Some would say that I have a slight obsession with Penn State football. After all, I am one of those crazy people who camps out for days, sometimes a week, to get the best seats for every home game. While I obviously care (probably too much) what happens on the field, I also take great interest in the overall fan experience at Beaver Stadium. With that in mind, here are my observations of Penn State’s rout over Indiana State from an experiential standpoint.

• A Penn State player has now returned a kickoff for a touchdown in three of the past four season openers (Powell vs. ISU and Youngstown State last year, Derrick Williams vs. Coastal Carolina in 2008). Seniors, our first time ever bouncing to Zombie Nation was D-Will’s return, and we won the Big Ten that year. Hopefully we’re in for something similar this season.

• There was no Gladiator video played before kickoff. This video took its place.

• When the skill players (RB, WR, TE) came out for warmups, (the injured) Curtis Drake broke them down with enough fire and intensity to rival the linebackers. In fact, did you notice how pumped the entire team seems to be this season? It’s great to see them showing so much emotion.

• It may not have been passed by the PA state government, but today was the proposed Joe Paterno Day.

• The Penn State cheerleaders were rocking some intense red lipstick.  Like, enough that I actually noticed.

• The student section has come under fire in recent years, but there were PLENTY of empty seats on the East Sideline and North Endzone this afternoon. I’d suggest that those complaining should “put up or shut up”, and encourage others do to the same. According to @MarkWogenrich, today’s crowd of 96,461 was the smallest at Beaver Stadium since the 2001 expansion.

• On a somewhat related note, if you have advanced seating, get into the game on time. Failing to do so causes ugly, empty blocks in the student section and makes us all look bad.

• It seems like some were bothered by the lack of class divisions in the student section. Personally, I am in favor of any system that rewards the most dedicated fans, no matter what class, with their pick of seats. After all, as @GreeneMacheene points out on Twitter, why should a junior who is late to the game get a better seat than a freshman who was there on time? And, for those who prefer class divisions, what was the difference today?