Ex-Penn State Fan Favorite Says What Every Fan and Alum is Thinking

Whenever teams like Penn State don't win in college basketball, a fan base isn't happy. We can go down a long list as to why some of the fan base isn't happy at the moment, but the reality is that Penn State not winning games is the biggest cause of it. 

If Penn State were winning more games, the place would be completely packed out, ticket prices wouldn't be as big of a deal, and alumni wouldn't have the comments that they have about what Pat Kraft is doing. 

However, when things are ugly at this level, it's fair to make some of the comments that many are. 

That even includes former players and alumni, with one fan-favorite former Penn State football player speaking about why he believes that there's a misunderstanding currently between the administration and the alumni base. 

He even said nobody wants a club section, club seats, or cup holders. Penn State is a blue-collar area that just wants to see its football team win.

“I think there is a misunderstanding from Penn State athletics and Penn State as a whole of what this fan base really is, and there wasn’t many people that came out and said, ‘I want a club section. I want club seats. I want cup holders,’” Landon Tengwall said, per The Athletic.

“Then I’m also being told, ‘Hey, my team isn’t that good, and it’s your fault as the fan because we don’t have enough NIL (money for players), and you need to open your wallet.’”

The key distinction is that Penn State will always get people in the stands. People who live around State College, Pennsylvania, don't have much more to do other than to go to Penn State football games during the fall. 

It's also a major selling point for students who attend the university, as the football games are extremely fun. However, some alumni don't believe that it's very fair that the university is doing what it is. 

One graduate even went so far as to say he feels taken advantage of because of how passionate the fan base is.

“Fundamentally, I think Penn Staters will always show up,” said Darian Somers, a Penn State graduate who has written extensively about escalating prices faced by Nittany Lions fans. “It’s bordering on this uncomfortable sense of, like, you’re just taking advantage of the fact that I’m really passionate about Penn State.”

I think it's very tough to argue against some of this, but it's ultimately something that Pat Kraft is going to have to figure out. Kraft has made some weird decisions, though I also think we need to give him some time and suggest that it might be the right decision one day. 

Whether that ends up being the case remains to be seen, but it will take time.