Tonight is the night fans can enter the stadium they haven't been inside since the Blue-White game. There, the final touch of preseason hype gets put into place for the team's annual "Football Eve" celebration.
While it's true that stadiums become hallowed for what happens inside, every once in a while, something happens just outside the gate that has just as much of an impact.
At Penn State, that something is Paternoville -- the now officially recognized student organization that camps outside Gate A of Beaver Stadium before home football games seeking front-row tickets.
In April 2007, Tom Boroch (sophomore-meteorology) was elected president of the Paternoville Coordination Committee. The committee's purpose is to work as a liaison between students and administrators, Boroch said.
Mike Poorman, the faculty adviser for the group, said he thinks highly of the students who take on this task.
"They're just so enthusiastic and they're wholesome kids," Poorman said. "They volunteer, but I don't think you could get a better group if they were handpicked."
Jordan Cascino (junior-political science) and Amy Shollenberger (junior-animal science) were the first, arriving at 10 p.m. Thursday. By 11:30 p.m., all were seated comfortably in lawn chairs. But not a tent was in sight until exactly 12:01 a.m., when a new camper arrived banging a cowbell.
Cascino said the second row isn't an alternative.
"Second row is such a tease," he said. "Once you get on the rails, it's a whole new world. It's like everyone wants the world championship, but they won't do the work to get to the championship. I could give you metaphors all night long."
Amanda Meyerson (sophomore-broadcast journalism) said she likes to be up front so her group, the "Butler's Maids," can hang their banner for wide receiver Deon Butler.
Shollenberger said she is a member of "Connor's Convoy," a group supporting linebacker Dan Connor, which is a spin-off from "Posluszny's Posse" for former linebacker Paul Posluszny.
On Wednesday, Florida International University (FIU) began its own preparations.
Coaches lugged six surround-sound speakers to the FIU practice field and played crowd noises during practice -- a trick the team used before playing a game in the Orange Bowl against Miami last season, team spokesman Evan Koch said.
Last October, administrators and students met to agree on safety regulations for Paternoville. Greg Myford, associate athletic director of marketing and communications, said students have done a good job of policing themselves.
"Paternoville is one of the marquee aspects of any home football weekend. I think that the students who have been there have done a nice job of taking responsibility for their safety," he said.
Myford said a few adjustments have been made for Football Eve immediately outside Gate A for tents. Team officials are expecting about 30,000 people to come out for tonight's event, which begins at 7:45 and will be attended by the entire team, the Blue Band and head coach Joe Paterno.
When the crowd starts roaring, the players will be just as excited as the fans are.
"Just walking in right now, I was getting chills down my back looking at the tunnel," junior linebacker Sean Lee said at a press conference Tuesday. "I think the whole team's like that. We're ready to play another team. I think we're really excited."
