By the time our fully-loaded party wagon arrived in State College, PA for the Big 10 Football Experience, night had fallen. My brother Fred, sister-in-law Regina, niece Claire, and I met my other niece Laura who had driven from NYC with her friend Kristy for the Monster Weekend.

Soon my nephew Andrew, our very own Penn Stater, arrived to greet us. We caught up for a bit and then headed out for some light snacks and libations. It had to be an early night because Fred and Andrew had to be up before the chickens on Saturday to stake out their tailgate territory for tomorrow's Big Event, the football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Boilermakers of Purdue.

When I knocked on Regina's door the next morning, she was already up and dressed and Fred and Andrew had set up the party headquarters in Parking Lot 12 (usually they are in Parking Lot 32, which gives you some idea of how gigantic this event is). And, oh yes, you do have to pay to get into the lots. It takes a lot of cars, RVs and buses to get the 100,000+ fans into Beaver Stadium, so you can imagine how much revenue parking generates for the university.

We ladies loaded up the rest of our gear and walked through town and across campus to meet them. It was only about a mile-and-a-half away, and we got a great tour of the bustling college town and the picture perfect campus along the way.

We met up with the boys who had already had their breakfast and were preparing some food for us to eat before the game. Fred had the grills going and we all dug in.

Soon it was time to begin our next hike to Beaver Stadium, the second largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere with a seating capacity of 106,572, second only to Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor which seats 107,601.

Our seats were about thirty rows up on the 50-yard line, an amazing spot to watch all the action. It is definitely a cozy fit on the grandstands. We were packed in like sardines and trying to get out of your seat for a snack run would have been easier if we had crowd-surfed. As it was, we had to hang onto our neighbors to keep our balance as we edged toward the aisle.

But getting a snack during the game is definitely worth the struggle. Fred made the trek and brought us pints of ice cream from The Berkey Creamery, a signature Penn State treat containing 14% butterfat. Yum! (Fun fact: You can buy this ice cream and have it shipped anywhere!)

Of course, the main event was the football game itself, and Penn State made short work of the Boilermakers. The huge student section was lively, standing for the whole game and shaking their pom-poms in unison. The cheerleaders led the crowd in the famous “We Are…Penn State”, a cheer with a fascinating history that I'll share next week.

At halftime, the 300+ members of the PSU Marching Blue Band took the field and were joined by hundreds of the Alumni Blue Band Association as well, since it was Homecoming Weekend. What a show they put on!

It was wonderful to watch the game with Regina, a knowledgeable college football fan. She kept me on point with the action on the field, and we had a super time cheering for the home team.

Attending the game was exciting, action-packed, and a wonderful win for the home team. And we still had another tailgate to go to!

Next Week: We Are