Undercover Of The Night: Sparty Pre-Game
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 3:13 PM EST
in Football
40 comments
Through a series of strange, fortunate events having nothing to do with my participation here at BSD, I received a pre-game field pass for the Michigan State game. This included access to the recruiting lounge and permission to mull about on the sideline during warmups.
The recruiting lounge isn't really as swanky as it sounds. There's a buffet, a bunch of cafeteria style round tables, and a few TV's mounted on the walls. The location is key, however -- the windows face the south, paved RV lots, so recruits are able to watch the traditional blue school buses approach the stadium, then witness the overzealous hero worship as the team files into the locker room area. The kids were universally impressed by the display.
Another interesting part of the lounge is that many of the assistant coaches make a quick appearance to essentially shake hands and kiss babies. Tom Bradley, Larry Johnson, Sr., Bill Kenney, and a few others were all walking around and saying hello to the recruits. After introducing himself to a few high school guys, Dick Anderson took a look at my table, quickly surmised that I was not (a) in high school or (b) an athlete, and moved on with a quick smile.
After 20-30 minutes, it was time to head downstairs.
You'll remember these guys from the broadcast. When I rewatched the game, I believe the announcers mentioned in the first quarter how the guy on the left was already having regrets. As you can see, he realized how bad this idea was much earlier than that.
Loads of pictures and videos after the jump.
Sad to say that most of my player pictures didn't come out, presumably due to the ridiculous stadium lighting and the falling snow. However, just as the heavy snow began to fall during pre-game, I was able to snap off a few nice shots of the Blue Band.
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You lucky bastard!
But I have a couple of questions…
- no pics of the lounge? (which still, yanno, sounds hot)
- no pics of the recruits?
- no pics of the coaches?
- all of your best pictures were of the band?
- no pics of HAWT chicks?
man… I can only surmise that you may have been a band geek at one point in your life. lol jk!
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 7, 2008 3:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Simple answers, really.
I wasn’t there to “cover” the event, so I’m not going to act like a fanboy douchebag by bothering 17 year old kids for their pictures. I mean, I’m a man! I’m 33! Somebody within the football program did a very nice thing for us, and I wasn’t going to spoil it by exploiting the situation.
Plus, I hate the entire recruiting business as a matter of principle. Could I have taken pictures of Andrew Shoop, Stephon Morris, or Tom Bradley? Sure. But who really cares? Scout and Rivals have all that stuff covered, and with much better photography. To be honest, trying to get pics of recruits and the actual recruiting process was the furthest thing from my mind. I would have been the recruiting equivalent of cockblocking.
And yes, all of my best pictures actually were of the band. Them, and the two Orange Bowl officials I posted in the BSD thread after the game.
(…and, hot chicks on that day? Who could even tell?)
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 3:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Also, the recruiting lounge WAS hot
Especially after 4 hours of tailgating.
By the way, if you ever want to see some great PSU on-field photography, may I suggest this:
http://psumayor.wordpress.com/
It doesn’t seem to have been updated as often this year, but it’s still good stuff.
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Settle down.... I was just playing with ya, man!
I am glad you got a chance to see all that and I am truly envious of you. Is the recruiting lounge like a luxury suite in the stadium? I always wondered where they the kids went when they visited.
oh, as for hot chicks… we can always tell… WE ARE… BSD LOUNGE LIZARDS PENN STATE!
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 7, 2008 3:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh, I know.
I wasn’t saying you were a fanboy douchebag. Sorry if it came off as otherwise.
I’ve never been in a Beaver Stadium luxury suite, so I don’t know if they’re similar (perhaps ol’ Tailgate Shogun can weigh in on this one, as he’s even been in Spanier’s suite). The recruiting lounge itself really isn’t anything too special. There are a lot of people up there, probably in the 100-150 range. Lots of parents, high school teammates, and high school coaches. Really, it’s more of a staging area before the recruits are brought downstairs for the real treat — being on the field as the players, crowd and band come into the stadium.
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ask. Receive.
The recruiting lounge is virtually the same as the luxury suites or the Club seats lounge in the south end zone. Some comfy chairs, high tables, flat screen tvs, bathrooms without troughs or 20 minute waits. Normal food – burgers, dogs, hoagies, Creamery ice cream, soft pretzels. Anyone expecting 24k gold-plated door knobs, free lines of blow, or stripper poles clearly has no idea how PSU does things.
