Belated Northwestern recap

A cold grey Pennsylvania sky greeted us for our Oktoberfest tailgate. We lined up outside of Lot 13 at 0655. We had just over an hour to kill before the lots opened. Chris start the morning off properly with a Lager. It was a brisk 45 degrees. The fog rolled in while we were waiting.

The parking attendants opened the fields at 0755 and we made a bee line to our new parking spot. Changes in the regulations gave our old spot to “brown” preferred parking, so our new spot was along the mid-field fence. This is where we parked for HC4.

As set up began, Carter cooked breakfast on the grill. Mad and Suzanne brought out the Stuffin’ muffins and other breakfast treats. The morning fog lifted so we could see the stadium, but the sun didn’t come out. Chris and I got in a morning game of Polish horseshoes before the shoes were overtaken by tables and canopies.

Official Stats
Total hours: 16.5
Guests: 45
Donations: $55
Trucks: 3

Carter’s new stereo modification included 2 speaker towers on workstands. It was louder than anything in the parking lot.

Just in case you didn’t get enough at breakfast, Mad and Suz put out a collection of baked snacks including black forest bars, peanut brittle bars ,buckeye ball bars, picnic bars (chocolate and coconut), blueberry cheesecake brownies, carnutty bars (caramel, nuts & cream cheese), turtle brownies, truffle brownies, candy bar brownies (peanuts, chocolate & peanut butter frosting), butter bars (with blue sprinkles), almond toffee brownies, and raspberry streusel bars. It was quite the spread.

Matt cranked up the deep fryer for lunch. We had French toast sticks, pierogies, onion petals and cheese balls. Mad and Suz pulled out the stops. The “big ol' pork roast with sauerkraut” was cooked in the new propane slow cooker (a wedding gift) and Todd made bratwurst on the grill. Matt’s Ma and Pa brought out a baked bean dish and cheeses. Larry and Carol brought some awesome ring baloney with cheese. Mmmm.

We snapped the group photo just after lunch against the back of the truck just before game time. Intermittent rain started.

The game started with a C-17 flyover. It was much lower than I was expecting. Penn State dominated the “mildcats” on the field. Their only score was from an interception in the 2nd quarter. Deon Bulter (#3) set the school receiving yardage record. Tony Hunt (#26) passed the legendary Lenny Moore on State’s career rushing list. In the four quarter, Penn State picked up a fumble. It was ran back and by {insert name here} and dove in the end zone to make it 40-7. Unfortunately, the refs ruled it an incomplete pass and tacked on a big penalty. JoePa was not happy. Either way, the game ended on a good note as our record improved 3-2. “Me-ouch” indeed.

In a light post-game rain, there was a little light left in the sky. Even more food was cooked. Mad and Suz made mini-ruebens, mini-racheals and sauerkraut pockets. I cooked up a batch of bacon-cheddar burgers. Matt deep fried the turkey.

The rain stopped after dark and it warmed up a bit. Many tailgaters warmed up by the fireplace.

We finally decided to pack it up after the monsoon started. We rolled out at 2330 for a total of 16.5 hours of tailgating. Thanks to everyone who came out. This was really a good time.

And despite the administation’s best effort, everyone had a good time.

For the Glory,
-Rob
Tailgating Coordinator