As far as losses go, that one might sting for a bit
But we talked about all of that over here.
This space is for gameday experience. We will do our best to keep it a safe space just for that.
From Beaver Stadium’s second-largest crowd ever, did you notice:
• Penn State’s gameday presentation was by far the best of the season. It was Penn State’s grandest show and Penn State hit it out of the park by building the atmosphere in the stadium for the most part.
It was interesting that Penn State played its preseason video, which features the phrase “Whatever It Takes,” instead of the traditional pump-up video. While a bespoke one for the White Out would have been nice, it was still good to see a change of pace.
Penn State did, however, give us a new pump-up video at the 4th quarter break, featuring College Gameday’s guest picker Lavar Arrington made specifically for the game. Credit to Penn State for that change and for the other change it made to the 4th quarter event. Instead of having Nittany Lion do the crowd control, they used cheerleaders to wave “We Are” and “Penn State” flags. It feels nice to have another chance to do that. Penn State seemed not to have been doing that as much in past seasons.
(For the record: I still don’t like the 4th quarter question. But it’s getting better.)
• I will say that was one of the heartiest renditions of the Alma Mater pregame. Penn State’s fans were very locked in.
• That pregame sunset was incredible. Pennsylvania, and specifically State College, genuinely remains an underappreciated part of the country for its beauty, especially at this time of the year. Mother Nature sure put on a good show too.
• One other note from the pregame that I was try to confirm and was able to confirm.
At the very start of the pregame festivities, before the player introductions, a graphic appears on the jumbotron welcoming fans to “West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium,” but Joe Putnam’s announcement only references “Beaver Stadium.” That might be the difference between field and stadium naming rights right there.
• Penn State absolutely nailed the delivery of “Mo Bamba” on the first play of the game. They shut it off just early enough for the crowd to recognize it needed to stop singing and make as much noise as possible. I don’t know if that was the loudest I’ve ever heard Beaver Stadium but it was – like the attendance figure – high on the record book. It’s funny how much that song has caught on with alums.
•The one miss? Those search lights that were outside of the stadium. They weren’t visible from inside the stadium and didn’t seem on when I entered the stadium.
•Gate F had its entry flow changed. You now go through the magnetometers first and then scan your ticket. It had been the other way around.
• Speaking of Arrington, I respect the hustle he had with the big pick at the end of Gameday. He had a Roar+ shirt on and a Stix City hat on while he and Pat McAfee chugged down Stix City Citrus Lager.
• Elsewhere in the stadium, many of Penn State’s advertisers had White Out-specific themed ads. Highmark specifically called out the White Out with its ads. Weis changed its colors from a heavy red background to a white background with a blue logo. Sheetz, which has also had a red background for its ads usually, had the best ad of the night with a white background and some rather targeted messaging.
For starters, I know it’s bugged a lot of people, including myself, that Penn State was aggressively featuring red on its video ribbon boards. Obviously, those brands feature red colors and I respect that. But what’s stopping these brands from using the blue and white for every game? You earn bonus points with the fans with little things like that.
Secondly, Highmark and Sheetz earn high marks (I’m so sorry for that pun) for being both creative and aware in their advertising.
• In general, it also felt like Penn State de-emphasized its advertising brands, especially when Penn State was on defense, for crowd commands on the ribbon boards and jumbotron. It’s subtle but it makes the experience better. There were also plenty of new animations, including that roaring lion on the board. I’m not sure why that can’t continue for every other game this season as well.
• I don’t think Penn State and Oregon is at a rivalry level just yet, but like Venmo, could see it getting there eventually. (Yes, I groaned writing that just as much as you did reading that.) The ads on the field around the Big Ten logo, however, were largely out of Penn State’s control and just temporary.
• Night games at Beaver Stadium are always particularly tough to get out of the parking lots. It’s a part of the night game experience – and by far the worst part. It took us about an hour and a half to get from Lot 45 to the on-ramp of I-99. The problem is it’s the wild west out there.
Penn State has zero staff or support, directing people out of the lots. The gameday experience doesn’t end when the game ends. The only staff or support I saw on that journey out of the lots were four state troopers on Porter Road and one auxiliary police officer. Thousands of cars, $145 to park and yet five people to help get you out?
Especially with increased pricing for non-season ticket holders, Penn State really needs to iron out and improve that experience. I could understand how that sours the gameday experience, especially if you were facing a long drive home (which is always even longer after a loss like that.)
• Love The Nittany Lion. In fact, there is a SSSWS superfan (and dear friend) of mine who was the Lion during my college years. I also love mascots and consider myself a bit of an expert in the area. But the Oregon Duck really does live up to the hype.
He spent an entire drive meditating. He messed with Penn State fans. He played rock-paper-scissors with the crowd watching at home. He slides past Sparty on the SSSWS rankings.
• Lastly, I want to say thank you to everyone who tuned in and watched in person our first-ever SSSWS live show. A thank you to Steve for being a great co-host as always and to the rest of the Halfmoon Tailgate crew for hosting, including Russ for making some signs. Also a special thank you to Brian Tripp, who has always supported our podcast with his time, for showing up for an interview.
OK, that’s it. I know that was a longer one but what did I miss? What did you notice? Need to vent to me about parking? Email us at darian@stuffsomerssays.com and we might chat about it on the podcast.
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