They’re nice, but the food (while free in the lounge/suites) is just ‘meh’. I’ve only ever sat in Spanier’s & the NLC suite, so I haven’t even been able to partake in the free booze you typically expect in luxury suites.
by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
More, please
Thanks for these descriptions! Do the south end zone suites have windows on both sides? Like, you can walk to one window and see Mount Nittany and the arriving bus, and walk to the other window and look onto the field? Thanks!
pax et amor
by jtothep on Dec 8, 2008 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The south end zone has “club seats”, which are chairback seats (not the bolt on types on the bleachers) with access to a lounge behind the seats. So, great view out the windows of the south end zone tailgate, the buses pulling up, Mt. Nittany. But no way to see the game live while in the lounge. They do have tvs, and the lines for the bathroom are non-existent, which is nice.
However, it’s way to sterile, too many old people who don’t care very much about the actual football game. I’ve sat by people who spend the entire game in the lounge, with the exception of when they come out to see the band march. Odd. I prefer to actually cheer and pay attention when I’m at a football game.
by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I never really understood those fans
Why pay so much money to go to a football game in a luxury suite, and not, you know, actually care about the game? Wouldn’t they be more comfortable at home watching it on their (I’m sure) huge TV with good food? Or renting out a banquet hall and just throwing a random party to hang out with their friends, if that is the reason they do it? Or maybe it is just a status thing…I still don’t understand it.
(On a similar note, I don’t understand the people who go to games who don’t get up and cheer for big plays, or try to make noise, or do anything except sit quietly in the cold…wouldn’t you be more comfortable, and have a better view, at home or even in a bar/restaurant? Why go to the game if you aren’t going to experience the great things about actually being at a game?)
by The JuggerNitt on Dec 8, 2008 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The luxury suite was pretty sweet, but....
My friends’ company owns a suite and I was invited to go up there for the YSU game afew years ago. You’ve got your own entrance into the stadium, with an elevator (with attendant) up to the suites. The hallway to the suites is glass-lined with perfect views of Mount Nittany. At either end of the hall it opened up so you could stand outside. The food spread was pretty impressive. The suite owner gets to pick what food will be in the suite for the game. We had a bunch of pizzas, pastas, wings, salads, a freezer full of ice cream products, soda, and ALL TYPES OF BOOZE. Between the 3rd and 4th quarters, a desert cart came to each suite with the good stuff – cheese cakes, fancy pastries, etc. At halftime the lion came upstairs and kids could get their picture taken with him.
Yes, I sat and watched the game through the open window with an ice cold Yuengling. But there is something very awkward about doing the wave or yelling “We are” or screaming during defensive 3rd downs while in the suite. You’re very detached from the game and its festive atmosphere – you feel like you’re yelling at the TV.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself because it was only the YSU game. But in any big game, I will still rather be wedged on a cold metal bleacher with 110,000 of my best friends, eating crappy food, and losing my voice. Even free beer wouldn’t get me to change my mind about that!
by NJ lion on Dec 8, 2008 3:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It’s interesting – due to the fact that the stadium is ancient, the suites have the absolute worst seats in the house. You feel like you’re watching from the moon when you’re in a suite on the top level.
The corporate box owners need to buy & bring in their own booze. PSU won’t supply or cater that.
by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 8, 2008 4:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
if I had the money for a suite
I’d instead buy the same value in seats as close as I could get them, and bring all my hardcore PSU friends (and perhaps some hand warmers and flasks). I’d make sure to leave enough money to bribe/pay for any open container citations, and to bribe my way to the front of the bathroom line. That way you get all the benefits, and still get to enjoy the game. ;-)
by The JuggerNitt on Dec 8, 2008 4:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Front of the bathroom line benefits
Like these?
pax et amor
by jtothep on Dec 8, 2008 11:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
nicely played jtothep... you are my hero
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 9, 2008 12:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I would really only recommend the suite for a cupcake game, when you’d be more interested in tailgating, then having some food and beer while you kinda watched the Penn State game, but also watched some other games on the flatscreens. Otherwise, get yourself inside the stadium.
Also, it was a dessert cart, not a desert cart – which would probably just be carrying sand, or maybe a cactus.
by NJ lion on Dec 8, 2008 10:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Love me some desert cart
mmmm, sand.
pax et amor
by jtothep on Dec 8, 2008 11:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
sand that looks... hot
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 9, 2008 12:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Hmm.
