Sometimes, you just need to speak your mind. Today we have Chris Pronchik, a junior finance student, confronting a reality we will all know at least once this year: the pre-noon tailgate.

As games that were marked only as ‘TBA’ become 12:00 pm kickoffs, an important question arises: how do you make the best out of your limited tailgating time?

I remember my East Halls days, waking up at 8:00 am (thinking this was early) and looking ow my Tener Hall window to see just how far behind I was. The strays left in the halls by the time I left were kicking themselves in the head as if they had straight up missed the game.

All in all, I’ve never mustered a really solid effort to get to a pre-noon tailgate. My lagging is usually a result of overzealous Friday nights… you know how it goes when you plan on “going easy” on a football Friday. Next thing you know, it’s 3:00 am and you’re talking to your 6th slice of pizza.

So, in an effort to start the season off right, I developed a slightly pathetic, but effective, alternative. As 11:00 pm rolled around and State College began to budge, I made my way to Giant. I shopped with the best of them– old couples. I reached a new level of discipline and I was up and ready to go first thing Saturday morning.

Still… what’s with the early games? Come on, Penn State.

[Picture taken from Lil’s El’s Flickr account]