Blue White Illustrated

Fans show loyalty – again – by trekking to bowl O ne can't blame the loyal Penn State football fans who were in Jack- sonville for the TaxSlayer Bowl for wondering if the school's hierarchy and the head football coach fully appreciate their passion for the Nittany Lions. It's one thing to show up for the games at Beaver Stadium against formidable opponents and on the road in Baltimore and Philadelphia, cities easily accessible for any fan in the Northeast. It's another matter when fans show up in rural Happy Valley in poor weather or when the opponent is overmatched, or when they travel to East Lansing and Columbus when a loss is a near certainty. Only the most dedicated in the Nittany Nation are there on those occasions. Bowl games usually attract the most loyal fans, as well as many of the ordi- nary ones who have season tickets and sometimes make road trips. Then there are the irregulars, some who like to turn bowl trips into mini vacations and oth- ers who rarely get to see their favorite team play but live within driving dis- tance of the bowl site. They were all in attendance in Jack- sonville to watch Penn State play Geor- gia. One can only estimate how many thousands of them were at EverBank Field on Jan. 2. The announced atten- dance of 58,312 was far short of the offi- cial seating capacity of 67,264. There certainly were plenty of empty seats on the designated Penn State side and in the end zones. Sure, the motivation to be there was not enticing. The team had lost three in a row and had not played well in those defeats. Moreover, the game was being played in Florida's northern tier, where the weather can be unpredictable and the tourist attractions aren't as plentiful as in Miami Beach or Orlando. Penn State's bowl allotment was 8,000, meaning it had to pay for the tickets, distribute a few hundred com- plimentary ones to university and ath- letic department officials and staff as well as some donors and sell the rest to fans. TaxSlayer also gave the university 500 complimentary tickets specifically for the Blue Band. Penn State returned 3,000 of its allotment to the bowl, which donated them to Jacksonville area chari- ties and nonprofit groups (This doesn't mean the money is completely lost, be- cause in the Big Ten, bowl allotments are part of the equation of financial sharing that also includes payouts, television revenue, travel expenses, etc.) All that being said, the fans who were in Jacksonville seemed to enjoy them- selves. At least based on my observa- tions. Some were there for three or four days and others just for a day or two. The weather cooperated for the most part. It was warm enough early in the week for some beach time before the rain came on New Year's Day and the game- time temperatures dropped into the 50s. Game day was perfect for tailgating, with Penn State followers scattered around the parking lots with the usual away-game alumni tent close to one of the main gates. They came mostly from up and down the East Coast. That in- cluded a large contingent from Florida, which has the biggest concentration of Penn State alumni outside of Pennsylva- nia – living the year-round golf, tennis and early-bird-special life of their dreams. Many of the transplanted Florid- ians partied heartily in a special pregame tailgate sponsored by several Florida alumni chapters, with at least four bus- loads from one of the most famous up- scale retirement communities, The Vil- lages, located northwest of Orlando. Georgia fans outnumbered the Penn State fans in the stadium, and, on the day before the game, usually in the bars and restaurants, too. That was expected because of the state's proximity to Jack- sonville. They also had to be loyal fans, because the 2015 Georgia team had been a disappointment to its followers. Even though they ended their regular season with four consecutive victories and fin- ished 9-3, the Bulldogs had been presea- son favorites to play for the Southeast- ern Conference championship. That failure, following 10 years without an SEC title, led to the firing of 15-year head coach Mark Richt and the resigna- tions of the offensive and defensive co- ordinators, with negative consequences within the team. It was not a great business for the ho- tels and motels of the Jacksonville area. Even the designated tour hotels for Penn Staters were not booming, and it's known that a few tours had been can- celed or curtailed due to lack of interest. Furthermore, the pre-bowl atmosphere in Jacksonville was subdued, perhaps because of the location of the hotel for the Penn State team. Usually the team hotel during bowl week is like a beehive, attracting fans of all types who crowd around the bars and lobby to talk with the players, get auto- graphs or even just catch a glimpse of them walking by. It has been a Penn State tradition for decades, from Miami and New Orleans to Arizona and South- ern California. Coach Joe Paterno, like a lot of his peers, didn't care for all the comingling between players and fans, particularly in the latter years of his career. However, he knew it helped keep the loyalty of Penn State fans, particularly during the not- so-pleasant seasons. Closing practice

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