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August 23, 2003

by Jared Bean

From the Parking Lot:

Despite the problems with parking, the crew and I are looking forward to another season of tailgating. Ever since the Blue/White Game we have been trudging through summer eyeing August 30th as our New Year’s Day. Cue the fireworks, we are less than a week away from Penn State Tailgating.

The 2003 version of the tailgate should be better than ever. The best thing about the first game of the year is the chance to show off all of the new tailgating gear. The new things for this year include an 8ft. inflatable Nittany Lion. Let’s face it folks, inflatable animals bring joy to young and old alike. It’s just one more thing to make our tailgate bigger and better. We only hope that that this fragile animal can survive a tackle from any acquaintances that may cross the line of sobriety.

How many of you tailgaters out there get tired of the same old food, cooked on the same old grill? We’ve faced this problem head on with the purchase of a turkey fryer. Sure, the old stand-bys will remain in our lives forever, but how can any tailgate resist freshly made wings, and an attempt at a deep fried turkey. Good food brings good friends together more times than not and this year will be no exception. To complement the fryer we’ve also added some new and exciting recipes to our stable. Be sure to check them out on the Recipe page of PennStateTailgate.com.

It will be great to see the 150,000 friends I’ve left behind for nine months. So drive safely, arrive early, drink plenty, fire up the grill, enjoy the football, and have fun. Tailgate season is upon us.

From the Field:

By many accounts the Penn State Football team is shaping up to be in very good shape, with the season only a few days away. This is the beauty of college athletics. Every year the coaching staff inherits a brand new team. It is a team with new players, just out of high school, some only 18 years old. And you know what? The coaches are given only four weeks to make them a team; a team that is not supposed to LOSE a game.

Unlike the NFL if you want a shot at immortality by winning the “National Championship” you pretty much can’t lose. You can’t go 12-4 and hope to get hot in the playoffs. First of all you only play a max of 12 or 13 games and second of all THERE IS NO PLAYOFF! (That however, is an issue for another column). It’s just win, and at a big time school like Penn State the fans won’t accept anything less.

The point of this little personal tirade is this; How could anyone NOT get excited about this time of year. My predictions for the season are optimistic as always. Joe has seemed very enthusiastic in all of his public appearances, and he’s on a Wheaties box for heaven’s sake. I say we go 10-2 with losses to Purdue and Wisconsin. Not the popular pick for the teams we lose to, but it’s the hunch I have. This team is coming into the season under the radar in the Big Ten. I think if we get the breaks we didn’t get last year we have a shot at a very good season and maybe even a Rose Bowl Berth. If so, you can watch for this column out of Pasadena in late December.

Until next time…GO STATE!

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