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October 8, 2003

by Jared Bean

From the Parking Lot:

The winds of change were blowing in Happy Valley on Saturday. Unfortunately, they only blew away our canopies, and not our team’s misfortune. Saturday was another dreary day in University Park, with flashes of sunshine mixed with a lot of rain and darkness. Like no other year, this year’s weather has mirrored the Penn State season.

In the parking lot, the mood remained upbeat and positive, but the frustration with the football hangs over the crowd. After another relocation, we have found what we think may be a new home to tailgate. The pavilions, with all of their luxury and convenience, certainly had their downfalls, most notably the absence of parking. This forced a move. So, I dare say, we’ve returned to our roots. “Back to the Parking Lot.”

Saturday also had me reflecting a bit on the very busy first two-thirds of the season, thinking about our tailgate and the people who make it. Tailgating, as a lifestyle, requires a lot of preparation. There’s food to be cooked, cars to be packed, and supplies to be replenished. For all of the fun there is a lot of work, from setting up in the wee hours to tearing down after dark. But even on the dreariest of fall Saturday’s, when the frustration from the weather, and from the team, and from all of the work to get things ready, is really starting to show, you can still have fun. How? The recipe is simple; with a pot of hot soup, a cold beer, and a lot of friends. This is the reason why there is a love of tailgating and football in many people’s lives that cannot be easily matched. Seeing your closest friends every week, just sitting around in a circle, talking about nothing, talking about something, laughing, and enjoying, is something to cherish. Life in the parking lot isn’t always easy, or clean, or even dry some days. But life in the parking lot is definitely worth it.

From the Field:

Penn State found another way to lose on Saturday. (Stop me if you’ve heard all of this before.) This week, the offense was acceptable, the defense worked hard, but the special teams absolutely disintegrated. It was a performance on Special Teams, not seen in many years at Beaver Stadium, and it cost the football team the game.

The 107,000 (announced crowd; actually closer to 95,000) die-hards in attendance Saturday were once again treated to a game. There were big plays, turnovers, futile comeback attempts, and another example of how PSU can lose.

Penn State, as many predicted, came out of the tunnel and marched down the field, showing a consistency on offense that has been lacking at most points this season. After exchanging turnovers, the Lions scored first on a field goal. The crowd and the team felt a glimmer of optimism. It was all downhill from there, especially for the kicking and special teams. Two missed field goals, a missed extra point, and two fumbled returns are enough to take the momentum away from any football team, and Penn State was no different on Saturday.

The team once again showed sloppiness, lack of game plan and overall lack of heart and the fans are starting to notice. Walking out of a downtrodden Beaver Stadium are fans who once thought it heartbreaking to leave that place with a loss. The recovery period would be weeks, there would be outbursts of expletives, as the fans relived the play that cost the Lions the game. Fast forward to 2003, and fans, much like the team, are used to walking out and discussing another loss, and laughing in disbelief, that losing has become this easy for a once proud and storied program.

Something has got to give. It is good to see JoePa confirm his optimism week in and week out in his press conferences, but this must be translated to the field or this program and its base of season ticket holders will soon fade into the also-rans of Major College Football. This team needs to focus on winning. Period. The coaches need to do the same thing. Period. Perhaps then, losing will once again become harder.

Until next time…GO STATE!

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