From dancing in Beaver Stadium to the sidelines of Lucas Oil Stadium, Colts cheerleader MacLaine Funsch cherished seeing the Nittany Lions in her home stadium for the Big Ten Championship.

Funsch danced on the Lionettes during her freshman year in 2014 and then joined the Whiplash club hip-hop team for the remainder of her collegiate career. Two days after graduating, Funsch knew she wanted to become an NFL cheerleader.

Funsch was immediately drawn to the Colts organization. She said they were one of the first teams to have a mental health initiative, something that meant a lot to her.

Embarking on her third season on the team, Funsch has the opportunity to help manage the team’s uniforms and help design them. With that, Funsch went back to school through the Penn State World Campus to earn a graphic design degree to start a creative career as well.

As she continues making her mark on and off the sidelines, Funsch’s Penn State roots came back into focus when her alma mater took the field in her NFL home stadium.

“It was this big event that put all these important pieces of my life together,” she said. “Penn State kind of shaped who I was as a young woman, and then the Colts really shaped who I am as an adult.”

Living in Indianapolis, Funsch hadn’t come across many Penn Staters, making the moment even more special.

“It just made me feel like I made it,” she added. “It just felt like home was finally here with me.”

Having both her worlds collide, Funsch reflected on how similar Penn State and Colts fans are.

“They are both crazy dedicated, loud, and absolutely lose their mind,” she said. “That’s all they care about.”

The energy from both fanbases is something Funsch says fuels her passion on the sidelines. Whether it’s the roar of Beaver Stadium or the cheers at Lucas Oil, she feels right at home in the middle of it all.

The atmosphere that reminded Funsch of Beaver Stadium is one reason why she believes Lucas Oil Stadium is the perfect place for the Big Ten Championship. Funsch said the stadium is also a museum, having displays of the Indy 500 and Colts owner Jim Irsay’s collectibles from throughout the years.

“We have the rockets that are shooting confetti all the time, we have crazy lights, and we have a crazy sound system,” Funsch said. “I think for a game as big as this, getting the college fans all hyped up when they’re not from here and they’re coming in is huge.”

Funsch said lessons and traditions she picked up at Penn State have carried into her role in Indianpolis.

“I’m very thankful for kind of dichotomy of having that really, really strict athletic team, and then having more of a club hip hop team,” Funsch said about being on both teams during college. “So it feels like the two pieces of that aspect of my college career kind of came together and helped me make this team, which I think is sweet because I think they both serve the purpose differently.”

After being on the team for three seasons now, Funsch is confident that she made the right choice for the organization to cheer for.

“I think finding an organization that has the same feeling that I had at Penn State is really what made it so special for me,” she said. “It’s when I knew immediately I had that same gut feeling when I chose Penn State.”