [email protected] or reach out on instagram @jamie.ly3.