PSU v south florida

It's the first game AND tailgate of the season! Penn State hosts the South Florida Rams on September 3rd at 3:30pm. Parking lots open at 8:00am and we're planning to be there, waiting in line when they open the gates!

We'll be serving a sampling of wines from the Shenandoah Valley (purchased during a trip to the region this summer) along with complimentary fare.

Colors to avoid this week are green and gold - so break out the silver accessories!

This year we will be parking in Lot 13 or Lot 12 (see map), as close to the front of the lot(s) as possible. Take note that football parking has been affected by the baseball park construction. Lot 13, according to the "plans", has not been altered as a result - but the traffic flow and volume may change.

As always, all are welcome. We just ask that you comment here or send us an email so we can prepare accordingly. We'll be sending out our "regular" email a little closer to gameday; if you'd like to be added to our email list, please email us at coach@2thelion.com - and check the Website (2theLion.com) for updates! Also, be sure to see our football analysis on the football blog (2thelionfootball.blogspot.com).

Hope to see you there - To the Lion!

Construction affects Football Parking

Check out the article in the CDT about the changes to football parking due to the construction of the new baseball stadium.

Centre Daily Times - PSU Parking Changes



I don't think that this affects our plans much - that is, lot 13 is still intact (thank goodness for the cows). I'll give the parking office a call a little closer to the season to confirm.

I can't believe that they are altering reserved (purple) parking again. Many of those folks were displaced in 1999 when they started the stadium expansion (the area affected is where they had originally displaced Mr. Hoover).

Welcome to Audioblogger!

Click above and listen to the inaugural "Audioblogger" post! With Audioblogger we can "blog" from any telephone and post audio messages directly to the blog.

This means we can capture moments directly from the tailgate and games!

Oh- I was walking home from work when I recorded the above message - so please excuse my delivery!

Diesel Tailgate

Diesel Tailgate

Check out link above for the Diesel Tailgate folks' planning page(s) for the Central Michigan Tailgate. They're a great bunch of kids and they have a fun website.

Pep Rally at Beaver Stadium

I always talk about going to these things, but never seem to make there. They're having a Pep Rally at Beaver Stadium September 2nd (Friday night), the day before the season opener.

According to gopsusports.com (where you can get the whole story), more than 20,000 fans attended last year's event, and they are expecting even more this year. The event is free (and so is parking) and will include a pep rally with Head Coach Joe Paterno and the squad, a Blue Band concert, cheerleaders, dance team and the Nittany Lion. Friday night's celebration will also feature some added surprises and prize give aways along Curtin Road and provide the community with the opportunity to meet the 2005 Nittany Lion Football team. The night will be capped off once again with a spectacular display of Zambelli's fireworks.

Festivities outside the stadium will start at 6:30 p.m. Events inside the stadium are scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm. Fans are directed to use Stadium Gates A & B to enter the stadium.

Website update

Well - we have a grand total of 2 signatures in our Guestbook! Thanks Jon & Dena!

I haven't had the time, sadly, to do much updating lately. If anyone has anything (pictures or text) that they want to contribute - please send it to me!!!

I hope to get some more work done on it this week - football season is going to be here before we know it - so it's time to start planning!!!

There are 3 (back to back to back) home games in September - The Central Michigan game is a joint Diesel Tailgate - you can check their website to keep up to date on the planning. http://dieseltailgate.no-ip.org

Aunt Madeline sent me an addition to the tailgating gear for my birthday - a handmade (by her) tiled trivet - blue and white, of course!

Potluck Party

I went to a Potluck dinner party this past weekend - that's like an indoor tailgate, with no football game.

The "theme", if you will, was "ethnic" - the idea was that each of the guests would bring a dish from their "ethnic background".

The guests brought a variety of dishes - from pulled pork (Carolina style) to basmati rice with spicy chickpeas.

It was a really friendly atmosphere and it was sort of an icebreaker for people to talk about themselves and their background(s).

I myself took cheese and crackers - the kitchen at home was sorta disabled - so I opted for "less" preparation. I took Fontina (Swedish), Kraft Old English spread, Cheddar, herbed Brie, Goat and a variation of Suzanne's "poorman's Boursin" (I used fresh thyme and parsley from the garden).

It was a lovely party - and the cheese did get eaten - to the point it was cut - just like the tailgate - if you cut it, they will eat it. (ha ha - cut the cheese).

2 months to go

Okay - It's July. The first games of the season are just 2 months away. It's a little early to start food preparation - but just a little.

