Welcome back to year two of Did You Notice. What started as a vague content idea last year has spread like wildfire across the Penn State sports media and sports business blogosphere.
But there is only one original and it is back.
Penn State beat Buffalo on Saturday, 55-13. But that wasn’t the only thing happening in and around Beaver Stadium. So let’s kick off a new year of Did You Notice:
• The consistency and the cleanliness of the Penn State football gameday presentation was the main thing I was looking for in the second home game of the year. Penn State had a clean game in week one and it was a noticeable improvement on the in-arena experience. That continued into the second game.
Most of all, it felt like Penn State was not rushing to clean up its mistakes – which there were very little of before – in the second home game of the year. This is how it should be. Yes, there were a few bumps along the way – including not having the right down and distance for a part of a series in the second quarter – but other than that, Penn State’s operation was smooth.
• The soundtrack inside the stadium had a few new songs compared to last week. But many of the staples – and other sound effects – were still there. One lingering question I had was related to the replay review songs. I know this has irked people over the years for some reason but Penn State stuck with “Tell Me Something Good,” and “Think.”
I also noticed that Penn State is still playing “Jump Around.” It played in the final stages of warmups before the band comes on the field. I do think it’s time – especially given next week’s opponent – to leave that song in Madison.
• After we reviewed the gameday experience last week, people flagged two areas that I needed to check out. I spent my halftime walking around both the second levels of the east and west side.
Last week, a reader pointed out that you could not see the scoreboard if you sat in the last few rows of the lower west side due to the new second deck’s overhang. Additionally, there were no TVs hung as you can find in the north and south end zones. That meant that those also in some of the faux premium seats were slightly in the dark when it came to things like replays.
However, I immediately noticed that Penn State added what seemed like hundreds of TVs to the overhang in between the Marshall game and yesterday. That does have me wondering why they were not in there in the first place. If those are premium seats – even if the setup of the west sideline is temporary – why not have them ready for game one? That seems like an oversight but it it now at least resolved.
The west concourse is quite wide and very well lit. However, its construction dust is showing. There are two main walking areas, a hallway of sorts closer to the field and another – broader hallway – on the outer side. That outer walkway seems to be the main hallway of sorts and has plenty of room. If there is a monsoon at some point this season, that will be the place I go to stay dry as it is completely protected by the elements.
• Over on the east side, the concourse expansion of the second level is a massive improvement. That area, which was always crammed, has effectively doubled in width and foot traffic can very easily flow through there. It’s one of the first frustrating moments of the stadium renovation of “Why didn’t they do this sooner?”
• I’ve found two concession stands where programs are being sold. One is directly below my section around NB and the other is on the outer ring near EG. This is the only game-specific, physical souvenir that Penn State offers to fans now that tickets and most parking passes have gone digital. (Those have now been added to the Beaver Stadium Food Finder.)
I am not sure that I will buy one every game but I was quite impressed with the quality. Penn State appears to be printing them weekly as this week’s edition of the Beaver Stadium Pictorial had photos from the Marshall game and up-to-date stats. Credit to Penn State for that little bit of extra lift there.
I will note one subtle thing. The price of the program listed on the concession stand is $5.25 but the price on the cover is just $5.
• I’m not sure if Penn State added more portapotties this week as I – believe it or not – did not stop to count them this week and last. However, they moved more portapotties to our directly below our section where there was a small team store. I’m wondering if the bathroom complaints on the west side were heard.
• The food lines on the second deck in the south end zone were non-existent at halftime. Everywhere else was slammed. Just something to keep in mind, especially on days where the student section isn’t packed.
• There was no one in line at Beaver Stadium’s only draught beer location when I walked in around 30 minutes before kickoff. I think that is in part because the options are either State Light Lime or Linebacker BRU. Though I am partial to regular State Light, I think they’d do more sales there by swapping that keg out. It’s also disappointing to see no line there as the panini kiosk that was there last season always had a long line.
• It appears that the Bud Light Backyard is officially no more. That area has now been closed off and appears to be some sort of premium access area only.
• Saturday’s game was the lowest-attended home Penn State football game since COVID. The attendance was 103,817. It beat last year’s FIU game by one less person.
I think that a mixture of lack of interesting non-conference opponents on top of the fact that there are back-to-back home games and a lot of Penn State fans attended in Philly last weekend as well had something to do with it. I would anticipate that Penn State puts up top 10 all-time attendance records against Wisconsin and USC though.
• An idea that I had in part based on Saturday and in part based on some things I’ve seen from pictures of other stadiums. There is no way to tell how much time or the score of the game underneath the stadium if the televisions aren’t showing that. I know there are a few stadiums around the country that have effectively mini, almost retro scoreboards hung throughout their concourse. This would be a great add because of how segmented the stadium is from other spots. It is on my next Beaver Stadium renovation wishlist.
• The Sheetz ad this week said “Tonight’s MTO Order: Buffalo Wingz, Extra Crispy.” If you listened to this week’s podcast, you’ll know why I’m avoiding wings right now.
• We are big fans of the Mamma Mia Delgrosso’s Red Zone animation. Though, it would have been a great opportunity for Dom Deluca last year.
• I hope I wrote down the correct spelling of his name but Penn State honored Jack Heckert yesterday as the season ticket holder of the game. He has been a Penn State season ticket holder since the 1955 season. Saturday was Penn State’s 1,413th game all time (home or away). Heckert has been a season ticket holder for 60 percent of those games. He has seen Beaver Stadium go from the west side of campus to the east side. From a tiny horseshoe stadium to one of the largest stadiums in the world. It was a well-deserved honor.
• I’m going to sneak in a rare did you notice for the future. What uniforms will Penn State wear this coming Saturday for homecoming? We don’t know yet if adidas has a Generations of Greatness uniform. That’s something to keep an eye on next week.
What did you notice? What’s the best part of the gameday experience? What’s the worst part? Shoot me a note at darian@stuffsomerssays.com and we might chat about it on this week’s podcast.
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