Despite the university's attempt to restrict tailgating at Saturday's Homecoming football game because of severe weather conditions, some fans were determined to defy not just the university, but Mother Nature as well.
In addition to the 20,000 grass lot parking spots closed down because of safety issues, an Oct. 16 statement on Penn State Live told attendees there would be "no tents or tailgating permitted in any of the lots."
But Penn State associate athletic director Greg Myford said the university merely wanted to discourage large gatherings of people and cumbersome tents in order to free up more parking spaces -- not stop attendees from opening up their car trunks and having a sandwich.
"We were looking to avoid extremely large gatherings of people or any type of tailgate that would restrict the ability to pass through," Myford said. "We had no intention of ruining anyone's good time."
He said the university updated the athletic department Web site and sent out e-mails to Nittany Lion Club members to inform them of Saturday's policy.
Currently, the university has not received any formal complaints from people who paid for a parking pass and did not use it. Myford said the university has no plans to refund the money from unused parking passes.
While lauding fans and the State College community for their positive response in the adverse weather, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley wrote in an open letter that there was definitely room for improvement on the university's end.
"We know that there was inconvenience on Saturday. We apologize for that," he said. "We also know that we can do some things differently if and when similar conditions arise again, and we will."
Joe Thell, a University of Minnesota fan who was openly tailgating under a large tent, said he was looking forward to experiencing the exciting atmosphere of a Penn State Homecoming weekend but was disappointed the university took such drastic measures.
"We love this weather," Thell said. "I'm depressed. It snowed six inches and they shut everything down. This is football."
Although a free shuttle service was offered to people who parked their cars in off-campus lots, several tailgaters expressed dismay at being asked to forgo tailgating after they had paid for a parking pass.
If there was a specific case of a tent blocking traffic, Myford said the owner would have been told to move it.
Many agreed the tailgating constraints put a damper on the atmosphere. Eric Linde, Class of 1968, a longtime season ticket holder, grilled hotdogs outside of his RV as the sky began to darken. He said he normally grills for the brothers of Zeta Psi, but the weather forced them to eat in their fraternity house.
He said he stayed behind to grill because "someone has to cook for the grandchildren." But the university didn't make it easy, he said.
"That's ridiculous," Linde said. "Why wouldn't you put your awnings out? Don't make rules just for the sake of making rules."
Although the wintry weather conditions were rare for mid-October, Myford said the athletic department will reflect on the implementation of the policy.
"From a weather standpoint, it probably ended up being as mild as we could have hoped for," Myford said. "There has already been a lot of conversation internally to make sure we have an accurate account of what happened so we can be prepared as best we can for next time."
