Hostile Atmosphere?

[PlanoStang]

Hope we got in early morning practices today, and yesterday with the temps in the 30s.

They're going to be giving gas stations, and grocery stores tickets to give away like Russ Potts during Mustang Mania. I remember getting free tickets to World Championship Tennis doubles in the cafeteria in the middle 70s to fill empty seats in Moody for TV.

[Espresso]

I've been to Beaver Stadium, right after their last enlargement. The alumni are good people, but the student body is ignorant and foul mouthed. Be glad that they're all home, getting drunk for Christmas.

[chitownnit]

Also I heard somewhere that PSU has never played a game this late in the year at that stadium. So the players and fans may not be as "used to" this kind of cold weather as we might think.

Penn State's final 2 regular season games were both played in the 20s. So twice in the last month.

The Minnesota game on November 23rd was around 29 at kickoff with 12-14 mph winds.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/da ... 2023-11-23

The Maryland game on November 30th was around 25 degrees at kickoff with 12-14 mph winds.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/da ... 2024-11-30

[tristatecoog]

SMU December graduation going on right now. Ends around 11:00.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Hope it doesn't look like this.

[PlanoStang]

Looks kind of empty in spots 35 minutes before kickoff. Maybe 70k at KO.

Update: Looks like a lot of them were keeping warm in the rest rooms.

[Red Dragon Coog]

This thread did not age well at all. Happy Valley is arguably the hardest place to play in college football

[Hoss]

The sheer number of fans made it loud, but it's hard to imagine (I didn't make the trip to PA) they were as nasty as the Louisville fans were -- to players and SMU fans.

[EastStang]

Some were some weren't. Mostly helpful and friendly and wished us a good game. Some were jerks, probably from Philly. There were boos when a player of ours got injured. Not a lot, but a few. Again, probably from Philly. But it was very loud whenever we had the ball. When they had the ball it was creepy quiet. I also note that they were dropping passes as well. So, the cold hurt both teams in the passing game.

[bubba pony]

we went to happy valley. got several FU SMU as we walked around. Lots of drunk men who were chugging beer right before entering the stadium. The ticket line to enter the stadium was large and slowly moved. with modern technology, this should not have been an issue. they had this loud cat scream on the loud speaker all around the stadium. it was on a loop every 20 seconds. over and over and over. annoying. never stopped.
the white out was impressive. the cheering was loud.
the stadium is old and metal seats are very tight. However, no one was sitting. standing the entire time.
I heard so much about Beaver Stadium and can cross this visit off my bucket list. I would not go back.

[SMUer]

We should experiment with a horse whinny on the PA before every down, every transition in programming, randomly during any time out.

[ponyte]

I played against all 3 home teams at their stadium. Ped State and Ohio State in '78 and TU both in 78 and 80. I'm sure the stadiums have changed and perhaps the fans. Ohio State were the worse fans PERIOD! TU was next. Both sucked eggs. Ped State fans were the best fans

That said and the world has changed over 2 generations, I don't like the home team advantage issue in a national playoff. It's one thing when playing a FCS playoff in front of maybe e 30,000. It's another when there are 100,000 and the students are at one end of the stadium. Too much home team advantage for a national playoff.

If one has ever been to a March Madness event, the NCAA does much better making it more a neutral environment. Students limited and in designated sections. Bands also in designated sections without any significant advantage. It really can't be that hard for the NCAA to address these issues. But, the NCAA being what it is will continue to screw things up.

Imagine SMU is 5 seed and Alabama is the 12 seed next year. Ford environment isn't the same as Tuscaloosa. Its just not an apples to apples comparison I wish the NCAA would put a bit more thought into the playoffs instead of just making us shot as they go.

[PonyPower]

That was the last game in that place before renovations that are supposed to cost taxpayers (state university) something like $780 million and will take up to 3 years to complete.
For that kind of cash, that place should enjoy a complete overhaul.