To find the most faithful of Penn State fans, a coast-to-coast search could be conducted.

Find someone among the one in 700 Americans who hold a Penn State degree, the possessor of the most Nittany Lion memorabilia or the owner of a recreational vehicle that has traveled thousands of miles.

Or take these directions: Travel minutes north of State College along state Route 64 to rural Nittany Valley and look for the sixth house -- a green L-shaped ranch -- beyond the intersection of state Routes 64 and 445.

Welcome to the home of Kurt and Tina Hinton and their children, Nittany and Lions.

They are dressed head-to-toe in blue and white Penn State apparel, from Tina's PSU earrings, Kurt's sweatshirt, Nittany's jumpsuit to Lions' socks.

Together they tell the story of becoming the Nittany Lions' most memorable fans.

A story that sounds too good to be true -- only because it is.

Surprisingly, neither Kurt nor Tina Hinton, both 32, graduated from the University.

Kurt wrestled at Lock Haven High School; Tina attended Bald Eagle-Nittany High School. They met on a blind date as seniors on Halloween night in 1981.

"She was definitely a sports fan," Kurt said. "I remember watching the 1982 national championship at a party together.

The Hintons will be married 11 years on June 23, but neither had attended a Penn State football game when they met. They saw their first game, a 17-10 Lion victory over East Carolina, together in 1985.

They were hooked. The next season, the Hintons began parking cars in Parking Lot 4. In addition to the $6.50 an hour paycheck, they receive free tickets to every home game.

And Kurt and Tina haven't missed one in eight years.

Although the Hintons had tickets, for the Michigan game and were expecting to make their first road trip of the season, there was an abrupt change of' their plans.

The mid-October talk in Centre County was of Ki-Jana Carter's right thumb, of whether it would be healed for the Penn State Nittany Lions visit to Ann Arbor, Mich. on the 15th to play the then fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines.

As Carter, junior tailback on the most explosive scoring offense in collegiate football, was slashing and dashing his way to 165 yards in the Lions' 31-24 victory, a local newborn was fighting for his life.

Lions Carter Hinton was alive, but was breathing only with the assistance of a respirator.

Born Oct. 10, Lions' first name is a perfect fit with his 4-year-old sister, Nittany. His middle name was inspired after Kurt met Carter at a Quarterback Club banquet in 1993, leaving him with an autographed picture and a lasting impression.

"He struck me as a great guy, not just a football player, but a great person," Kurt said. "Somebody worth naming a baby after."

When Carter learned that the Hintons named their son after him, he was surprised.

"It's like an honor. There are so many names to pick from, especially me," Carter said. "I'm popular at Penn State, but in the world I'm nobody. At my young age, when I haven't accomplished anything, it's overwhelming."

He said this in a year that he rushed for 1,539 yards, scored 23 touchdowns and guided the No. 2 Nittany Lions (12-0) to their first Big Ten championship. Ironically, a year in which he received no postseason awards.

"Having someone named after you," Carter said, "is one of the highest honors you can get."

However, Carter did not learn immediately of Lions' condition. Actually, no one suspected there was anything wrong with the infant at first.

When Lions was born at 1:45 p.m. in Lock Haven Hospital, he experienced labored breathing. Dr. Praful Bhatt was the first to notice this when he was making his nightly rounds at 6 p.m. He discovered that Lions' oxygen levels were too low.

Bhatt unsuccessfully tried to give him oxygen, so at midnight Lions had to be flown by helicopter from Lock Haven to the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

It was found that the baby suffered from a congenital heart defect because his heart did not form properly. Lions' condition got worse and he spent the next 10 days at Geisinger surviving on a respirator.

"They told us at Geisinger that if it wasn't for Dr. Bhatt recognizing the problem, Lions would have been released the next day," Kurt said. "He would have died two or three days later, a crib death."

Two of the four chambers in Lions' heart were not separated, and when other complications surfaced, Lions twice underwent surgery. The first came Oct. 12, the second six days later. Lions, now four months old, weighed a healthy 12 pounds, four ounces at his last check-up a month ago. His head bald and eyes blue, he looks no different than any other infant -- except for a pair of two-inch scars on his back.

Lions will have a heart catheterization in March to determine when he needs open-heart surgery this summer.

Although the Hinton kids are relatively unpublicized outside of friends and family, they received a response from one celebrated we wisher: Ki-Jana Carter.

Carter sent a card at Christmastime inscribed, "Our prayers are with you! Ki-Jana Carter #32." He included an autographed picture and a gold guardian angel pin.

"I felt bad because it's not my kid, but it's named after me," Carter said. "No matter what, it's life-threatening."

The Hintons planned on naming their first child Nittany if it was a girl.

"We weren't anticipating a son and naming him Lions," Kurt said. "But that's just the way it worked out. People think it's comical at first. I thought it was a natural fit."

The Hintons were secretive about their choice for a name for their second child. The reaction was stunning at first, that the family would give their children such distinctive names.

"He told me for the first time at the hospital and I had my first stroke," joked Tina's mother, Bonnie Knarr.

"Nittany we agreed on," Tina said, "but Lions . . . I knew the reaction we had when we had Nittany."

"I wanted Carter as his first name, but Kurt said: 'We already have a Nittany,' " Tina said. "I said, 'People are going to make fun of them. And when these kids grow up and hate their names and their parents, I'm going to tell them to hate their dad."

But the Hintons' say family and friends have given them an absolutely positive response.

"Sometimes people forget your children's names," Tina said. "They always remember our kids' names."