Whether it’s coming into town on Friday to stay with your AZ friends and catch Ted McCloskey & the Hi Fi’s at the Phyrst, or driving into the Beaver Stadium parking lots early Saturday and walking downtown to shop and grab a bite to eat at The Waffle Shop, there are no wrong answers when it comes to having the ultimate home game weekend. The one and only thing we can all agree on, is that the perfect Penn State home game experience isn’t complete without a Nittany Lions win!
So start planning – we’ve laid out the best itinerary for you to enjoy the ultimate home game weekend with your best friends!
Friday
Penn State football excitement starts to build up in downtown State College early Friday night, as you probably remember. The lines get longer and the chants get louder — but there’s nowhere else a loyal Alpha Zetan would rather be!
“From the time I arrive Friday to Saturday’s game to my drive home on Sunday afternoon, I feel like I’m in my late teens/early 20s just like when I was here in the 80s,” one fan said. “It keeps me young.”
Up and down College Ave. and Beaver Ave., Penn State fans old and young get together at places that have been regular stops for decades of students. David G., a 67-year-old Penn State alum, recalled going to The Shandygaff and Zeno’s. Zeno’s has been a Penn State institution since 1972, with an incredible beer selection and great food; but the history of The Shandygaff outdates that of even Penn State University — opening sometime in 1848.
Saturday
Gameday! There’s nothing like waking up or driving into State College on a Saturday morning before a huge Penn State game.
“It’s when you pull up to the stadium in the morning and kickoff is still hours away; there is still dew on the grass in the parking lot because the sun still hasn’t risen over the north end zone scoreboard,” says another fan. “It’s these Penn State mornings — when you’re one of the first ones there and the mornings are filled with anticipation and excitement with some of your favorite people in the world — that are one of the best parts of a football weekend.”
Tailgating at Beaver Stadium is one of the most important and revered parts of a Penn State experience. Outside of Beaver Stadium, tens of thousands of tents, RVs, Penn State flags, grills and tailgate games are everywhere for as far as you can see, and tailgating at Penn State is a generational and family affair – perfect for mixing multiple generations of alums and Actives.
The fun of a Penn State gameday doesn’t just begin and end in parking lots around Beaver Stadium — downtown shopping, sightseeing, dining and drinking are a must at some point Saturday as well.
If there is one food that everyone tries to get their hands on at some point Saturday, it is the legendary grilled sticky from Ye Olde College Diner on College Ave. Even former Penn State All-American and current Jacksonville Jaguars star Paul Posluszny still raves about the grilled stickies.
“I love desserts — grilled stickies are something that are unique to Penn State,” Posluszny said. “You can’t find them anywhere else quite like they do it there.”
And for all the fun and all the tradition that goes on in town on Friday night and up until kickoff Saturday, it’s all business once the team comes out of the tunnel in front of 107,000 screaming Penn State fans. The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium is the best in all of college football, and if you’re lucky enough to attend a White Out game, there is no experience quite like it anywhere in the world.
As Head Coach James Franklin says, “The only thing I like more than Christmas is a ‘White Out’ football game.” I’d guess that most Penn State fans and alumni can agree with Coach!
Plan your reunion trip now, to one of the remaining Penn State home games as our Nittany Lions continue their quest to another Big Ten Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff!
Have a favorite memory from a Penn State home game with your best friends from Alpha Zeta? Share it! Submit your alumni update HERE
