A New Era for Penn State

Original publishing date: April 20, 2012

I remember thinking when we went on this trip that writing the blog post to go with it would be difficult. Though it was a great trip and we had a lot of fun - the atmosphere in Happy Valley has changed dramatically since our last visit. 

There was a scandal. There were stories of horrible things happening to children. There was the end of JoePa - figuratively and literally. I remember the day he died, how sad Ryan was. I think it was more of an empathic sadness, but that almost makes it more heartbreaking. 

I don't think Nate ever really thought JoePa would still be coaching by the time Ryan or Lindsey were able to go to Penn State, but I know he thought the tradition and reputation of both the school and the man would outlive us all. 
 
Things have certainly changed, but what this weekend - and the subsequent football season showed us and others is that even if the catalyst is unimaginably awful, the actual change can be good.

For the rundown of the weekend: We got there late on Friday and made our traditional first stop to the Lion. 

On game day, the weather was questionable, but actually held out pretty well. The kids hijacked someones tailgate bean bag game.

 And Lindsey finally made it in to Beaver Stadium!

More importantly - she got to go down to the tunnel and meet the players :)

The kids had a blast - making new friends, eating popcorn and joining along for the Penn State chant.

Inside the stadium, it was like old times. Only a few subtle sign of things that changed...

Oh - and Ryan's highlight? Ryan got to touch the Lion (but guess who was more excited when they ran back to tell us all about it?)
 

That night, Nate and I took Crystal and Greg out on the town for some drinks. The crowds were mellow - but there was still plenty to see. With my new job starting the next week, I used this picture as an opportunity to test out my twitter skills. Tweeted it out to the real Kevin Bacon to see if it was a legit tag. He never wrote back - I'm sure it's cause he's modest.

Apparently Lindsey might have a place to call her own if she ever makes it up to State College.

On Sunday, the grandparents hit the road early, but we stuck around for a 5K run/walk. Not only did it help burn off some of the food and drinks from the day before, but gave us an opportunity to get onto the field!

Though things were different in Happy Valley that weekend, much had stayed the same. People still proudly took pictures with the lion, strangers were still kind enough to share their food and games while tailgating (and to pick up your kid so they could high five a player in the tunnel) and the Bachman kids experienced a ton of love and attention.

So much love and fun that when we finally pulled out to head home - they fell asleep faster than you could say, "We Are..."