A Penn State student took this video twenty minutes before the start of this past weekend’s game against Northwestern. It includes the usual sights of empty seats and mobs at Gate A. Take a look and then read below.

Yes, we all know that the new paperless system has not exactly worked out in terms of ease of getting into the stadium. But how are 15,000 students going to get in the stadium in a timely matter when they all show up twenty minutes or a half-hour before kickoff? Gate A opens an hour and a half before each game, giving students more than enough time to file in and get to their seats before kickoff.

Students should be there to support the team during warmups and let the opponent know that we come early and stay late to make their three-hour visit in Beaver Stadium a living hell. And when seats are still left unoccupied during the middle of the 2nd quarter, the Gate A excuse loses a little more credibility each game. For the Northwestern game, a game where many people thought JoePa would win #400, the attendance was only 104,000+, 4,000 less than usual and the lowest that I have seen it in a long time.

So before blaming the system, take a step back and ask yourself (the students) if showing up at the last minute is causing the system to fail.