STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — They came to Happy Valley, 90,000 strong, to chant and cheer and stand by their team in a new era of Penn State football.
By the end, as the Nittany Lions trudged off the field, a battered fan base would have to delay any celebration for another week.
Hours after fans made their cathartic trip to Beaver Stadium, handmade signs and banners attached to their RVs, they quietly sang their alma mater.
You know, the song with the lyrics, “May no act of ours bring shame.”
But in a clear display of coach Bill O’Brien’s challenge ahead, the new, shorthanded Nittany Lions wore down in the second half, and Ohio, from the Mid-American Conference, upset Penn State, 24-14, on Saturday. Bobcats quarterback Tyler Tettleton accounted for three second-half touchdowns.
It was a sad ending for a devoted fan base that came ready to rock the house, after scandal rocked the program.
“I thought it was a great atmosphere,” O’Brien said, “in the stands at Beaver Stadium.”
Indeed it was, despite the loss. O’Brien, in fact, led the charge in the first home opener without Joe Paterno since 1949, his players behind him, storming the field as more than 97,000 fans kicked off a new chapter in the program’s tarnished history with a raucous and sustained ovation.
Then came the familiar refrain that has echoed through the stadium for decades:
“We are … Penn State!”
The Nittany Lions want to make headlines for more than lurid tales of child abuse. As a result, this opener was about more than football. And it showed.
Penn State held a moment of reflection Saturday for all victims of sexual abuse. Penn State also asked fans to pause and know that all those affected by abuse are remembered in their hearts. Then, a university accused of placing football above all turned the page when it invited 600 athletes from all of its sports teams to participate in the pregame show as part of Penn State’s “One Team” motto.
So much has changed on the field, but the lively atmosphere remained the same outside Beaver Stadium. Even in defeat, the overall mood around the program is that of pride, perseverance and support — for both O’Brien and Paterno.
The latter’s widow, Sue Paterno, arrived with her daughter, Mary Kay, shortly before kickoff. When asked by the Associated Press what Saturday’s game meant to her, she quietly said she “just wants us to win.”
Nittany Lions quarterback Matt McGloin was 27 for 48 passing — both career-highs — guiding Penn State’s new-look offense.
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