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 Philly Excursion |
 Monday, November 12, 2007 |
 I am back from my first ever trip to Philly and boy was it an experience. There is nothing quite like taking the subway to get to a college game and seeing the subway filled with fans in blue and white and the home team scarce to be found. But after this weekend, I am certain Temple, for as bad as they are, is definitely a growing program. They have the facilities (Linc) and the fan base (Philly fans) to grow with.
First off, the Linc is an impressive venue. I have been to several collegiate stadiums and seen a few NFL venues, and the Linc is nicely designed to allow for maximum foot traffic to flow around the facility in as little time as possible. The worst designed stadium so far in my experience is Michigan where the concourse packs fans in like cows and even then foot traffic comes to a standstill where you almost have to leave early just to beat the crowd. The Linc however allows you to stay till the end of the game and still move relatively with ease out of the stadium with little pushing and shoving unless you are trying to crowd into the express escalators.
 The game itself was predictable, Temple would put up a fight for a while and simmer away because of the lack of depth. This is why I am always amazed when overmatched foes actually pull off upsets in college football because to do so, they have to fight through their lack of depth which is amazingly hard to do. Try running down the field on routes for 4 quarters with almost no one to relieve you for a few plays to catch a breather. So Penn State eventually broke through and once again shut out the owls for the second consecutive time. Also as I predicted, the Linc because Beaver Stadium East and the roars of 'We Are... Penn State' rang through the stadium like Temple's never heard before. What was depressing however was Morelli's interception and fumble but other than that, it was a typically coached away game for Penn State. And to those who keep complaining of the Lion's roar that is piped into Beaver stadium, then I'm glad you are not around to hear the Owl screech that is blasted into the Linc at a ear piercing decibel.
The game was fun, chilly, but fun and the city of Philly was interesting to say the least. DO NOT miss Jim's Steaks if you are ever in Philly. Its located on South Street and there was a line around the block in the chilly temperature just to grab a piece of those amazing cheese steak sandwiches. I am salivating just thinking about the steak and mushroom sandwich I was lucky enough to try on my way down. And also a shout out to the great people of Temple who put up with the Penn State crew this weekend. Most were gracious and I'm glad we got a chance to shack up for a weekend. Hopefully Temple will grow and we can begin a new instate rivalry since our last one with Pittsburgh has been suffocated to death.
Go State! Beat the Spartans! |
posted by Nittany White Out @ 9:34 AM  |
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