No, I wasn’t eating the cheese fries (I’m a sucker for sweets and cakes, but draw the line at fried “food”). I was serving them.

I never bought Freshman Football Tickets- so expensive! So, after hearing everyone rave about the football game experience, and a considerable amount of non-buyer’s remorse, I decided to work my way into this Saturday’s PSU v Temple game.

Literally.

I signed up to work in the ACF concession stand on the ground floor next to Gate E. (go there next time *hint hint*)

I spent the day draped in a light blue worker’s uniform, rushing back and forth with large collector’s cups of mountain dew, and orders of fried chicken. I bunned and bagged hotdogs. I passed out stacks of hamburger cartons, and tubs of popcorn. And I met maybe more than 400 (hungry) Penn State fans. Some older than my grandparents. Others snoozing in baby strollers.

Before today I’d never realized how big PSU is, not as a school but as a culture. I saw first hand a multi-generational network of students, alumni, friends and families. Hell, I served them all personal cheese pizzas. I’m not a foot ball fan per say, but it’s heard to not feel infected by the excitement, and more than that, by the sense of community.

WE ARE??! How many times did I hear (and answer) that famous cheer today. It’s not just “We Are Penn State,” for me now, it’s more of an “I Am Penn State Too.”  I’m slowly beginning to feel like something greater than myself. Part ACF, part of this school, part of a greater group of people that spans majors, generations, and centuries. Something powerful. Something united. & something that smells like concession stand popcorn.

So by the end of the day, having only actually seen the game for a mere five minutes, my knees ached, by hands were burned in places from the hot metal trays and melted cheez wiz, and my eyelids beginning to sag tiredly. I was exhausted. But, I was happy. And maybe, just maybe, one step closer to finding a place in this universe.