I am so proud that I am a Penn State student. I am a proud holder of both Penn State Football season tickets and Penn State Men’s Hockey season tickets. This weekend has been unbelievable for both teams. Penn State Football is now ranked number twenty-four in the country and Penn State Men’s Hockey is ranked number nineteen in the country after some well-played games.

On Saturday night, Penn State was not expected to beat number two in the country, Ohio State. We all had our doubts. Most of us thought, “Yeah, we’re going to lose, but I hope we at least give them a run for their money.” The win was surprising for everyone – for students, alumni, and people around the nation. But Penn State did it. We won with a score of twenty-four to twenty-one. We ruined the Buckeyes’ undefeated streak. Penn State succeeded.

The sanctions against Penn State Football were meant to ruin us for years. Now, we are back on the map. We have not been ranked since two-thousand and eleven. Although we are at spot twenty-four, we can continue moving up. Our next game is against Purdue at their stadium and then the following weekend, we return to Beaver Stadium to play Iowa during another night game. This could be a big year for Penn State Football and I am so glad that I am here to experience it.

During the football game, we also received word from the Penn State Men’s Hockey team that we defeated Notre Dame with a score of three to two. Notre Dame was ranked number three in the country in hockey. Five years ago, Penn State did not even have a varsity hockey team and now we are ranked number nineteen in the country. The surprising thing about this game is that the game was away. Penn State was not playing in Pegula. They did not have the Roar Zone screaming for them and chanting “aggressive” cheers. Penn State played the game with pure skill and defeated Notre Dame in their own territory. The game went into overtime and Penn State took the victory.

People will always hate Penn State. There have been so many people who have questioned why I chose to attend this school. Penn State offers me so many incredible opportunities that other schools cannot offer me. Despite everything that has happened with this school in the past, I am still extremely proud that I was even accepted into this wonderful school. The sanctions that were placed on this school years ago were meant to ruin us, but now we are rising back to the top. Once again, Penn State Football is ranked. The sanctions were meant to destroy our team and our school. So many people hate Penn State and I think a lot of it comes from jealousy. Why do other schools find it so appealing to talk poorly of us all year? Yes, we may talk poorly about other schools if they are about to play us in a particular sport, especially football, but after that, our comments die down. Other schools continue their comments year round. After these two amazing wins, we are proving that nothing can drag us down. I am so proud to be a Penn Stater and I will be cheering on the Hockey team and the Football team this weekend.