And we're off...

The school year here has officially begun! The students have arrived, their parents have gone home, and classes began today. The first football game has come and gone, played under the cold rains brought by the end of Hurricane Ernesto. I didn't catch much of the game because my dad and his wife Mary were visiting, but I did learn that from my apartment you can hear the roar of the crowd in the stadium, which is about two miles away as the crow flies. That's not surprising, because it is a huge stadium--the second largest in the United States! On Thursday evening, as I was driving home from work, I saw about three RVs parked in the field near the stadium. I thought there were a few diehard fans who would drive a distance to watch a game. I was a little surprised, because Penn State was playing Akron this time, not a major competitor. By Friday morning there were about 10 campers, and the field was beginning to fill up by that night. But the scene was absolutely amazing on Saturday when we drove by during the game. Two fields were filled with RVs (not to mention several other fields which had been converted to parking lots) and some ticketless fans were out with their barbecues and coolers, the rain only a minor setback for serious tailgaters. We even saw a small tailgate party in the parking garage, squeezed between two cars. I can't imagine what will happen to the town during the big games!