We Are...PENN STATE!

This weekend marked a first for Gabe and I. Our first Penn State game. I know, we both grew up within driving distance of State College and Gabe especially is an avid football fan. (Me, not so much.) Still, for some reason or another, neither of us had ever taken part in the experience of tailgating at a Penn State game.

Enter Nancy. And her parents. And their kick-ass motor home. And her brother's extra tickets. And my mom's willingness to baby-sit G3 for the day. We had ourselves set up for a pretty damn good day...heck, even Kellie had agreed to come after waffling back and forth over issues such as lack of a ticket and a lousy weather forcast.

Saturday a.m. dawned with rain (of course) but it was surprisingly warm out for November. It took some maneuvering to get Gabe and Kellie up and ready to go by 6:15a.m. (picture me running back and forth between bedrooms while each of them begged me "five more minutes please!" Despite our doubts, we arrived at Nancy's parents house at 7 a.m. sharp and boarded the party bus.

The day unfolded much as I imagined it would...only 100 times enhanced. We arrived by 8:30a.m. and joined the thousands of other Penn State fans, decked out in blue and white and gortex, and began tailgating. Our party included Gabe, Kellie, Nancy and myself, Nancy's parents Frank and Pam, her brother Terry, and various other friends of theirs, none of who's names I can remember. By 9a.m. I had already stained my white sweatshirt with wine and Nancy and Kellie had been digging through Frank's bucket o' booze. We traisped around outside, enjoying the rain (really!) Food was consumed and by the time it was time to go into the game, the drizzle had become a downpour. Fortunately we (along with thousands of other people) donned our raingear and went to cheer for Penn State!

As for the game itself...well, it was my least favorite part of the day (sorry but it was!!) I think I actually said to Gabe and Kellie "this is my first and last game ever!" Its possible, possible, that was half a bottle of wine talking. However, there is definitly "something" about being in a packed stadium cheering on a team...even when you are absolutely soaking wet and--as Kellie put it--"getting a headache from the detox" (no drinking in the game!!) Gabe had supplied us all with handwarmers meant for hunting and fishing, and the game flew by. Penn State beat Indiana but I couldn't tell you what the final score was...

Anyhow. After the game, it was time for more tailgating. We ate, drank, danced, sang, and celebrated Penn State's win along with the sun making it's first appearence in about a week, resulting in a double rainbow. We took lots of pictures, toasted with the Nowicki's, and began to pack it up.

All in all it was a FANTASTIC day. So much that Gabe is considering it one of his Top 10 best days of life. So much that Gabe is considering skipping his family Thanksgiving next weekend to do it all over again (don't worry, we're not...) But we're definitly, as Gabe said, altering our long-term life goals to include "owning a motor home" someday:)