For the first time

As you can imagine it has taken me awhile to move on from the instances at Penn State but today I am ready to write about my weekend in State College after the news about Joe being fired by the Board of Trustees.

For the first time I drove out to Penn State from NYC. For the first time I purchased football tickets as a Nittany Lion Club member. For the first time I took a picture with Joe's statue. For the first time my Dad dressed up as Joe Paterno for the game. For the first time we didn't tailgate. For the first time I picked up tickets from Will Call. For the first time I missed the opening songs played by The Blue Band and I missed the famous flip. I didn't see the players come out arm and arm and I didn't see or experience the meeting at midfield of Nebraska and Penn State. I watched it all on TV later since it took me about 20 minutes to get up to section SBU and find my seat after waiting in line for my tickets at will call. At the time I didn't know what happened on the field up to that point so I was frustrated and hot from walking up stairs that seemed endless. The seats were up there but the view was different, my perspective of the game was different. I held my alumni association pompom and shook it to cheer on the nittany lions.

Luckily I made it to a seat (not my ticketed seat) in time to see the kick off. For the first time Joe Paterno wasn't head coach. I would be lying if I said it wasn't weird because it totally was strange. The whole morning just didn't seem right. Everything was just different and out of the ordinary. I originally purchased the tickets when I thought it would be Joe's last game in Beaver Stadium but my reasoning on being there had changed. I was there to recognize the victims, support the team, and again value an educational institution. The game was weird, the players clearly wanted to win under their new appointed leadership but something was missing from their typical energetic player personalities. I continued to cheer on the lions and shake my pompom but there just wasn't much action. For the first time this season Penn State lost to Nebraska, their first Big 10 loss of the season. For the first time it took me 30 min to get out of the stadium. For the first time I didn't sit with my parents, faithful alumni. For the first time Mike experienced the American Alehouse and sang along to the Piano Man after the game. I experienced and witnessed a lot of "firsts" in state college that were changes from what I am used to when I visit but I realized throughout the weekend that there were firsts that represented new beginnings for Penn State. The students cheered on their classmates on the field, the "WE ARE PENN STATE" cheer went on and on for many verses followed by "Thank You, You're Welcome" than I can remember from all the games I have been in the stadium. The students wore blue to recognize the victims involved with the unfortunate case. For the first time it was a blue out. For the first time the students cheered on their classmates after the game. As the players exited the stadium the students went crazy showing their support regardless of the games outcome. For the first time I saw players take a knee and cry in the endzone. Not sure if it was a senior taking in his last game or taking in the most recent events that have impacted him as a student and a player. For the first time reporters flocked to Jay Paterno and Tom Bradley asking more about the scandal than the game but both of them refocused the reporters reminding them that the current topic of discussion at that moment was the game between Penn State and Nebraska.

Since this weekend Penn State has undergone many changes in administration and policies and beat Ohio State.