We’ve tapped into the expertise of Florida implant and Penn State graduate Tom Peeling, who offers his recollections of past bowl games and a helpful Top Ten list for Pennsylvanians traveling to Florida for the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Penn State Nittany Lions will take on the Tigers of LSU at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in their fifth different bowl game in the past five years. Peeling, is assistant community editor at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Fla.
By Tom Peeling
I first fell in love with Penn State football on Jan. 1, 1969. At 11, I was too young to realize those low-level end-zone seats my dad got for us really weren’t the best in the house. But I didn’t care. I was at my first Penn State game, sitting in Miami’s historic Orange Bowl.
As luck would have it, Penn State scored in our end zone with 15 seconds left. We had barely stopped screaming when the two-point conversion pass fell incomplete. As we resigned ourselves to a one-point loss, my dad noticed a flag on the field. Kansas had 12 players on the field. On second try, Penn State ran the ball in and a 14-13 loss became a 15-14 victory right in front of our seats. The good guys won.
A year later, I sat in the Orange Bowl and watched our Nittany Lions win again, this time 10-3 over Missouri.
In just a couple of weeks, I’ll sit in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando and again watch Coach Joe Paterno and my beloved Nittany Lions end a season on Jan. 1. It will be the 14th Penn State bowl game I’ve witnessed in Florida – a benefit of being born in the Sunshine State and living here most of my life.
Through the years, the players, bowl names and opponents have changed. Burkhart, Harris and Cappelletti became Clark, Lee and Bowman. Orange, Gator and Blockbuster became Citrus, Outback and Capital One. Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma became Kentucky, Florida State and Tennessee.
The coach, of course, remains the same. And this year’s opponent is the same as the one I watched Penn State beat 16-9 in the 1974 Orange Bowl.
While nothing can compare to a night game Whiteout in Beaver Stadium, these Florida bowls are special in their own way. For whatever reason, folks seem to be friendlier at bowls. I recall parking next to some Kentucky fans outside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in 1998 for the Outback Bowl. They were just happy to be in Florida in January, since football wasn’t the sport normally associated with their alma mater. After some friendly banter, we headed into the stadium. We beat the Wildcats 26-14, and met our parking lot buddies back at the cars. “Good,” they said, “now basketball season can begin.” I would have been devastated.
Each bowl brings its own special memory. Falling two touchdowns behind Tennessee and then coming back to win. Having a chance to win a national championship, but falling short to Oklahoma. Seeing Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell in action.
The wins are more memorable than the losses. But none is more vivid than my favorite of the Florida bowls, that Jan. 1, 2006 Orange Bowl win. It had everything – triple overtime, our first bowl game in three years, major college football’s two winningest coaches and a Florida opponent. Living in the state with Miami, FSU and the Florida Gators, it gets a little old hearing about them. A win over one of them is always special. The game seemed as though it would never end. Missed field goal after missed field goal by each team had the game dragging past midnight. It was everything it was built up to be, but we prevailed.
As I head to another Penn State bowl game, I’ll wonder again how many more wins can an 83-year-old coach have in him. At the same time, just 140 miles across the state, Bobby Bowden’s FSU team will kick off in the Gator Bowl in that coach’s last game.
No matter the outcome, I’ll know the Paterno-Bowden rivalry will finally be over. And the good guys will have won. Again.
Top 10 tips for Pennsylvanians coming to Orlando:
1. It’s OK to wear Whiteout attire after Labor Day. It’s Florida.
2. Y’all. It’s the Southern version of yinz and youse. Embrace it. It’s in the official How to Speak Southern dictionary.
3. Kissimmee. It’s not an invitation to gather round the mistletoe. It’s a motel/tourist trap strip just south of Orlando.
4. Joe Paterno – or as the LSU Cajuns call him, Jeaux Paterneaux – will not be the most famous octogenarian in Orlando. That distinction belongs to someone named Mickey.
5. Those are grits on your plate, a breakfast staple. Butter is good, with a little salt and pepper. Cheese is even better.
6. Parking around the Citrus Bowl is not as bad as the old, original Orange Bowl, but it’s a close second. Try the shuttle buses.
7. Traffic in Orlando is a lot like traffic in Philly, without the potholes. Drive carefully.
8. Thanks to Disney’s influence, there are more hotel/motel rooms in the Orlando area than people to fill them. Don’t be afraid to go to nearby Kissimmee to find a better rate.
9. In Florida, “pop” is a close relative, “soft drink” is a liquid refreshment. You’ll push a cart in the stores, not a buggy, and it’s a rubber band, not a gum band.
10. If all else fails, don’t worry. Most folks in Florida aren’t from Florida anyway. You’ll blend right in.