Thoughts From The Road

If you're ever lucky enough to go to an away game for your team, whatever sport it might be, you'll have the time of your life. I promise you that. No matter where you go, no matter how far away it is, it's some of the best 2 to maybe 4-day trips you're going to have. I've been lucky enough to go on multiple trips to Penn State football away games per year. I just got back from Ann Arbor, Michigan after having been there for 2 days. Penn State lost. The game was hard to watch at times. The fans were in my face every now and the; but it was one of the best weekends I've ever had.

We left Friday afternoon from State College; my two cousins, my uncle, my cousins boyfriend, and me. It’s roughly a six to six and a half hour drive from State College to Ann Arbor. You can make it through any road trip if you have the right people with you. The drive started out with a bombshell when my youngest cousin Dana told us she forgot her license in her dorm room; we were already an hour into our trip. So that was a good indication about how the weekend was going to go. We got into Ann Arbor and checked into our hotel around 10pm. I got into the room and put my bags down, I then texted my fiancé and my parents and told them we made it and all that. Then I texted one of my best friends Kumar who now lives in Ann Arbor and told him we’re in town and his response was along the lines of; “hell yeah”. We went out to a local sports bar and hung out with some friends and had some beers. We told stories and just had good time. We got back to the hotel around 1:45am and quickly passed out because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

Saturday morning was kind of rough after a long day of driving and getting in late then drinking some beers. Nonetheless we got up and ate your average hotel continental breakfast. (One thing that’s nice about when we go to away games are the amount of Penn State fans we see at our hotel or at a restaurant.) Everyone had showered and gotten ready to go and we packed up our car with a cooler of beer and our Penn State gear and around 11am we headed to find a tailgating spot at the campus golf course. Yes, for $40 dollars you can park on the campus golf course. Already a unique experience because of that, we drive onto the golf course and look for a spot and as I’m looking around I see someone I knew and had to do a double-take because I thought the chances of me seeing someone I knew were very slim but sure enough; someone yelled my name out of their car window. We parked next to Penn State fans and got our tailgate set up; we played some music and drank some beers. We made friends with the people around us and exchanged our best Penn State stories. As the day went on more and more people we knew showed up to join us including Kumar and his girlfriend. We went from tailgate to tailgate and cooler to cooler meeting new people and making new friends. The weather was perfect and the beer was cold so what more could football fans want? For anyone who hasn’t been to Ann Arbor I would highly recommend making the trip out there in the future. It’s a nice college town with a great football atmosphere despite what’s happening on the field or off. It was about 6:15pm and we started to make our way up to the stadium and as we interacted with Michigan fans and Penn State fans; there were things said that I probably can’t say in this piece but you can guess what those things were. We walked into the Big House and the only thing I see is maize and blue. We get down to our seats and sure enough we sat next to the people we were originally tailgating with. The game started off pretty well and the offense was able to move the ball down the field and even score some points. But after that, it was tough to watch at times. Our seats were in the Penn State section so we surrounded by people who had the same feelings as us. There were some Michigan fans scattered in our section so naturally we heckled each other like true opposing fans will do. The game was ending and we had the feeling that we weren’t going to pull out the win so we decided to head out but along the way Michigan fans had to make it known to me that they had won and that it would be a long drive home for us. It took everything I had to not retaliate and do something that I would regret; so I kept walking. As we get to the crosswalk I step out and look both ways only to have one of the Michigan police yell at me to get back. We had some choice words for each other but I didn’t get arrested so that’s what matters. We got our cooler and walked back to our original tailgate; and we loaded up our car with 7 people and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for you guessed it, wings and beer. It was a good end to a day that began at 9am in our hotel lobby. Sunday morning rolls around and we get our bags together and hit the road for the six hour drive back to State College.

The weekends come and go it seems but if you do it the right way and you’re with the right people, they can be the best memories you have. I’ve been very lucky in my life to go on many road trips for Penn State. It’s sometimes how we spend the winter holidays, down south for five days for a New Year’s Day bowl game. Penn State football is just something to do for some people but for me and my family its more than that; it’s who we are. We’ve had the same tailgate spot since before I was born and it keeps growing every year. When we go to these different cities we tend to meet a lot of people who we end up seeing at a tailgate the following season. No matter if we win or lose I always have a great time because I'm surrounded by a group of people who share a common interest with me and love to spend their Saturday's in the fall the same way I do, by drinking some beers and talking and watching football. It’s a way of life and it’s given me a life I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’ve met some of the most amazing people and have been to some awesome cities and towns. I have memories that will be with me for the rest of my life. Penn State football is an escape for some people from their busy lifestyle. They can come to State College or wherever the team is playing and be with their best friends and their families. It’s been apart of my life since the day I was born and it will always be apart of my life. When me and my fiancé have kids down the road you can bet they’ll be decked out in all Penn State gear because like I said; it’s who we are.