In 2007, a friend from work invited me and two other guys to State College for the Penn State-Wisconsin game. His parents both taught at PSU, and he had grown up and gone to undergrad there.
One of the other guys in our group was from Madison and was a big Badger fan. So I decided to be a sport, and I bought a Penn State jacket and a Wisconsin hat.
First, from outside that stadium it looks like a giant erector set, and there is nothing around it but a vast parking lot. The Nittany mountains are visible in the distance.
Crossing the parking lot toward the stadium, I felt like I was in the whitest place I’ve ever seen. In that sea of fans, I couldn’t find a single black face. Growing up in Georgia and living in New York City, this freaked me out. This is what I imagine I’d find in a medium-sized city in, say, Poland.
Inside, the stadium was nice and very loud. A great atmosphere. Other people in the stadium were very friendly. They have some fun traditions. Periodically, the student section would star chanting “We want the lion.” The guy in the lion costume would walk over, the students would lift him and pass him up and down the lower level of the stadium.
Finally, I was in a restroom during halftime. A guy sees me walk in wearing a PSU jacket and Wisky hat. He points at my getup and asks, “what’s this?” I said, “I’m a Georgia fan.” He smiles and nods like that’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.
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