Local residents awoke on Sunday morning to find a quieter town. Most fans had pulled out to head home after a glorious Happy Valley day of tailgating with friends and family that reminds you of how good it can be here.
That quiet will be here for a while. On just the sixth day of this month, all of the Penn State home games in the most glorious of football months were gone.
If you were shooting a movie to promote the sport of college football at its most photogenic, it would be on sunny October days at Big Ten stadiums in places like Penn State or Michigan or Wisconsin or even Ohio State. It is a little cooler, the light fleece jackets come out, but the sunglasses are still on, and the smiles are still warm. And for most teams the possibilities of off-season dreams remain.
In October the leaves change and fall softly onto the sidewalks and pathways of campuses that have welcomed generations of students before us and will welcome them long after we are gone.
On sunny October days in that window of peak foliage, the face mother nature puts forward does not need a filter or app to look stunning on social media.
All the while, alumni and students trod on well-worn pathways, each step creating new, or conjuring up, old memories.
That is what tradition is all about. But tradition only lasts if we hold fast to it. It seems harder and harder to do these days.
A new generation of players, administrators, conference officials and television executives have accelerated anything and everything that can monetize the player/fan and university/fan relationship. The explosion of legalized sports gambling drives fan interest and viewership, and is part of the ongoing professionalism of the college game.
Whether or not you like where the college game is headed, it is rocketing toward a new horizon.
The brave new world of college football, with a Big Ten that reaches from sea to shining sea, has led to a lot of changes. Last week while Fox Big Noon Kickoff was in town, some fans yelled at the set “We want the White Out back.” Many grumbled that Fox taking the Ohio State game at noon destroys a chance to have that be a night White Out game.
Blaming TV deals for our schedules is a convenient scapegoat, but the fault is not entirely theirs. The massive realignment and the ceding of our scheduling to TV networks is a function of fiscal necessity. Tickets, parking and concession revenue no longer covers football expenses anymore. TV revenue is needed to cover expenses and show a profit in football.
So, because of scheduling quirks, we have an October that is devoid of any more home games. But the one October gameday that we did get was excellent. The leaves were still a bit too green to really show off this place, but I do know that many visiting UCLA fans were impressed on their first trip to Penn State.
UCLA fans commented on the beauty of the campus and the views of Mount Nittany, and gave high marks for the friendliness of PSU fans. One UCLA fan told me that neither he nor his wife paid for any of the drinks they ordered at the Adam’s Apple waiting for their table at The Tavern, because PSU fans were that nice.
Maybe locals should dress up in Washington gear to pose as visiting fans in a few weeks to see if that trend continues. But a word to the wise who might be tempted to try dressing up in opponent’s gear: I’m pretty sure that courtesy is not extended to OSU fans. Hospitality only goes so far.
So, what to do with these quiet October days in Happy Valley? Drink in the sunlight of the days that grow noticeably shorter each day. Walk along streams, through woods, up hills and mountains listening to the leaves rustle as you shuffle your feet through them. Drop a line or oar into the water of a creek, river or lake somewhere nearby. Sit outside and eat an ice cream cone, with seasonal flavors like Apple Cobbler Crunch or Pumpkin.
Drive along route 322 coming up from Harrisburg and gaze on those stunning vistas of the Juniata River dressed in the reds, oranges, gold and brown of autumn leaves. Stop at the Hostetler’s Country Market in Reedsville to grab a dozen (or more) Allensville Donuts. The cream-filled ones are incredible.
And with this backdrop of mountain leaves exploding in colors in ways that even the most skilled impressionist artist could only dream of replicating, it will leave you with a lasting peace before the hectic home game pace returns in November.
