I have exactly 114,419 thoughts about last night’s gameday experience. I will spare you most of them.
But here are just a few of the main ones that I saw. Did You Notice:
• We begin with an update to a story we shared earlier in this season. After the first home game of the year – and collecting two seasons’ worth of food price data – we reported that Penn State had increased food prices by roughly 4 percent year over year, a relatively anticipated increase given rising costs of goods. However, Penn State increased soda prices by 19 percent year over year while also shrinking its cup size by 10 ounces. That resulted in a 79 percent increase in cost per ounce of soda at a game.
Many of these costs are things we talk about on the podcast – including the lack of value options inside of the stadium – and both articles and a few clips from our podcast have reached a wider-than-usual audience around this topic. And this week, a Penn State official reached out to me saying they were aware of our work and to essentially check out some of the costs inside of the stadium this week.
We were told there would be a value option at the concession stands, something that Steve in particular has lobbied for, and Penn State delivered two major price drops that I noticed on my way in. First, a hot dog dropped $6.50 to $5 as a fan value item.
Secondly, Penn State has reverted its soda prices back to 2025 levels, down from $8.75 to $7.35.
I’m really proud of our reporting and holding Penn State accountable for these things. Moreover, I’m thankful that Penn State is listening to average fans as costs around a Saturday in Happy Valley increase. This doesn’t mean that we won’t keep reporting on these issues or that we won’t keep track of these things moving forward. And it certainly doesn’t mean we won’t be candid about sharing our thoughts, both the good and the bad. (I promise we do our damnedest to talk about the good.) Our lane is about the fan experience and we will proudly stay in it. But we made a little bit of change, and yeah, that feels good. I’m appreciative of Penn State’s willingness to pay attention to the people who want accessibility and affordability at these important weekends in our lives.
• Penn State set a new attendance record on Saturday night. It’s one of the largest crowds in college football history and it appears Penn State’s new capacity ceiling is around that 114,419.
For as much consternation has been made about Penn State potentially losing or reducing capacity in the renovation process, Penn State clearly had other plans in mind. It’s an impressive number that is mostly based on tickets sold. But it’s also another thing to get people into the doors. And Penn State clearly did that – for as much of a concern as it was after the Wisconsin game. That is the effect of the White Out.
• Earlier this season, we were joined by Penn State deputy AD Leah Beasley for a conversation about the gameday experience and what was in store. In our interview, she promised a technological twist to this year’s White Out.
I thought it was going to be those light-up wristbands that you see at concerts. But it’s clear it was actually the drone show and the ability for the lights to dance. Those were two pleasant and welcome surprises in the stadium on Saturday (though the drone show was announced on Friday.)
As is obvious by both the increased branding during the game on the ribbon boards and within the drone show itself, adidas was a major factor in helping those processes get sped up. Penn State did an incredible job with how it unveiled the fact that Beaver Stadium’s lighting system could dance and change colors by tethering it to the pregame pump-up video.
There was an authentic, surprised reaction to the note that, unfortunately, because of the game outcome, was the highlight of the night. The lighting system dancing was something a lot of fans had been wondering and waiting for as more stadiums around the country at every level get the feature and Penn State did an impressive job with its rollout. It only added to the already incredible White Out entrance.
The lights also danced at touchdowns and in between the third and fourth quarter.
• Now the drone show itself was cool. I may look into the behind-the-scenes of that a bit more because it was unique. It was the first drone show I’d ever seen in person and thought it was neat – though I may be more partial to the stadium fireworks.
The shapes created included the drum major’s hat flipping, the Nittany Lion doing one-armed push-ups, a blue bus and a white shaker – all small details that add to the gameday experience.
But there was one flaw with the drone show. Penn State did not shut the lights off on the east side of the stadium, making it hard to see. That was maybe their only miss in terms of gameday experience all night. It may have done that for player safety reasons – which is relatively understandable. But those new bright lights – which we’ve talked about before in DYN – made it tough to see at times. Credit to Penn State for showcasing it on the jumbotrons as well.
• The White Out’s white graphic package from both Penn State and its advertisers was back on the scoreboard and ribbon boards. In particular, with the advertiser graphic packages on the ribbon boards, the emphasis on white is far less distracting than the multi-colored ones we get during regular games. It also makes those ads feel more on brand. I think Penn State really should consider keeping things that way in perpetuity. I think the ads would feel less invasive if they were that way throughout the season while still delivering the same messages.
• I am not going to do this every game but the advertiser of the game by a country mile was Delgrosso’s. Not only did they convert the Delgrosso’s Red Zone – and that animation – from a red sauce to a white alfredo sauce, calling it the Delgrosso’s White Zone, but a few students in Nittanyville had foam hands making a pinched-fingers hand gesture. I have not coveted a piece of Penn State memorabilia in the way that I now covet one of those hands. We have been big fans in our section of the addition of the emoji to the ribbon board when Penn State gets into the red zone and Saturday took that to a new level.
• Penn State’s pregame video was the best it’s ever made. Penn State’s video team has been quite strong this season. It was a video dedicated specifically to how the White Out is Penn State’s even when other schools try to do it. It was a good reminder of community and what makes Penn State Penn State.
• There was a good example of NIL being used as a positive on Saturday night. Alex Manske, who had heart surgery this offseason, partnered with Huddle For Hearts. Huddle For Hearts gave away AEDs to a few local sports groups.
• I could be mistaken but I believe Penn State has shot off blue and white fireworks at the White Out team entry in the past. Saturday they were only white. It was a neat, subtle touch.
• If you are a Penn State student housing landlord, I would anticipate that one of you will be getting a call to clean out a drain from that one fan who was covered in an intense amount of glitter.
• Sheetz sign of the week: Trojans Are About To Get Schnacked.
• I used the express entry lane about 45 minutes before kickoff and I think it saved me some time, but it appears a lot more fans are using that compared to the first game of the season. If that continues, Penn State may want to add a few more of those.
• We chatted with a few photographers on the Penn State beat about the new stadium lights and they were all unanimous that the new lights improved the ability to shoot games at night. Penn State’s galleries posted from last night show very well-lit photos as well, good examples of the difference those lights are making.
• I like the Pennsylvania touches that have been added to the gameday playlist. There was representation from Philly’s Meek Mill with “Dreams and Nightmares” and Pittsburgh representation with Mac Miller’s “The Spins.” I still think Penn State is searching for the right song to play in between the third and fourth quarter – but Saturday’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” paired with the light show was a good attempt.
What would it take for some PA polka to get played in the stadium? That would get the folks going too.
• My next potential exposé: If the PSECU helmet shuffle’s correct choice is always No. 2?
• We did our second live show at Steve’s tailgate on Saturday and a sincere thank you to everyone who showed up. A sincere thank you to everyone who tuned it. We had an immense amount of fun doing that and since Steve was well-behaved, we will do another one next year. (Although Penn State is now 0-2 on gamedays when we’ve done one.)
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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