Although it was held indoors because of the snowy weather, spirits were high at the 2009 Homecoming Pep Rally, as students and alumni packed HUB Alumni Hall.
The Blue Band crammed itself into the front of the hall and played traditional Penn State songs while the cheerleaders, majorettes and Blue Sapphire danced in the background. The Nittany Lion ran down the center aisle as "Hail to the Lion" played, proceeding to perform 20 of his traditional one-armed pushups as a warm-up for the next day's football game.
After the Homecoming executive committee was introduced, the 2009 Homecoming Court was brought back on stage to be crowned by Sue Paterno and Blue Sapphire P.J. Maierhofer.
Greg Tallman and Christina "CriCri" Henry won the titles of 2009 Homecoming King and Queen.
"It was the most surreal moment. I blanked out," Henry (senior-public relations and international politics) said while holding a bouquet of six Red Bull cans and flowers.
Henry said her favorite part of the Homecoming experience was when the court was waiting in the hallway to come into the pep rally, not knowing what was going to happen.
Tallman (senior-finance) said he was humbled by the honor.
"There wasn't one person that was more deserving than any other," he said.
Notable alumni also took the stage and shared their memories from when they were Nittany Lions.
Wallace "Wally" Triplett and Joe Sarabok -- two members of the historic 1947 Penn State football team, which went undefeated all the way to the 1948 Cotton Bowl -- spoke to the crowd about their time as students. Some of their 13 remaining teammates were in attendance at the pep rally and were present at various Homecoming events all weekend.
"Don't use the past tense. We're still Lions, and we're stronger than ever," Sarabok told the crowd. The 1947 team was "the guys that really worked hard and brought a lot of fame to the university," he said.
Grand Marshal Valerie Plame Wilson, a former CIA operative, John Mitchell, the first black Homecoming King and a champion baton twirler, Tom Roberts, the 1992-93 Blue Band drum major and Kevin Kelly, the 2005-08 kicker for the football team, all shared memories of their time at the university and the traditions that have continued through the years.
After winning its spot on the stage two Sundays ago, the Urban Dance Troupe performed at the Pep Rally, mixing together songs from Jay-Z and *NSYNC. Triplett advised the crowd to remember what a special place Penn State is.
