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Yesterday marked another step forward toward a new era of Penn State Football. Students, members of the State College community, and fans – most of whom will be attending the game today – packed Beaver Stadium for Football Eve, the annual pep rally before the first game of the season.

David Nevins, a local State College business owner, introduced the new “Together We Are One” campaign, the goal of which is to “make the community better by using strong principles and determinate action.”

Men’s basketball coach Pat Chambers got the crowd pumped up the same way that he did at Be a Part from the Start, leading “O-B” chants for Bill O’Brien followed by “One Team” chants. Coach Chambers’ fiery personality got the fans excited more than any of the other speakers at the event.

Other Penn State coaches attended the event, which emphasized the “One Team” theme. Included in those coaches were Men’s Soccer coach Bob Warming, Men’s Volleyball coach Mark Pavlik, Women’s Softball coach Robin Petrini, Women’s Lacrosse coach Missy Doherty, Men and Women’s Gymnastics coaches Randy Jepson and Jeff Thompson respectively, and Men and Women’s Hockey coaches Guy Gadowski and Josh Brandwene respectively. The Men’s Lacrosse coach Jeff Tramboni introduced the Blue Band which played many of the game day classics that will be heard tomorrow.

Not only will the classic Penn State songs be played, but Blue Band Director Dr. Richard Bundy introduced a new song to be played at the game tomorrow, “We Love Ya,” which began at Nittanyville. The song caught on well amongst the crowd.

Performances by the Nittany Lion and the National Champion Lionettes Dance Team got the crowd ready for Coach O’Brien and the rest of the members of the football team, who were introduced by Women’s Basketball coach Coquese Washington. A never seen before pump up video was also played, and will be shown again at the game tomorrow.

Coach O’Brien’s speech was short, but to the point. He closed off by saying, “The [team’s] ready to hit somebody else; they’re tired of hitting each other.” Not only did it describe the way the team felt, but also how much the fans have been waiting for kickoff to show the rest of the country what Penn State really is.

Following the end of the event, fans marched together to Jeffery Field and Rec Hall for men’s soccer and women’s volleyball games, respectively. Both teams would emerge victorious a few hours later setting the tone for the football team to continue a great weekend of Penn State Athletics.

Slideshow photos by Hannah Lane & Eric Weiss