What happened to the student section I loved?

A student section that won ESPN’s Live Más Student Section of the Year in 2019 now struggles to fill up for a Stripe Out game just five short years later.

It wasn’t until midway through the second quarter on Saturday that all rows of the student section were full. This only lasted until partway through the third quarter when students made their way back to the tailgate lots.

Even when the section is full, there are groups of students sitting and scrolling on their phones rather than watching the game in front of them. How did we even get to this point?

If you were to ask students during preseason how Penn State football’s season will go, what would they have told you? Most will say that the team will go 10-2 with a loss to Ohio State. Can you blame them? That’s been the case for the last two seasons and nearly every season from 2016 to 2019.

That kind of consistency gives students the belief that Penn State will win every game we play until we face Ohio State or Michigan late in the season. Unfortunately, due to this, students now seemingly don’t care as much as they once did about going into the games. They now show up on their own time and leave when their legs start to hurt from standing. If you can stand 46 hours at THON, then you can stand three hours for a football game.

Many people like to point fingers as to why we shouldn’t be excited for certain games. The biggest victim of the finger-pointing is Big Noon Kickoff and how its ruined prime-time games. Others blame the choices of what games are chosen to be theme games such as the Stripe Out or White Out. 

There shouldn’t be a scapegoat to excuse the lack of enthusiasm for Penn State football. This is a program that has expectations because of its storied history. Although we have yet to get over the hump, students shouldn’t shy away from fully buying into the program.

No matter the decision of what game to wear matching white apparel for or what channel is covering the game, Penn State football games still have to be played because outcomes are never decided prior to gameday. Every Saturday around the country, we’re reminded anything can happen in college football. Our student body should be ready to watch its team play — no matter the opponent.

Beaver Stadium is known as one of the toughest places to play and that reputation can change if outsiders begin to believe our student body only cares for the big games on the team’s schedule. After all, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest college football stadium in the country and fourth-largest in the world.

Don’t think for a second, either, that the crowd doesn’t affect the game because we always hear about the “Mo Bamba” play in the 2019 White Out against Michigan, when fans caused Jim Harbaugh to call a timeout on the first play. If we know we have this extra advantage, then why wouldn’t we utilize it every single home game?

To clarify, many students show up early and are loud weekly. This isn’t directed at the students who sacrifice their weeknights to camp in tents for a noon game against Bowling Green. The people who need to read this are the ones who’d rather be in a grass parking lot drinking than supporting their football team.

It’s hard to continue to buy in after being hurt in some capacity each season, but hey, that’s the reality of any sport. The agony of defeat and unwavering hope of eventually getting over the hump is what brings so many of us back every season.

I know you all will show up to the Ohio State game early and be louder than any other game of the year. Let’s continue our reputation of being the toughest — and best — environment in college football by getting into the stadium early, being loud during every play, and for the love of everything blue and white, standing the entire game.