Blue White Illustrated

Cancer can't diminish longtime fan's Penn State spirit O ne of Penn State football's most loyal fans is fighting for his life. Until this year's season opener against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium, Terry Todd had attended 282 consecutive Nittany Lion games – home, away and on neutral grounds. That may be a record for someone who is simply a fan with no ties to anyone in the Penn State athletic family. But Terry's game streak is over. He is battling lung cancer, and traveling to away games this season is not possible for Terry and his wife, Carolyn. In fact, just how many home games Terry will see in person this season is questionable. Terry could not be in Beaver Stadium for the first three home games because of unexpected surgical treatments and complications, but he hopes to get there sometime this season. When he does for the first time, it will mark the 428th Penn State game Terry has seen in person since his initial one against Navy in the 1970 season. There may be some longtime seasonticket holders who can top that number. But that's not bad for a guy who grew up as an Ohio State fan in East Liverpool, Ohio, attended college at Case Reserve in Cleveland, and then became a Missouri fan while working in St. Louis. In fact, he admits there was a point in his life when he could not stand the Penn State football team. That was on New Year's night of 1970 when he watched one of Penn State's greatest defensive teams of all time beat his Missouri Tigers in the Orange Bowl, 10-3. "I was extremely disappointed," Terry told me. "Missouri had a great offense, and I didn't think there was any way that Penn State could beat that team." Never did Terry imagine on that night that he would one day be such a dedicated fan of the Nittany Lions. That all changed when he was transferred later in the year to the corporate headquarters of the company that employed him as a product manager. The city was Allentown, Pa. "Everybody in town seemed to be Penn State fans," he said. "They were driving to games, not just to Penn State but to Syracuse and other schools in the East to watch Penn State play. I went up to Penn State for the Navy game and then to the game at Maryland later in the year. " As the years passed, he attended more and more games, and in 1987 he had a new wife to attend them along with him. Carolyn was a marketing executive for an Allentown company. Until she met Terry, she admits she was a football dummy. When Carolyn suggested they be married on Oct. 10, 1987, Terry said, "When's the open date," meaning the Saturday during the season when Penn State did not play. "We missed two games for the wedding and the honeymoon, Carolyn recalled. "That was a " true sacrifice for Terry!" Soon, Carolyn was enjoying the tailgating home and away, and she was hooked. "I think what really did it was the hospitality of the Alabama fans in 1988 and 1990, Carolyn said. "We lost in '88 and " won in '90, but the fans treated us the same. We were all just having fun. Each college atmosphere is different. We meet friends or family in places like Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha and Iowa City. When we lose, we enjoy everything but the game and the air travel." In 2010 and 2011, Carolyn attended the special Penn State football summer camp for women just to learn more about the sport. Now, she is as big a fan as Terry. For several years, Carolyn has been writing a community blog for the Centre Daily Times entitled "A View From the Stands," and she has a very loyal following. Some of her readers have become friends and have been very supportive of her and Terry since his lung cancer was discovered this summer. Terry's consecutive game streak didn't start until the third game of the 1990 season when Penn State defeated Rutgers at Beaver Stadium, 28-0, on Sept. 22. Carolyn has been with him much of the way, missing only four games for one reason or another. "My family still hasn't forgiven Terry for going to Ann Arbor in 1994 rather than to my nephew's wedding," Carolyn recalled in one of her blogs for the CDT. "I went to the wedding. "In the fall of 1990, I needed major surgery with a 10-day recovery period. The surgeon cooperated with the timing, and we didn't miss a game due to the surgery. "The last game I missed was September 2001, a game in Iowa City. Terry went, but I stayed home due to a sick animal." Carolyn also tells of the day Terry was asked to attend a business conference on a Penn State football weekend and said he couldn't because "it's a religious matter." They admit that attending away games was easier before Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993. Except for occasional regular-season games out-

• Cover