The spring sun shines down on Happy Valley. Barbecues, RVs, and Penn State football fans surround Beaver Stadium. It’s late April, yet James Franklin walks into the tunnel in his gameday suit.
All of this can only mean one thing: Blue-White Saturday, the day of Penn State’s spring football scrimmage, is here.
While the game, which kicks off at 4 p.m., doesn’t have any real consequences, it still brings plenty of alumni into town for a normal Saturday football tailgate. One fan, George Shapiro, treats Blue-White just like he would a tailgate in October.
“We take our tailgate very seriously,” Shapiro says. “We’ve been coming up for two or three games a year for some time now. If I’m going to drive a couple hours to town, I’m going to do my tailgate right.”
Shapiro doesn’t have a massive RV like some Penn State fans, but the tailgate has all of the staples: hamburgers and hotdogs, music, cornhole, and Yuengling.
From the concession trucks lining Curtin Road to the smell of barbecue smoke in the air, the atmosphere outside Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon is reminiscent of any fall gameday — just with a smaller crowd.
Just down the street from Beaver Stadium, a massive line formed outside of the Berkey Creamery just after noon.
“There’s nothing like some Creamery ice cream on a warm day like today,” says Ron Thompson, a Penn State alumnus visiting for the game. “It’s beautiful outside, so I figured I’d stop by on my way to the stadium for a cone.”
A quick poll of Creamery patrons revealed most are eating Peachy Paterno, which comes as no surprise. Back at the stadium, one tailgate had Joe Paterno in attendance, albeit in cutout form.
“We bring him with us every time we come up,” Aaron, one of the tailgate’s attendees, says.
With kickoff approaching at 4 p.m., the weather forecast is perfect, with a high of 79 degrees at 5 p.m. and a cloudless sky.
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