It’s a simple phrase that wakes up the 90s nostalgia unlike anything else.
There is something about it that makes me want to find a television set that roughly resembles both in size and shape a small compact car. Then I want to plop directly in front of it in a living room that feels slightly stuck in roughly 2002 but also 1985 and 1997 all at the same time.
I want to have it playing while the smell of a George Foreman grill, knocking the fat directly off some very overcooked hamburgers, invades the room. And as that smell hits my nostrils, a deep baritone voice greets me for my favorite 30 minutes of the week.
“They are heroes. They are winners. They are Penn State football.”
“The Penn State Football Story” was, before YouTube, Al Gore inventing the internet, and No Child Left Behind, the single best piece of media that connected fans to the Penn State football team. For my generation, it was Guy Junker’s voice echoing out of that two-ton television set’s RCA surround sound speakers–with a subwoofer– that narrated the performance of Penn State football after Steve Jones and Jack Ham were done.
It was the single piece of media that kept Penn State fans connected both before and during the true peak of message boards.
And then it just – like titanic televisions and the fat off that burger — went away.
But change is in the air in Happy Valley and with that change came the return of that faithful friend.
“The Penn State Football Story” is back.
While it’s not accessible on any of those television sets in part because all of the tubes have burnt out of them and in part because most of them were invented well before any HDMI cable was thought of, the newest iteration of the classic is off to a strong start through high quality production that only has more room to grow.
Penn State brought back the series ahead of the 2026 season and appears to be rolling cameras all through the 2026 season. Wednesday marked the fourth episode of the series and the second during the season.
The obvious reason for the change is that Matt Campbell, Penn State’s new head coach, seems to be more focused on Penn State playing football rather than Penn State Football, the brand. With Campbell opening the doors – albeit still through the school-controlled media arm – Penn State fans are now getting access to the program they’ve not had in quite some time and in multiple ways, potentially ever.
Unlike the syndicated version that appeared on various local and regional sports channels around the Keystone State and beyond, the 2026 edition of the program is accessible to all via the Penn State YouTube channel.
In each of the four episodes so far, Penn State is flexing its production muscles, with sweeping cinematographic shots and behind-the-scenes access into player huddles at practice and the locker room before, during and after games.
The episodes are full of shots that evoke the energy and passion of Penn State football games. In series’ third episode – based around Campbell’s first game as Penn State head coach against Marshall and the strongest of the four so far – Campbell can be seen and heard celebrating with his players and coaches during several of the game’s touchdowns in a “Hard Knocks” style access that many sports serial documentaries rely on in 2026. There are moving clips prior to the game showing the pride that Penn State fans have – one of which can be seen in particular as children run to the Penn State team buses on their approach to Beaver Stadium.
It is the type of video work that has been missing from Penn State. It is a stark contrast from the James Franklin years which featured heavily controlled productions by the head coach himself. Campbell seems to be trusting those who create this type of content and it’s paying dividends for fans.
In general, under Franklin, Penn State dabbled with the concept of “The Penn State Football Story” but now they seem to be leaning all in.
Its first and second episodes of the 2026 season feature the build-up to the start of the season through fall camp with an emphasis on the many new faces – both coach and player — around town.
The series’ first episode opens with transfer linebacker Cael Brezina grilling and smoking meat for his teammates. The second episode features quality isolated shots of defensive lineman Ikenna Ezeogu privately working off to the side as a practice wraps up. It is that type of attention to detail that stands out within the work.
The episodes aren’t afraid to shy away from the perceived “bad” as well. Penn State shows a quarterback being picked off at a practice. There are shots and inclusions of curse words, particularly in the second episode, and several others muted out through the project.
And even as Penn State struggled against Temple last Saturday, the video captures how Campbell and D’Anton Lynn – as well as other players – handled that throughout and after the game.
Beaver Stadium public address announcer Rodney Martin does a strong job of leading the narration of the project, guiding viewers through non-game portions of the videos. Then during game recaps, the Penn State radio call from Jones and Ham can be heard, which is an appreciated addition for those who do not tune in during the games.
There are a few areas where Penn State can only make the product better. The new videos seem to not be released until Wednesdays – which is much slower than even the less than 12 hour turnaround time of yesteryear. Penn State, and its fans, are onto the next opponent by Wednesday. And at times, there are opportunities to dive deeper into the players’ stories with the option to do feature-style vignettes. It will also be interesting to see how – in the same way Penn State football handles adversity – Penn State’s video team handles adversity should Penn State lose this year.
But for a surprise return in the way the 2026 version has been, Penn State has already begun to elevate the bar on in-house production like this. The first two episodes of the series have more than 40,000 views on YouTube each already, showing signs that other fans are welcoming back the product.
What’s old has become new for Penn State with “The Penn State Football Story” and while the intro is slightly different and the George Foreman has gone through hundreds, if not thousands, of iterations since the last time “The Penn State Football Story” was a centerpiece of Penn State fandom, the series’ return has been quite impressive.
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