Football is very popular throughout North America. In the US, the term “football” is reserved for American football, whilst the more familiar football game that is played in other parts of the world is known as “soccer”. Football, which a collision sport, is played by men, whilst soccer is more of a women’s game here.
A game consists of four 15-min quarters, with an intermission at 1/2 time. Because the clock stops after certain plays, a game can often last 3 hours, and the game is on TV, commercial timeouts are taken at certain intervals.
College Football: Nearly every college and university has a football team, no matter its size, and plays in its own stadium. The largest, most popular collegiate teams routinely fill stadiums larger than 60,000. It is, therefore, not surprising that football is generally the major source of revenue to the athletic programs of schools, public and private, in the US.
College Football: Nearly every college and university has a football team, no matter its size, and plays in its own stadium. The largest, most popular collegiate teams routinely fill stadiums larger than 60,000. It is, therefore, not surprising that football is generally the major source of revenue to the athletic programs of schools, public and private, in the US. To say football is BIG here is an understatement! In PennState, football is a RELIGION! Under the tenure of its legendary coach, Joe Paterno, the team has won two national football championships. The team plays it home game at the Beaver Stadium. With a capacity of 107,282, it is the 2nd largest stadium in the US (smaller than Michigan Stadium by 219 seats), the 3rd largest stadium in North America, and 6th largest stadium in the world! The most incredible thing is that despite the small population in State College, match days are usually a sell out. For one of the games this season, tickets were selling on the e-bay at > US$1,000! Also, I am told that on each match day, the university earns around US$ 2 million!
The weekly autumn ritual of college football includes marching bands, cheerleaders, homecoming, parties, the tailgate party; it forms an important part of the culture in much of small town. A number of local residents will put up a Nittany Lion flag outside their house on matchday! In addition, a neighbor informed me that most local families are die-hard supporters and have a Nittany Lion room in their house. There is also a Nittany Lion shrine in the campus.
Play the video below for a feel of the vibe and energy involved prior to a game outside the stadium.
Penn State's most well-known athletic cheer is "We are...Penn State." Typically, the students and cheerleaders shout "We are," followed by a response of "Penn State" from the rest of the fans.
Reference: Wikipedia
