There’s plenty of reason to be excited about getting to watch Penn State and Big Ten football this fall. Then again, it’s going to be a very different kind of experience for many fans, since you won’t be allowed into the stadiums for games.
There’s also still the matter of COVID-19 to deal with, so safety remains a concern — safety of the players, coaches and everyone else involved in college football.
So, having football back is certainly something to rejoice about for many fans, but not everyone is fully on board with it.
We asked Twitter users to provide some of their thoughts about the return of PSU and Big Ten football, and their answers were telling in a lot of ways.
A small piece of normalcy in a very in un-normal year. Looking forward to the return, and hope everyone stays safe.
— Ron Bottorff (@ronb_pitt) September 17, 2020
The world “normalcy” also showed up from other fans.
It will be a sense of normalcy for a few hours. Simply hearing Herbstreit and Fowler the other night was a huge boost to the positive vibes…
— Brian Bittner (@BrianBittner1) September 17, 2020
Itโs a huge step towards returning to normalcy
— Kevin Kovaleski (@kovtweet) September 16, 2020
Grew up in Altoona. Went to college at Penn State. Watched the games weekly, religiously. Now Iโm living in Arizona. Getting to see PSU football gives me a link to home.
— ๐ฆฆ๐ฆฆJay ๐ฆฆ๐ฆฆ (@DuckyMedwick7) September 16, 2020
This has been a rough year in many ways. We’ve had so much time on our hands that it’s led people to be frustrated and even angry about everything that’s going on. It’s also an election year, and politics has been a major topic of discussion for months now.
Football provides an escape from all the difficulties.
An escape from the political crap, online schooling my kid, and generally not getting to do what i want.
— Bill Perry (@bprush) September 16, 2020
It provides an escape. An escape for 3-4 hours a week from reality, which canโt be overstated this year.
— Eyewall Jigger (@CDP330) September 16, 2020
Iโm excited for it. It wonโt be โnormalโ but nothing in 2020 has been. Fingers crossed for everyone. Maybe one step closer to a normal-er 2021
— Jim Brenza (@JBrenza) September 17, 2020
Mix of having concern for safety of players and excited to be able to watch them again
— Brent Gonska (@BRGNYRFan) September 16, 2020
The safety of everyone involved is also on a lot of people’s minds. So much so that some fans said they would have been OK if football wasn’t returning at all.
Big Ten caved. Covid numbers through the roof on college campuses. Poor decision.
— Steve L (@tusseygolfer) September 17, 2020
Selfishly: itโs a return to normalcy
Intellectually: Iโm sad the B1G caved— Ed Miles (@EdMiles2) September 16, 2020
And lastly, sometimes words aren’t enough to describe someone’s feelings. Which is why we have emojis.
๐คฎ
— matt martynuska (@mmartynuska) September 16, 2020