April 28, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - From a crowd of 500 people in 1951 to a national television audience in 2010, the culmination of spring football drills has grown into a landmark event on the Penn State football calendar.
On paper, the Blue-White Game is just the 15th practice of the spring season, but the event has evolved into an entire weekend of festivities around Happy Valley. Saturday's version of the Blue-White game featured a 17-3 victory for the Blue squad behind two Paul Jones touchdown connections with fellow freshman wide receiver Shawney Kersey.
But the actual intrasquad scrimmage is just a small slice of the Blue-White Game's terrific atmosphere. Played in front of 55,000 strong on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, Penn State's spring scrimmage annually features everything a normal football Saturday includes. The game has the feel of any other football Saturday from September to November.
The festive atmosphere of the Nittany Lion faithful, the tailgates, Blue Band, cheerleaders and Lionettes dance team are staples. The 2010 weekend added a parade of six high school bands from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. to go along with the carnival, food and vendors adjacent to Beaver Stadium.
There is just one thing is missing from the Blue-White Game:
An opposing team.
It is remarkable to think about how far the Blue-White Game has come. Penn State historian Lou Prato recently wrote a story about the first spring game on May 5, 1951 for GoPSUsports.com. The game was played in a local high school stadium to benefit Penn State's general scholarship fund.
Last Saturday, ESPN2 televised the game live across the nation and the Big Ten Network re-aired the telecast several times. In doing so, Penn State became the first Big Ten school to have its spring game air on the ESPN family of networks. ESPN's top broadcast team of Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, former Nittany Lion Matt Millen and Desmond Howard called the game.
As junior linebacker Nate Stupar said after the game, playing in front of a national TV audience and 55,000 people in Beaver Stadium during a spring practice is something not many people are able to do.
"It's just a lot of fun to be a part of," Stupar said. "The whole atmosphere is awesome. You just have to go out there and take it all in and realize that not many people have the opportunity to do this."
Bani Gbadyu signs a young fans jersey during the autograph session |
Stupar also mentioned the pre-game autograph session with the players prior to kickoff. For nearly 20 years, fans have been given the opportunity to step onto the Beaver Stadium sod for an opportunity to receive an autograph from any member of Nittany Lion football team.
"To hear all of the fans calling your name asking for autographs, it just gives you a really good feeling," Stupar said. "That is what makes the atmosphere so much fun to be a part of."
Most of the players in the media room after the intrasquad scrimmage could do nothing but smile after capping off spring drills in front of boisterous group of 55,000 fans. The magnitude of Blue-White Weekend's growth is a testament to arguably college football's greatest fans.
Penn State's faithful annually turn out in large numbers to show their support for the Nittany Lions. At the end of the day, all of the players realize that Saturday was just a scrimmage, but the fans transform a day of practice into one of the largest spectacles in all of spring college football.
The Blue-White Game has grown exponentially since 1951. Where the spring scrimmage will be in 59 more years remains to be seen, but for now, Penn State fans have erected an environment for a spring practice unlike many regular season games at other campuses with college football.
With the 2010 Blue-White Game in the books, fans can begin making plans for another festive football weekend around Happy Valley next April.