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Power Ranking White Out Colors

It’s that special time of the year.

The leaves are turning brown and falling to the ground. The air is getting cool and the moisture seems to dissipate. You get to start wearing that flannel or hoodie that’s been sitting in your closet for the first few weeks of classes because it was too hot to wear anything other than a t-shirt and shorts. And of course, the Penn State White Out is around the corner.

There isn’t much like seeing a stadium of 110,000 people decked out in white all for one purpose. And when it’s asked, the crowd responds with joy to the question: “Are you ready for Penn. State. Football???”

With the White Out quickly approaching, we decided to rank White Out colors to celebrate the 15th edition of the full stadium White Out.

1. White

This wasn’t a very difficult choice. Obviously, white is going to be an easy selection here. Look around you at Beaver Stadium, and most everyone is wearing white. Sure, you’ll have that one freshman who thinks that they’re funny or “different” and wears black, but all the cool kids are wearing white. For obvious reasons, this isn’t counting away fans wearing orange, or “maize,” or black, or whatever teams are wearing these days.

There really is nothing like the White Out. Other schools have tried to replicate it, but Ohio State’s red just doesn’t have the same feel. Michigan’s yellow doesn’t do it either. There’s something particularly special about the sea of white coming from 110,000 people screaming that another color can’t replicate. It’s why the night game White Outs are so special. A crowd of Purdue fans dressed in black doesn’t stand out against the night sky. A Beaver Stadium-sized crowd of Penn State fans in white just pops in person and on TV.

There’s also something profound about the color white on a more spiritual level. Traditional Christian religions have used white to symbolize purity or peace. It’s used in association with the saints and even with Jesus himself. What does this mean? Obviously, the Penn State fanbase is the college football equivalent of a religious deity. Penn State and the White Out has been called football heaven before as a recruiting tool, but what if it was really true? What if this really was heaven?

So what if the crowd is filled with 30,000 students who had way too many Miller Lites before they walked through the gates? So what if your dad accidentally had a few too many with his old frat brothers while your mom finished off her eighth wine cooler? Humanity needed Jesus Christ to save it from sin. College football needs Penn State to save it from Iowa, Michigan, Auburn, or whatever other team the Nittany Lions choose to bring to salvation.

That’s what the White Out really is. A religious experience. Ask the 18-year-old kid standing in the student section screaming his head off as he finally understood why people love Penn State so much. That’s a feeling no other color can bring. No amount of orange, yellow, black, crimson, or anything else can match the feeling that white brings to Beaver Stadium.

No other color can create what the color white brings to the White Out. It’s comfortably the best color seen in the stadium, no matter what anyone else wears.

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About the Author

Joe Lister

Joe is a junior journalism major at Penn State and an associate editor at Onward State. He covers Penn State football and enjoys yelling on Twitter about Philadelphia/Penn State sports. If you want to find him, Joe's usually watching soccer with his shirt off or at the gym with his shirt on. Please send all positive affirmations and/or hate mail toward him on Twitter (iamjoelister) or via email ([email protected]).

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