Penn State vs. Nebraska on Sept. 14, 2002, wasn't only one of the best games in the history of Beaver Stadium, it was the night when Penn State nation sustained a casualty. The end of an era. The night when the marshmallow express was grounded for good.

It wasn't that long ago when marshmallows would take flight whenever the Nittany Lions would score a touchdown. These days the flying has been left up to pilots and marshmallows to the dining halls, as this once popular tradition has disappeared altogether.

What started as a seemingly harmless celebration quickly made a turn for the worse for the Nittany faithful, when the marshmallow flights were grounded on account of some water bottle hailstorms.

"I remember having to duck every time we scored," said Gary A. Abdullah, an employee at the Penn State All Sports Museum. "I stopped going to games after my freshman year. I watched them on TV."

The sentiment was shared by fellow Penn State All Sports Museum employee Michael Jones, who said, "Every time we scored my buddies and I would face different directions to protect each other from flying objects. It wasn't fun."

Current students offer a stark contrast in opinion from those of years past though, and in most cases don't even know that the tradition was ever banned to begin with.

When informed of the policy, Michael Taylor (sophomore-chemistry) had this to say: "[Throwing marshmallows] was awesome, I had a blast last year. It'd be great if it were to come back."

Joe Sapp (senior-electrical engineering) also hadn't heard that throwing marshmallows had been banned for safety reasons.

"A marshmallow is soft, I wouldn't see a problem," he said.

However when students stopped attending the games in person because of the atmosphere, the stadium officials took action.

The end result was a complete ban on the throwing of objects and the end to a tradition that became downright unclassy.

When asked about the decision to crack down on the throwing of objects inside of the stadium, Lou Prato, director of the Penn State All Sports Museum, said, "It was dangerous for the fans, the players and everyone. The ushers have directions; if you're caught throwing something, you're out."

Asked for his specific instructions on handling the situation Dean Berry, an usher at Beaver Stadium, said that he was supposed to, "Give a warning the first time, then call a supervisor if it happens again."

Keep in mind these are the same supervisors who cleared the aisles of the student section with little nonsense when called into action this past weekend.

So as Penn State football fans sing and dance to Zombie Nation and watch the Lions work to return to glory, one of the most memorable celebrations in recent history has been grounded for the foreseeable future.