Not many Penn State students head to the Lion’s Den downtown for a night out and think to themselves, “I will meet the person I am going to marry tonight.” That certainly wasn’t what was in the minds of Susan and Mike Nasif when they went out for drinks with their friends the night before a football game, but 25 years later, they’re happily married with kids.

In September 2000, the pair found themselves in town during football season for a game against Louisiana Tech. Mike Nasif had graduated from Penn State in 1995 and Susan Nasif, who had started at Penn State but ultimately transferred to Rutgers for the in-state tuition, was still a huge Penn State fan.

Susan Nasif was downtown with her old roommate, and after starting out at the Adam’s Apple bar, they ended up at the Den. It was a nice night out so they wanted to be outside, and the Den was one of the few places they could go with an outdoor section. Mike Nasif must’ve shared that same idea because he and his friend ended up there as well and took to the patio.

One thing led to another and Susan Nasif, 26 at the time, and Mike Nasif, 27, ended up meeting and talking. The Den isn’t typically an alumni hotspot, and Mike Nasif said it’s always carried that reputation.

“Oh yeah, even back then it was a dive,” he said.

After talking for hours, Susan Nasif remembers going back to her hotel and telling her roommate she was going to marry the man she had just met. Although taken with Susan Nasif, Mike Nasif shared with a laugh that he didn’t share that exact same sentiment.

The next day, Mike Nasif reached out to Susan Nasif and offered her and her friend a ride to the game. They went together, met up at halftime, and even made plans for dinner after the game at Outback Steakhouse.

After enjoying each other’s company all weekend, they both went home to different parts of the country, with Susan Nasif in New Jersey and Mike Nasif in Wisconsin. The distance didn’t end things for them though. Despite almost 1,000 miles between them and long-distance phone call fees, they kept in contact and even met up in Nashville the following weekend. So began their long stretch of long distance.

Three months later, they both went back to Penn State and Susan Nasif met all of his friends to “pass the test,” as she called it.

And passed the test she did, because two years later, almost to the day, they got married. They remarked on how traveling became more difficult after 9/11 so after they got engaged, Susan Nasif left her job in Manhattan and joined Mike Nasif in Wisconsin, where they still live today.

The wedding was Penn State themed, and instead of table numbers, the signs each indicated a different Penn State building. Mike and Susan Nasif’s table name? The Den, naturally.

Susan Nasif joked that picking the wedding date was hard because, in true Penn State fan fashion, they could not schedule it when Penn State football played.

They are both extremely grateful for all that Penn State has brought to them, and they are lifelong fans because of it. Despite living in Wisconsin, they try to go to as many football games as possible. Mike Nasif helps teach in the Smeal supply chain management department, on occasion, and their daughter is a student at Penn State. Although they are slightly far from Pennsylvania, they go to many away football games since they live in the Midwest.

“NBC actually filmed our tailgate at the Wisconsin game,” Mike Nasif said.

“When we are downtown and we pass the Den with our daughter we have to remind her that’s the reason she’s here,” Susan Nasif said with a laugh.

“Penn State is our life,” she continued. “If it weren’t for the Den, our lives would be so different.”

Susan Nasif’s sister also met her husband in Happy Valley, some of their friends are Penn State couples, and their dog is even named Barkley, which Mike Nasif, a Giants fan, made sure to note was in homage to Penn State Saquon Barkley, not the Philadelphia Eagles’ Barkley.

So although you most likely will not marry the person you meet at Den that buys you a $2 You-Call-It, take some inspiration from Mike and Susan Nasif’s story and never give up hope on finding love at Penn State.

“We would wait for a good deal and buy the tickets,” Mike Nasif said.

Editor’s note: Mike and Susan Nasif, years after their meeting at the Den, begat a daughter, Sarah. Sarah now works for Onward State.