The Blue Band and Penn State football players visited Paternoville Thursday night to help pump up the fans before the much-anticipated Penn State-Michigan game this weekend.
Eight football players were driven to Gate A by quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and were greeted by swarms of fans eagerly hoping to get autographs and pictures with the players.
"I thought it was really awesome. It feels like they're celebrities. Everyone wants their picture and autograph -- I'm not washing this T-shirt. It was really fun to see them here," Yen Le (senior-public relations) said.
Penn State Guard Stefen Wisniewski said he came to show the fans the support they give him.
"[We] just come out to support the fans. They do so much for us, we just wanted them to know we're grateful for all they do," he said.
The players agreed that knowing they have such a strong fan base gives them an extra boost when it comes to game time.
"It's good for morale. It just gives us one more reason to win. It's not just important to you it's important to a community of students" Rich Ohrnberger, a guard, said.
Around an hour later about 30 Blue Band members came to pump up the fans even more.
They played Penn State fight songs as campers surrounded them clapping, dancing and singing along. The crowd became particularly excited when the band played "Hey Baby."
"I think it's great. It definitely makes the night more fun. It gets everyone's spirits up. It's a couple days early but it definitely pumps everyone up," Ryan Thompson (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.
The combination of the undefeated football season with Homecoming and the hopes of ending the losing streak against Michigan had fans excited even without the visitors.
"The fact that we're No. 3 in the country, people are starting to get a feeling that we could go to the national championship. The atmosphere is amazing. This is a game that could make or break the season," Josh Anthony (sophomore-engineering) said.
"It's surreal. ... You can't even put into words how it makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger. It's one of the reasons that makes me happy I came to Penn State."
Penn State's ComRadio was broadcasting live from Paternoville Thursday night and played a lot of "football themed" music, said Baylor Long, ComRadio student general manager.
Members of Safeguard Old State (SOS) also visited the camp to hand out lyrics to some of the fight songs in preparation of the Blue Band's visit.
"We're trying to pass [them] out in advance to make sure everyone's on the same page and see if we can't make some magic," Tom Shakely, SOS founder, said.
