At 7 p.m. Saturday, even the heavens were crying.
Shortly after Penn State backup quarterback Daryll Clark ran in a touchdown to make the score 41-17 in Notre Dame's favor, rain began to fall upon State College.
The few fans that stayed at the Sports Cafe, 244 W. College Ave., clapping for one of the few positive plays in Saturday's game, were holding back a downpour of sorts from their own eyes.
Matt Ward, Class of 2005, who returned to Penn State for "Operation Salute," which honored Pennsylvania National Guard troops that served in Iraq, said he felt like he had risen to the top of a roller coaster, only to find the feeling of his heart dropping still there.
"What was supposed to be a weekend of joy turned into a day of sadness," Ward said. "Tomorrow I'll be crying."
Before the clock hit zero, many barstools in Happy Valley were already abandoned long ago, but not Ward's -- he held out until the end of the brutual game.
"It's like a car crash," Ward said. "It's horrible, but I can't look away. I just can't stop watching."
1:30 p.m., Sports Cafe
There was little thoughtful discussion at the Sports Cafe, only some customers wondering why it was taking 30 minutes to get a beer.
By 3:03 p.m., the first "Let's Go State" chant came to fruition.
"I can't wait for this game to start," Chris Long (senior-marketing) said, staring at his cell phone's clock.
The air inside the bar was hot as pockets of Penn Staters grouped together around each television.
A couple minutes later, every television was tuned to NBC.
1:30 p.m., South Bend
Four hundred and eighty miles away, thousands of Penn State fans cheered as they filled the stands at Notre Dame Stadium.
Mike Lauer (junior-mechanical engineering) was one of the fans who made the trip to see the Nittany Lions play their first away game of the season. According to Lauer, 10,000 Lions fans gathered inside and outside the stadium.
"I was psyched before the game even started, though, because the tailgate was one of the best I've ever been to," he said.
Lauer even witnessed a streaker run through the tailgate, yelling Penn State chants.
"It was wild," Lauer said.
He tailgated all morning with fellow Penn Staters, and his friends weren't sure what to expect as they entered a stadium full of diehard Notre Dame football fans.
Despite what he expected going into the game, he said Notre Dame fans were respectful and surprisingly hospitable.
3:30 p.m., Sports Cafe
An almost insipid hatred of everything Notre Dame swept the State College bars, even to the point where Notre Dame President The Rev. John Jenkins' pregame speech was vehemently booed.
"It's not that we hate Catholics," Long said. "You can be Catholic, but you should have came [to Penn State]."
At 4:01 p.m., senior running back Tony Hunt's 30-yard run to the 17-yard line brought everyone's hands into the air, but then a botched field goal attempt at 4:04 p.m. left fans holding their heads.
Minutes passed, and the score grew even more lopsided. By 4:40, the Lions were trailing 6-0; by 5:13, 20-0.
"I wanna cry," Long said, grabbing the back of his neck and planting his face on the table.
Members at his table pledged to stay through the third quarter, but when the score reached 27-0, beer glasses found themselves without owners.
The Aftermath
While the game itself was its own attraction, to others, it was a reason for a good tailgate.
Elizabeth Early (sophomore-biobehavioral health) and her sorority sisters made plans to go to Notre Dame weeks in advance, even though they knew they wouldn't be watching the game from inside the stadium.
"We didn't have tickets to the game today, but it didn't even matter because we had so much fun tailgating," Early said.
"There's nothing else in the world like a Penn State tailgate, and I knew this one would be even better than usual because we were on another team's home turf."
Even though Early and her sorority sisters traveled hundreds of miles only to be met by a 41-17 loss, they still haven't lost faith in Penn State football.
"This trip was 100 percent worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat," Early said.
"We actually are already planning our tailgate for the Ohio State away game and we can't wait."
Ward had a decidedly different perspective on where he wanted to watch the game.
"Even with a loss, I'd rather watch it in State College than anywhere else," he said.
