Transfer student experiences her first Penn State football game, learns truth behind the myths

Saturday I was initiated into the Penn State football experience -- something I hope to experience many times throughout the next three years.

I went to my first Penn State football game. As a transfer student from Indiana University, I had been to college football games before, but at Indiana everyone knew the team would never win, so the mood at those games was somber, for the few who even showed up.

The only time there was excitement at a football game for Indiana was when Ohio State came, because it looked as if half the state of Ohio came to cheer on their Buckeyes to victory and clinch a spot in the Rose Bowl.

This time I was ready to have half the state of Pennsylvania come to cheer on the home team to victory.

I had heard a lot of rumors about Penn State football games -- people in the student section drenching each other in beer, throwing marshmallows and at the end of the game, scrambling all over to pick up those souvenir cups their sodas came in so they can use them to hold their own "soda" at the fraternity parties that night.

I didn't see any of this at the game, though.

I did see a lot of souvenir cups on the ground at the end of the game -- but they were litter on the ground along with the half-eaten hot dogs and pretzels that were strewn all over the place.

The thing that surprised me most about the game was the number of people.

I could hardly find an empty seat by the beginning of the second quarter when most of the people had drifted in.

Another thing that caught me by surprise was the loud Nittany Lion roar that came from the scoreboard speakers continuously throughout the game. At first I didn't know what the sound was or where it was coming from and I thought it sounded like an earthquake.

I soon figured out where it was coming from. I thought it was really cute but still a bit loud.

I was impressed with the Penn State Blue Band and thought they were the string that tied the game together. The University of Pittsburgh band was good, but they didn't seem to play with the fire that the Blue Band did.

When the Blue Band was playing the alma mater everyone sang "We don't know the God-damn words" to the tune of it, which I thought was pretty strange, but then realized it might be one of the many student traditions.

The crowd really seemed to be into the game, which was nice to see, especially when they went into their "We are . . . Penn State" cheers and "Go State."

Throughout the whole game, people would whine "We're not going to be No. 1 anymore" while others yelled "Get over it."

Then there were those who said "I wanted to get on SportsCenter tonight but I didn't get dressed up."

There were those who were trying to get on television, such as the person dressed up in the chicken suit in the student section.

I thought the beach balls were pretty cool, because people got to bonk others in the head who weren't paying attention. The people selling hot dogs, pretzels, and sodas in the aisles brought back memories of going to Philadelphia Phillies baseball games, but they weren't as obnoxious as the baseball game vendors.

Most of all, nothing that happened at the game really shocked me.

I was expecting the mile-long lines for soda, people outside scalping tickets, and a lot of crazy people -- 97,115 to be exact -- talking with friends and cheering on the Nittany Lions to yet another victory.