This week marks the most nerve-wracking 7 a.m. wake-up call of your summer as Penn State Football season ticket sales begin. We all know the stress-inducing frenzy as we log on to Ticketmaster and race to enter in our student-IDs and credit card information. But, we all know it is *so* worth it for so many reasons.

There's nothing quite like spending a Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium with 108,000 of your best friends, donning blue and white, and dancing to Zombie Nation. Even if you don't follow the actual game closely (so guilty), there's nothing like cheering on the Nittany Lions for a number of reasons.

There's the best tailgating in the World.

Penn State is the birthplace of tailgating. No kidding. Back in the day, fans didn't like how far away downtown restaurants were from Beaver Stadium, so they started packing their own picnics to eat in the nearby fields.

I insist that the best tailgating still takes place downtown on Fairmont, Prospect, SAE's front-lawn, and in the Sammy Pit. And thanks to the White Loop, it's much easier to make it up to the game, so we don't have to worry about making the trek. Nothing beats a perfect Saturday morning (or afternoon) preparing to get rowdy in ESPN's #1 ranked Student Section. Speaking of which...

We're ranked the #1 Student Section in America.

Yes, We Are. And there's no doubt as to why. Between our historic "We Are" chant to Zombie Nation, to Sweet Caroline, to tossing up students for touchdowns, to being downright aggressive, we easily deserve that title. Did you know the reason we're limited to doing Zombie Nation once per game is because we're causing structural damage to Beaver Stadium from jumping too much? Yep--we're that rowdy. Additionally, the Millennium Life Science Building (that random building by Pollock), was specifically designed to be able to absorb the seismic shock that comes from Beaver Stadium on game days as to not disturb research. Because, yeah, we register on the Richter Scale.

Tailgate food is SO bae.

Penn State fans old and young are dedicated to making sure they have the most impressive tailgate tents around-- which includes making sure the food is on point. If you've never been to a family tailgate, make sure you do. You'll never be happier or more well-fed before swiping into Gate A.

Additionally, taking a halftime and eating the best of #PSUEEEATS--aka a chicken basket--is a must to keep your energy up through tailgating all morning and through four quarters of supporting our favorite team (I actually started eating chicken just so I could eat chicken baskets).

We love our athletes.

Whether we win or lose (and let's face it, we mostly win), we stand behind Coach Franklin and the team. With Hackenberg leading our offense and our experienced defensive line, we always have something to cheer about. No other college football team has been through more and still come out on top with their heads held high. It's hard not to feel exceptionally proud of Penn State Football and everything it's done in the past four years. No matter what, we'll always bleed blue and white.