Automobiles of different shapes and sizes are congesting roads outside of Pennsylvania State University’s coliseum-like Beaver Stadium.
Sedans zip through the intersection of Curtin and Porter roads to find the nearest parking spot. Buses crawl sheepishly through the stop signs to avoid excessive stress on the brakes or a crossing pedestrian.
It’s early Friday evening of the Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end of summer. Football season is looming in Central Pennsylvania, and the Penn State Nittany Lions start their season tomorrow against Ohio University.
As some students chat about their predictions for gameday, a massive RV with Penn State logos turns into a nearly deserted parking lot. A female passenger, Sandee, steps out of the vehicle. Her purple Crocs hit the lot before she hooks a leash on a large, white dog named Toby who wastes no time lifting his leg over a nearby patch of grass. A younger woman, Kelly, also exits the RV and stretches while her father, Chuck, produces a cooler filled with refreshments.
They are the McClains. They’ve traveled more than three hours from Delaware to get to this parking space. They are Penn State fans.
Only minutes after the McClains pull in, another behemoth, mobile house parks next to them, leaving a full parking space between the two RVs.
A mustached man, Brad, gets out of the driver’s side and begins to talk to the McClains. His wife, Suzanne, walks around the RV to greet their temporary neighbors as well.
They are the Bookshars. They also travelled over three hours to get to State College, starting their journey near Pittsburgh.
Mentally, though, the journey to make it to the Lions’ 2012 season opener has been far more eventful than any other Friday trip to State College the families have made before.
National media outlets swarmed Happy Valley last year to report on a scandal that involved former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He was convicted in June on more than 40 counts of sexually abusing young boys.
In July, the NCAA imposed sanctions against Penn State after Louis Freeh, an ex-FBI chief, released an investigative report about the scandal, implying that some school officials knew about Sandusky’s crimes. One of those officials was legendary head coach Joe Paterno.
It set off another firestorm of media in State College, which most are getting used to. Even today news vans are parked only a few feet away from where the Bookshars and McClains have docked. Reporters and camera crews are back to report on the first post-scandal football game in Happy Valley.
Suzanne says that she and Brad don’t usually travel to the season opener because of the lack of competition. In the past five seasons, Penn State outscored their opponents 220 - 42.
But, as part of the NCAA sanctions, PSU was forced to vacate all wins from 1998 – 2011. So, the official record books now show five losses instead of five thrashings.
But they had to come up for this home opener to support the team, Suzanne says.
As both families discuss the scandal, they eventually land on the subject of the media.
There was the whole idea that Penn State needed to change its culture, Chuck says with a look of discontent.
“What does that mean? They say it like it’s a bad thing,” he says.
Brad shakes his head in agreement.
“It’s all about the Penn State family,” he quickly adds.
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Traveling Friday night as opposed to gameday Saturday is not only a strategy to beat the traffic but a necessity when you’re behind the wheel of an RV, Suzanne says.
“It’s not fun,” she adds.
Chuck says that Kelly, a sophomore at Penn State Brandywine, adjusted her Friday class schedule so that the family could get to State College earlier.
The adults begin to reminisce about the long trips to Happy Valley they took as children. The four to six hour trips were longer back then because the roads didn’t allow as much traffic as they do now, Brad says behind his sunglasses.
A seasoned veteran, Brad has been coming to games since he was a student at Penn State. He got his season tickets in 1974. So, it comes as no surprise that the refrigerator in his Reflection RV is stocked with recently purchased ice cream from the infamous Penn State Berkey Creamery. A necessity for any tailgate, he says.
On the other hand, Chuck, a lifelong fan, got his season tickets in 2000, after the expansions to Beaver Stadium. He went on eBay and bought his Vacationer RV for the sole purpose of coming to Penn State football games.
Chuck says it’s more economical to stay in an RV for game weekends, citing how expensive hotel rooms cost in State College for football events. But with two couches that pull out into beds, sinks, a coffeemaker, a bathroom, a shower, a refrigerator, a table, an oven and a master bedroom, the only distinction between his RV and a hotel room is the wheels.
Neither family will be confined to their mobile living space tonight though. They will all be attending Football Eve, the traditional pep rally that takes place before every Penn State home game, before they drive to their “campground” for the night – a Walmart parking lot.
It’s the most convenient spot to park for the night because everything you need is only a few steps away, Brad says as he fixes his blue Penn State cap.
As the group continues to share small gameday tips, Toby is sitting in the McClain’s passenger seat, staring at the quiet Pennsylvania landscape and whining a bit. It’s almost time for the families to depart, and Toby needs to roam the grass one more time.
Sandee admits that she doesn’t always go into the game with Chuck and Kelly. Sometimes she’ll sit out by the RV with Toby and enjoy the game from afar. She says that Toby is very well-behaved, except for the previous Blue and White weekend.
The McClain’s were in State College to get a small taste of football during the April scrimmage when, all of the sudden, fireworks went off.
Toby got scared.
“We were parked right over there,” she says, pointing to a corner of the lot near Lubrano Park, the university’s baseball facility.
“So were we,” Suzanne says, smiling at the coincidence.
“We were probably right next to you,” Brad adds.
The more the families talk, the more they start to realize that they vaguely remember each other from that weekend - if only for the fact that their diesel-powered, hotels-on-wheels were parked in the same proximity.
The sun begins to fall behind Beaver Stadium, and the McClains and the Bookshars get ready to enter the pep rally. Chuck puts the cooler in the RV as Kelly gives Toby some water. Brad and Suzanne make sure that the Reflection is locked up and safe from any potential harm. Before they part ways, Brad looks at the group.
“Hey…let’s go State.”
Next article I'll post is about a health issue. Stay tuned.
