Road Trip

It was 70 degrees and sunny last Saturday morning as Selena and I set out for central Pennsylvania. We were heading to Happy Valley to introduce her to a place that meant a lot to me back in the day — Penn State University.

I spent three semesters at Penn State before transferring to Delaware. While not an alumni, I still feel strong ties to the school, especially during football season. So I got us two tickets to the Penn State vs. Temple game and a hotel in the area. Just an overnight trip, so we packed light… way too light.

We arrived late and were quickly running out of time to explore the campus before the game. In our haste, we quickly left the car, leaving an umbrella, two jackets, a sweatshirt and a rain poncho behind.

The Downpour

About an hour before kick-off the skies opened. We went from shop to shop looking for ponchos but there were none to be found. We thought we’d have luck at the shops inside, so we entered Beaver Stadium (yes, that is its name), but we were greeted by handwritten signs stating “rain gear sold out”.

I was ready to double back to the car to get what little we had, but there was a new problem. There is no re-entry into Beaver Stadium (insert sophomoric jokes here). Leaving would forfeit our tickets. If we wanted to watch the game, we had to make due with what we had on.

We tried to brave it and took our seats. The rains continued to fall through the introduction of the teams, the National Anthem, the Alma Mater and the fight song. By kick-off we were soaked through and had to go back inside.

A Good Sport

I started berating myself for not checking the forecast. I was ready to give up the game and head back to the car, but Selena wouldn’t have it. Through my self-pity, I had missed that she was smiling and still having a good time. True, she was soaking wet, but she hadn’t let it bring her down.

Selena went back to one of the sold-out shops and asked for a couple merchandise bags. She cut a hole in one and put it over her head. It looked silly and fit like a straight jacket, but Selena was not deterred. We went back to our seats and sat our in the rain until the fourth quarter (when the game was well in hand and the second-string was in). Then we agreed it was time to go get dry.

I call Selena a “princess” a lot, but I was the one who deserved a tiara that day. Selena was as good a sport as I could have asked for, except for one thing: she was rooting for Temple! As much as I tried, I couldn’t convince her that “We Are… Penn State!”