Definitely didn’t see that in Spanier’s suite.
by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 9, 2008 7:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
desert vs. dessert
My high school English teacher told me a rule I never forgot to differentiate the two.
One s for desert because you only want to cross a desert once. But you’ll take dessert twice.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Dec 9, 2008 10:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I had the same rule
though it was just that you’d want to go back for seconds for dessert. I wouldn’t even want to cross a desert once.
by The JuggerNitt on Dec 9, 2008 3:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
definately saw myself...
in your third video. Glad to see someone enjoys our work.
by blt on Dec 7, 2008 3:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
love your work!
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 7, 2008 3:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Also, the field's grass is surprisingly short.
I don’t know why I feel the need to add that fact, but…yeah.
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 4:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
like a lady
its always nice to know about finely manicured lawns
For the glory
by lionalum05 on Dec 7, 2008 6:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Finely manicured lawns are hot!
'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'
by Pete the Streak on Dec 7, 2008 6:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Quite true:
They undoubtedly have a subsuface heating system underneath the turf at PSU. It keeps the stuff warm enough so that it doesn’t break off in chunks when you run on it in November. The only thing bad is that it can make the surface slick.
by Cairo on Dec 8, 2008 9:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I am pretty sure they don't
Penn State’s field is actually pretty low tech by today’s standards since it was installed in the 1960’s. While the turf gets replaced pretty regulalry, I don’t believe that they ever added any of the bells and whistles that are pretty standard by today’s standards (lots of good for Heinz Field).
It’s a long story…but once I read an academic paper written by one of the groundskeepers. There was a game where the field was coming up in chunks. I believe the line was “the head football coach was emphatically upset with the situation”.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
by jesse. on Dec 8, 2008 10:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That was in '06 I think,
and they had a squad of ‘Turf Boys’ that ran out during every break in the action to replace the huge divots being torn up. Pretty funny looking.
The sod was then replaced – I think the following day – and had a 2 week ‘growing in’ period. The second turf did very well.
'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'
by Pete the Streak on Dec 8, 2008 4:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Turg Boys might have been Koroma and Evans...
those dudes love grass
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 8, 2008 9:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
^^Turf
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Dec 8, 2008 9:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Shorter Grass = Faster Surface
Less drag on the foot as you get in and out of your foot plant. Similar theory to ball roll on a golf green.
It can lead to a little gamesmanship: if you’re a relatively slow team facing a speed squad at home you can ask the maintenance staff to grow out the grass another 1/2". It happens in baseball outfields all of the time.
by Cairo on Dec 8, 2008 9:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Cool, thanks for sharing!
And not being a recruiting cock block. I can hear the recruits talking to their friends “it was cool but there was this old guy following me around taking my picture when he thought I wasn’t looking”.
We just needed a couple players, a couple people to buy in to the fact and we were able to do it. --A.Q. Shipley
by psu on Dec 7, 2008 5:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Yes, yes.
I didn’t want to be That Guy. And we were intentionally keeping a low profile, anyway.
by Run Up The Score on Dec 7, 2008 5:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Did LJ Sr., shake your hand?
That guy has the biggest hands I’ve seen in my life. I think my hand completely disappeared in his as he shook it.
by Cairo on Dec 8, 2008 9:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That guy on the left?
His tie is shrinking as we watch.
I can’t even imagine doing that. I froze that day, even with wearing Thinsulate everything in multiple layers.
Luckily, watching a blowout for the Big 10 title makes it bearably enjoyable.
Unless your wardrobe consists of, and only of, paint. Exterially, anyway.
'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'
by Pete the Streak on Dec 7, 2008 6:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Heh
That kid on the right was in my calc 2 engineering class.
by GreatScawt on Dec 7, 2008 7:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Musta got an F
He sure didn’t engineer a sound solution to attending this game. But, hey, I’m sure he’s filled with no small amount of regret, as the pics indicated, so no need for us to pile on.
Here’s a ‘you, go, dude!’ for him! Despite all the evidence to the contrary, I’ll give him props for a gutsy spirit attempt!. (I had to stay away from noting he’s got big balls for attempting this, cuz, you know, it’s unlikely they stayed that way.)
pax et amor
by jtothep on Dec 8, 2008 10:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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