This is why its called Happy Valley.

Do you have a place that you love to go that never gets old and never loses its appeal? I know I do.




I absolutely love going to Beaver Stadium in State College, PA to watch the Penn State Nittany Lion Football Team! Every time I go to a game I get an adrenaline rush as soon as I enter the parking lot. I can feel the electricity building as I walk past all of the tailgaters. Some tailgaters are eating feasts, some are throwing footballs, others are razzing the visiting fans. I feel myself walking with my head held high because I know I'm part of the Blue and White. As I walk past the statue of a living legend (Joe Paterno) I stop and stand for a moment. It is amazing to see all of the plaques on the wall beside his statue showing all of his teams records from his countless years as head coach. As I enter the stadium goosebumps cover my arms, not from being cold, but from the power that this stadium has. It's not a dark power or a spiritual power, but just a power driven by pride, electricity, tradition, and a love of the game.

As I take my seat the marching Blue Band takes the field and the electricity continues to build. The drum major does his 2 traditional front flips and the Nittany Lion Mascot brings the crowd to a frenzy. With only a few minutes left before kick-off the band plays the National Anthem and again the electricity is amazing as I'm almost drawn to tears hearing our Nations song being sung by over 100,000 fans. As the band exits the field the goosebumps return as the white helmets with the blue stripes emerge from the tunnel slowly. The cheerleaders get the players fired up by getting the massive crowd to chant WE ARE ........PENN STATE..........WE ARE.............PENN STATE! The players stand there taking in the atmosphere and the electricity and their adenaline is running high. They start to bounce in excitement and they finally run out of the tunnel and flood the field in blue jerseys. The crowd erupts and it is sure to be an exciting 4 hours from start to finish. Win or lose I know that this will be another 4 hours of my life that I will not forget. WE ARE...........PENN STATE!