This summer for Blue White we did a lot of baking ahead of time. We made a bizillion different desserts, froze them and then defrosted them for the game. So I'm thinking that if I start baking now, I can have a bunch of stuff ready for the season which we can then pick and choose to have for the different weeks. Plus it's a way to diffuse some of my "football energy" - I've been getting some emails from the football faithful - and folks are ready for some football!

Not that I want to wish the summer away - but - how I long for a crisp sunny autumn afternoon with the smell of charred animal flesh and decaying foliage in the air to spend with 106,000 of my closest friends!

Travel = tailgating ideas

Traveled down to the Shenandoah Valley this past weekend. It is such a beautiful part of the country - the Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont areas offer tons of "sites" from the wildlife to the wineries.

We spent a little more time at the wineries - but in Virginia you really have to interact with nature to get to most of their vineyards - crazy back-woods, gravel, twisty roads - so not like the Finger Lakes where the wineries are all along the Lake(s), close together, and very easy to get to.

But the journey was well worth it - we "tasted" many excellent wines - and many different varieties.

So now comes the planning... In 2003 we had a wine tasting tailgate - we offered a variety wines with food pairings. We even did a proper "tasting" - it was so much fun.

Perhaps we'll do it again this year! South Florida has a 3:30pm start - sounds good!

I bought myself a souvenir in the Shenandoah National Park (on Skyline Drive) - it's a GIANT blue totebag - water resistant with a top closing zipper. I can't wait to pack it up for tailgating!

We also got some Carolina Style BBQ sauce. Yes, we were in Virginia, but they don't really have their own style sauce - and the Carolina style is the vinegary type - yum yum -- So that, of course, makes me think of pulled pork- which would be another great tailgating food.

Kay Kustanbauter to retire

Kay Kustanbauter, who has been the head of the Nittany Lion Club, since, it would seem, the beginning of time, has announced that she will be retiring.

No word on who will be her replacement. She's been a great fund raiser for PSU.

September home games

The game times for the first 3 games of the season have been announced. The games are all at home and non-conference.

South Florida kickoff at 3:30pm. The 3:30 kickoff means that the parking lots will be open at 8am.

The Cincinnati kickoff is at 12pm. 12pm start time means that the lots will open at 7am.

Kickoff for the Central Michigan game is scheduled for 1:30pm. Not sure what time the lots will open; I'll have to give the parking office a call.

Central Michigan is the Diesel Tailgate (DDT5) - please check 2theLion.com for links to the Diesel website and more information regarding the festivities.

Football Ticket Sales

Alumni Sale. Beginning Monday, June 27, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. alumni tickets will be available on the internet ONLY for all of the home football games. There are ticket limits for this sale (9 for all but OSU and Purdue where the limit is 4). The ticket office will accept no counter, telephone or mail in sales

Public Sale. Beginning Monday, July 11, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. tickets will be available to the public on the internet ONLY, again, for all of the home games. This sale will take place only if tickets remain after the Alumni Sale. Again, they will not accept any counter, telephone or mail in sales. Same ticket limits apply.

Phone Orders, Away Games and Group Sales. Beginning July 18, 2005 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM tickets will be available for phone orders and Group sales will take place only if tickets remain after the Internet Sales. Phone numbers to call: Local: 814-865-5555; Toll Free: 800-863-3336. No Limit

click on the "game day info" link or go to 2theLion.com "Game Day Game Plan" page for link(s) to the ticket office.

Ohio State 10/08

PSU has announced that kickoff for the Ohio State game is going to be either 7pm or 7:45pm (depends on if ESPN2 or ESPN picks up the game) so that means it could be a very full day of tailgating!

Suzanne and I are toying with the idea of going up to Connecticut that Friday (yes, that Friday) to see the UConn Syracuse game (8pm kickoff) and then traveling back down to PA really early the next morning with tailgate in tow.

Now, before you get all crazy and start telling us that we aren't youngsters any more and we need to pace ourselves, just remember that Mr. Hoover used to drive down to PA, from Connecticut, for every home game in the "olden days" with the entire tailgate in his trunk. It can be done. And we might even see Mianus (CT) on the way. ;)

Blue White 2005

Blue White 2005 - Diesel Tailgate

Well - Blue White 2005 was one for the ages. We joined tailgating forces with the "dual diesel tailgate 4" (DDT4), a group of young engineers we met last season and have been corresponding/planning with all winter.

