Penn State: If You Don’t Go Here, We’ll See You on the Field
By Samantha Pearson
Unigo Intern at PSU
The crowd is pumped. Wearing our colors of blue and white, we are undefeatable. On the field. On the court. In the gym. On the mat. Penn State students show up to support our teams and crush our opponents. Needless to say, we have many heated rivalries.
We’re not sure where our hatred for the other Big Ten teams comes from. We assume that it’s just past losses or the fear of losing against them. Students don’t want to see Penn State lose. It’s who we are. If our team loses, we lose. That’s why we show up to every game, every day. We support our school and build our pride with every point on the scoreboard.
When Michigan State’s coach, Rich Rodriguez, brought the Wolverines to our field, we were out for revenge. The last time that we had played them, we lost because the referees controversially added one second to the clock. This year on homecoming, we sent the Michigan pack back with a loss on their record.
When Jim Tressel, coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, showed up in his traditional sweater vest at Columbus this year, our many fans there and at home got excited for our talented team. We wanted to win. (Oh-How-I-Hate-Ohio-State!) And for the first time in thirty years, we won at the Horseshoe. Riots broke out on the streets of College Avenue and students were charged with various offenses, but nothing could break our happiness for the victory.
Those are only two of our major rivalries (and only two recounts of our glorious victories against them). We have another coming up. Michigan State, one of the only Big Ten teams we play almost every year, is coming to Penn State on Nov. 22. Many are counting down to the game.
“Being a senior, we are all looking forward to the game and hoping for a win,” said Mary Kate Decoursey, a senior majoring in public relations. “We had an amazing freshman football season and a victory against Michigan State would make our senior season end that way.”
“It’s a great rivalry between two big schools,” agreed Ben Falcone, a freshman in earth and mineral sciences. “I look forward to the Penn State-Michigan State game every year because it is always an exciting Big Ten game. No better way to end the season than seeing the Nittany Lions and the Spartans squaring off.”
Kristin Ewing, a junior majoring in accounting, tries to be friendly.
“I don’t hate Michigan State…but I do hope that we win.”
Our rivalry against Michigan State doesn’t end on the field. For the past 15 years, we have also been competing against them to see who can collect more blood (And no, I don’t mean on the field.). Our two schools host blood drives through the Red Cross the entire week leading up to the game. And these last couple of years, students have been giving their blood (literally) for the team they are dedicated to.
“We beat them in blood donations, so we can beat them on the field,” said Andrew Bean, a freshman in engineering.
Penn State doesn’t hate our rival teams. We just love ours too much…and that’s exactly what we will be doing in the stands. Loving our team and waiting for a victory against the Spartans. Let’s go Penn State!