It’s so much easier to be a fair-weather fan than it used to be, and it was never really that hard for me anyway.
While Penn State football was the holy grail, the be-all and end-all of my aspirational sports fandom growing up, it’s become less important over the past decade or so. And, no, it’s not James Franklin’s fault. People need to stop vilifying him for anything bad with the program.
Practically it’s easy to be a fair-weather fan because there’s no need to be at the game to know what’s happening. Livestream, radio, TV, social media — all those things keep me easily informed.
Plus, my level of FOMO is low. If it happens without me, there’s still a way to find out about it. No big deal.
Overall, it’s more a time investment and weather thing these days. Three-plus hours in the stadium is a long time, and any time in cold rain or less-than-perfect conditions is not fun. They’re an easy excuse to stay home.
Conversely, want to tailgate? Get there early. Hang with friends. Overpack and worry about the leftovers. Sign me up for all of that. It’s easy. There’s elbow room. Even in the rain or cold. Best of all, we’ll pack up and head home while you head into Beaver Stadium. We’re spoiled because we live 20 minutes from the old Erector set.
So many people invest so much more time and money in their fandom, traveling hours, maybe staying two nights in town, all that. Their dedication is impressive and deserves appreciation and respect.
It’s just not for me.
That said, whenever next season’s schedule gets set, we’ll probably try to find a way to figure out how to make the trip to Washington work, and the football game would be the centerpiece of that trip. It’d be more about a first-time visit to Husky Stadium, though, and getting to the Pacific Northwest in general.
Maybe that’s the change. For so long, the game was the thing. It’s not anymore — and it probably has not been after years as a sportswriter. The whole chronicle-the-action, make-deadline necessity made any gameday a black-and-white proposition.
It was work — granted not at all bail hay, go down into a mine or hard labor work, but still work. So, we gave up our season tickets four seasons ago, after nearly a quarter century of buying season tickets.
That made being a fair-weather fan even easier and more enjoyable. Because you never felt guilty that you were not getting your money’s worth.
All that said, there are exceptions — largely centered on history.
That’s why we’ve traveled to Alabama, Auburn, Michigan and Notre Dame through the years. Road games are just different, providing a break from the routine and a chance at exploration — a way to see college football from a different perspective.
Thanks to that same history perspective, there’s a good chance that a season opener makes my list. And it’s likely (barring some emergency), that Saturday’s season-ending home game against Nebraska will merit an in-person visit as well.
It’s history times two, after all.
Terry Smith could get his first home victory as the interim coach, and running back Kaytron Allen could become Penn State’s all-time leading rusher. He needs 139 yards, which is a lot, but it’s a quantifiable amount for a chase.
So, while it might not be full-on fair weather this week, the conditions do seem right to attend a game for just the third time this season.
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