Suzanne and I traveled to the State College Area the Sunday before and spent the week with Mom. During the week we planned, shopped and prepared a variety of goodies for the tailgate. Our assignments were: dips/snacks, desserts and a specialty beverage. For the beverage we made 5 gallons of Lynchburg Lemonade; suzanne made the sours mix from scratch and they were outstanding! For dips/snacks we made: Mini strombolis (ham/cheese, pepperoni, buffalo chicken); mini quiches (ham/cheese, vegetable); smokies in a blanket; ante-pasta plate; mini muffins (blueberry, cinnamon, corn, chocolate chip); mini biscuits (cheese, herb); onion/blue cheese dip; creamy salsa dip; buffalo chicken dip; uncle al's burnt keilbasa, roasted red pepper dip; spinach dip; tomato puree; pasta salad, homemade bagel chips; homemade crostini; party pumpernickel; chicken/red pepper spread made in a football shaped mould; stuffed mushrooms; homemade chex mix; cream puffs with herbed cream cheese filling; cherry tomatoes wrapped in salami & herbed cream cheese; tortilla chips; and, potato chips. For desserts we made: lemon tarts; coconut tarts; cheesecake bites; marbled cheesecake brownies; cream filled cream puffs; chunky chocolate brownies; turtle brownies; pineapple coconut brownies; mini chocolate cupcakes (which we frosted green and sprinkled green colored coconut on top of, arranged side by side on a tray and decorated with blue and white football player figurines, goal posts and knocked over red and yellow figurines which we called Florida State); almond butter cookies (shaped like footballs); shortcake footballs (dipped in chocolate); and, the lion cake (blue cake inside)!

The rest of the crew served breakfast (bacon, eggs, pancakes); hot sausage sandwiches; bratwursts; beercan chickens; brisket sandwiches; baked potato chili; bacon cheeseburgers; deep fried peirogies, cheese sticks, poppers, etc. Bloody Marys, Sangrita and beer as far as the eye could see, until you couldn't see anymore. There were little to no leftovers except for some dip and a few desserts - it was a return of the locust! (we hadn't seen devastation like that since Minnesota 2003).

There were a ton of people (est. 90!) - and it was a blast. The tailgate "area" was huge - 12 parking spaces, 3 canopies, tables and chairs everywhere. I did make it into the game for the 2nd quarter and halftime (saw the '94 team). The game was called in the 3rd quarter due to rain. The weather in general was icky - but we made the most of it!

The tailgate itself made it into the York Dispatch newspaper and Fox Sports' recap of the game!

It was a great success and everyone had a fun time.

Website update

Well, this week has been exciting, in a website creation type way. I am having the best time working on the site and learning all the publishing tricks, etc. I've added a few external links (including this one and one to our Football blog as well!) and uploaded a ton of photos. The hosting company has many more "add-ons" that I need to learn about - but it really is a labor of love.

Food glorious food

I bought a new cookbook over the weekend. It's only Monday and I've already made 2 recipes! French Onion Soup (best I've ever made - adapted the recipe which called for 8 cups beef stock and used 4 cups beef stock and 4 cups homemade chicken stock) and an Apple Tart.

I'm so ready to start planning for tailgating - Suz and I have been checking out the summer display of new grills, stoves, outdoor tables, etc. We're "gambling" to see what's left for the "end of summer" sales!

Early planning

So, it's the beginning of the summer and football season is a good 3 months away; however I'm always ready for some advance planning. The summer is a great time to pick up "outdoor" picnic supplies which can be used in the fall.

We had our "practice tailgate" at the Blue White spring scrimmage in late April. We joined tailgating forces with the guys at the "Dual Diesel Tailgate" (DDT). These fellas are super organized and enthusiastic about tailgating. Suzanne and I had prepared a slew of appetizers and desserts (including the lion cake!) and Suzanne mixed up 5 gallons of her spin on Lynchburg Lemonade (Lion Country Lemonade). We tried a bunch of new recipes and techniques. We had a great time getting ready for the tailgate and a super time on game day. We plan to tailgate with the Diesel boys again at the Central Michigan game (Sept 17th) - it should be fun.

Welcome to 2theLion.com!

Welcome to our Tailgating blog! We'll be posting about tailgating and all of the fun we have getting ready for it. Football season may only be in the Fall, but we're always on the look out for new equipment, recipes, etc. to add to the fun. Plus, the skills we have honed through throwing multiple "mini-parties" on fall weekends have helped with "partying" throughout the year. Every event is just a modified tailgate :)