All in the Family
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/592/1/All-in-the-Family/All-in-the-Family.html
Megan Tomlin
Megan Tomlin is a senior journalism major at Penn State University. She is also a member of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. Megan is a lifelong fan of the Nittany Lions and the New York Yankees.
By Megan Tomlin
Published on 09/25/2006
In the latest installment of Atomic Sports' "Best Sports Memory" series, columnist Megan Tomlin recalls her initiation into the Penn State "family."
In the latest installment of Atomic Sports' "Best Sports Memory" series, columnist Megan Tomlin recalls her initiation into the Penn State "family."
All in the Family
My greatest sports memory has nothing to do with playing a sport, but everything to do with realizing I was part of the biggest “family” in the country.
Last year on a cold, rainy Saturday night, Ohio State traveled to play against the Nittany Lions of Penn State. The Buckeyes lost, but they learned what it’s like to deal with the Penn State family.
I bleed blue and white, so I may seem partial in saying that this was one of the greatest college football games I have ever personally witnessed, but honestly it was.
We were freezing and soaking wet from the ice-cold rain pouring down on us, but no one, and I mean not one single fan, left that game early. We all stuck it out.
The Buckeyes were favored, as usual. They were also ranked that season, well ahead of the Nittany Lions, who were coming off yet another losing season. So what was the big deal?
Imagine 107,000-plus Nittany Lion fans, all wearing white, screaming for their beloved Lions and bouncing to “Zombie Nation.”
ESPN announcers even stated that they’d never seen anything like it. I don’t think any of us ever will again.
It was incredible that our team could possibly run out to that field, after coming off of an embarrassing losing season, to put up a fight against the Buckeyes, who had some of the most talented players in the Big Ten.
What was even more amazing was that all the fans trusted that Joe Paterno, the Fantastic Four and the rest of the Nittany Lions could do it despite what all the “experts” thought.
There’s a famous anonymous quote that always reminds me of this particular night: “From the outside looking in, you could never understand. From the inside looking out, we could never explain.”
The term “bleeding blue and white” was official for all 107,000 of us that night. We watched an incredible football game, complete with fumbles, touchdowns, flags and plays that were thought to be impossible by most people, even those standing in those stands.
Last year on a cold, rainy Saturday night, Ohio State traveled to play against the Nittany Lions of Penn State. The Buckeyes lost, but they learned what it’s like to deal with the Penn State family.
I bleed blue and white, so I may seem partial in saying that this was one of the greatest college football games I have ever personally witnessed, but honestly it was.
We were freezing and soaking wet from the ice-cold rain pouring down on us, but no one, and I mean not one single fan, left that game early. We all stuck it out.
The Buckeyes were favored, as usual. They were also ranked that season, well ahead of the Nittany Lions, who were coming off yet another losing season. So what was the big deal?
Imagine 107,000-plus Nittany Lion fans, all wearing white, screaming for their beloved Lions and bouncing to “Zombie Nation.”
ESPN announcers even stated that they’d never seen anything like it. I don’t think any of us ever will again.
It was incredible that our team could possibly run out to that field, after coming off of an embarrassing losing season, to put up a fight against the Buckeyes, who had some of the most talented players in the Big Ten.
What was even more amazing was that all the fans trusted that Joe Paterno, the Fantastic Four and the rest of the Nittany Lions could do it despite what all the “experts” thought.
There’s a famous anonymous quote that always reminds me of this particular night: “From the outside looking in, you could never understand. From the inside looking out, we could never explain.”
The term “bleeding blue and white” was official for all 107,000 of us that night. We watched an incredible football game, complete with fumbles, touchdowns, flags and plays that were thought to be impossible by most people, even those standing in those stands.
All in the Family
Watching Michael Robinson complete pass after pass, I knew that deep down we were going to win it. The student section was literally shaking from the bouncing that “Zombie Nation” had instilled in us. We couldn’t stop cheering, no matter how cold and wet we were.
But after standing on my feet for four quarters straight, I looked around at all the other fans, dressed head to toe in white for our infamous “white-out,” I realized that this is sports history in the making.
Once the clock stopped and the scoreboard read exactly what the Nittany Lions fans knew it would, the entire student section began storming forward. National Guards lined the field but that wasn’t enough to stop the fans from running onto the field to try to hug whatever “brothers” were left out there. They didn’t storm the field to hurt anyone, as some papers made it seem. They rushed the 50 in order to make sure that everyone knew that if you mess with one Lion, you have to take on the entire herd.
I was one of the lucky ones that got to witness it firsthand. Thousands of students and alumni pulling together to cheer for their brothers, because we simply knew that they could do it. Even though no one else did.
That night we were the 12th man.
But after standing on my feet for four quarters straight, I looked around at all the other fans, dressed head to toe in white for our infamous “white-out,” I realized that this is sports history in the making.
Once the clock stopped and the scoreboard read exactly what the Nittany Lions fans knew it would, the entire student section began storming forward. National Guards lined the field but that wasn’t enough to stop the fans from running onto the field to try to hug whatever “brothers” were left out there. They didn’t storm the field to hurt anyone, as some papers made it seem. They rushed the 50 in order to make sure that everyone knew that if you mess with one Lion, you have to take on the entire herd.
I was one of the lucky ones that got to witness it firsthand. Thousands of students and alumni pulling together to cheer for their brothers, because we simply knew that they could do it. Even though no one else did.
That night we were the 12th man.