The Penn Stater Magazine

‘Twas the Night Before Iowa…

September 25, 2009 at 8:38 pm Tina Hay Leave a comment

…and all was pretty calm at Beaver Stadium tonight. No rain—yet. And while the stadium was lit up like it will be at this time tomorrow night, it was a little empty, as were the parking lots. This is a view from the south end zone/club seats area near Gate B. (Click to see a larger version.)

Around the corner from that, near the student entrance, Paternoville was all lit up, but pretty quiet. Some students were just lounging on their sleeping bags inside their tents; others were standing around talking.

I heard a few Penn State students talking to two Iowa fans who had happened by; the Penn State students were advising the Iowa fans to be careful about where to go downtown and how much to flaunt their Iowa status. “Not everyone will be as nice about it as we’re being,” the one Penn State student cautioned.

I asked a student who was just hanging out in his tent why he wasn’t at the pep rally over at Rec Hall, and he said, “I never go to the pep rally. This [meaning Paternoville] is like a week-long pep rally.”

How long had he been camped here? “Since 5:30 Monday morning.”

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: Campus events, Joe Paterno, Penn State football, Penn State students, Penn State traditions. Tags: Beaver Stadium, Iowa football, Paternoville.