college football is back

College Football Season is back! Though soccer (Football/Fútbol) is my favorite sport to watch & play,  College Football still comes in a close second. There's just something special about the Fall season.  I love trading phone calls & texts with all of the friends back on the East Coast on Saturdays. 

As I've probably previously stated, I graduated from Penn State in 2004.  Though our school is currently under a myriad of sanctions & fines for the unspeakable crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky, our school is still allowed to play the sport that brings us all together on Saturdays.  So while our boys play for little more than pride & the love of the game, we get together & cheer them on from homes & bars around the country.  

Here in Honolulu we have a small but growing chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association.  The first game of the season generally draws the largest crowd, which this year appears to be our biggest to date.  The head of our chapter, Angela Anderson, was able to gather 30+ Nittany Lion faithful at Rivals Sports Bar & Grill in the heart of Waikiki.   It helps that the kickoff was 9:30am local time. The true test of loyalty comes for the 6am kickoffs.  Some might complain that 6am is too early on a Saturday to be watching sports, but I happen to love it.  While you're more than halfway through your day on the East Coast at the end of the early games, we have a full day ahead.  I happen to love watching our Nittany Lions over breakfast & an Irish Coffee.  

This past Saturday all went well on the gridiron.  Penn State took on Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.  Our boys came out on top, 23-17.  I'm personally quite pleased with the start to the season.

Though I'm a Penn State Grad, I have a soft spot for the good people of Virginia Tech.  Being from Virginia many of my closest friends are Virginia Tech graduates.  So, I was quite delighted to see their alumni association met at the same bar for their game vs. Alabama.  Though the outcome of their game wasn't as positive as ours, they still seemed to enjoy the morning.  Hopefully they'll have plenty of victories in the coming season.

So, that's a little glimpse at the life of a College Football fan in Honolulu, Hawai'i.  If you're reading this & want to join us, I'll see you at Rivals next week at 6am when Dear Old State takes on Eastern Michigan.  Kickoff: 6am HST.   Just come ready for our chants:

We Are...Penn State!
Mahalo...You're Welcome!  


*This post brought to you by Brenden!