Well, well, well...look who's back. Where the hell have you been? The last time we saw you was just before the Michigan State debacle. You didn't even stop by to read my recap of the game. I thought maybe you would check in for some of the bowl game coverage, but no. I guess the Alamo Bowl wasn't worth your time. Hey, I know how it is around the holidays and all. You're busy. It's ok. We understand. It was only Texas A&M. I'm sure you had Christmas presents to return or something that day. Who could blame you?
So now here we are the day before the first game of the year and you're checking in with BSD to see how the team is going to look. Typical. You don't want to park next to us at the tailgate party and you give us smarmy looks when our football bounces into your little wine and cheese circle jerk, but you didn't pay attention all summer long and you hate sitting in the cold so you need to know if you should scalp those Michigan State tickets now or hold on to them in case the team is any good. So you've lowered yourself to visiting a...a...go ahead and say it...a football blog. Oh the humanity. What would your friends say? We promise we won't tell anyone.
At least we won't have to deal with you this weekend. Even though there is a Penn State game scheduled we know you won't be there. There is no way you're passing up one last Labor Day weekend getaway to the beach house in Margate to see Coastal Carolina. Everybody knows the real season starts when Oregon State comes to Happy Valley, so I guess we'll see you then. So go ahead and have a good time. I'm sure you can catch the score on the ESPN bottom line Saturday night. I'm sure it will be a blowout and you can feel good about yourself for not wasting a perfectly good Saturday on Labor Day weekend to go watch a boring football game.
When you do show up you'll know who we are. When you pry your fat ass off the sofa to step outside the motor home and grab a Heineken out of the cooler, take a look across the dirt road at the $20 parking section before you scurry back to the air conditioning. We were there before you got out of bed that morning getting ready for this. Our red faces, stinging from the wind and the sun, are covered in the dust from the road you drove in on at 10 o'clock. We'll still be standing here in the cold November rain while you eat your tickets and watch the Indiana game from home.
We'll be the ones hastily wiping the tears from our eyes so we can watch the drum major nail the flip without blurred vision. When the guy behind you responds to the student section's call "We Are" with a "Penn State" that is a little too loud for your liking, you can turn around and give him a scant look. It's us. And when you get up and leave at the end of the third quarter to beat the traffic, I'll gladly prop my feet up and use your bench as a foot rest.
We are your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses. We donate the minimum to the Nittany Lion Club. We don't get club seats or VIP parking spaces. We come to Penn State to eat, to drink, and to socialize. But more importantly we come for the football. We come to Penn State to feel the tradition. The pride. The sense of being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Whether it's Florida State or Florida International on the schedule, we're there and we're cheering the Lions and we're not leaving until the final second ticks off the clock. You only get twelve Saturdays a year to experience Penn State football. We've been here waiting for this day since the final seconds ticked off the clock in San Antonio, and we're not going to waste a minute of it.