Party at "The Link"

     Protruding above the rest of the buildings in southern Philadelphia rests Lincoln Financial Field or "The Link", home of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Temple Owls. Since the final brick was laid in August of 2003, the stadium has been a prominent figure of Philadelphia's skyline. As one gets closer to the stadium on a September Saturday afternoon, loud music and rowdy tailgating parties can be heard. Philadelphian fans are notorious for being passionate towards their home teams, especially when they're awaiting a key rivalry game. Today's matchup: The Penn State Nittany Lions versus The Temple Owls. "We're gonna get you guys this year! I can feel it coming! You're going down tonight!", slurs a highly intoxicated Owl alumni to a gentleman with a Penn State jersey on. To which the opposing fan chuckles and replies, "You say that every year, how about backing it up!" It doesn't take an expert to see that these teams have a history of hard fought battles on the gridiron, and the crazed tailgates hosting up to 50 fans each tell the whole story. Each and every fan, player and coach are ready for this years season opener.
    
     "We should be pretty good this year.", discusses the Owl's head coach, Matt Rhule. "The past few seasons have looked pretty promising." Mr. Rhule has been on Temple's coaching staff for six years before joining the New York Giants as an offensive line coach for the 2012 season. He then returned to Temple as the head coach in December of 2012, and he's been there since. "My first full season coaching the Owls was the 2013 season , all of our fans hated me," laughs Rhule. "I mean, I don't blame them, we were lousy! I believe our record was 2-10. The next year we fought towards four more wins as the team progressed to 6-6." Temple fans, players, and students hope to see an even bigger improvement throughout the 2015 season. What would be a better way to build confidence and publicity than a win over one of the best teams in college football!?
    
     As a fan enters the stadium, they are first met by a slew of intimidating security guards in their blue uniforms who are ready to stop and frisk anyone who looks somewhat suspicious. One of these persons of interest being a young girl who barely looked like she could hurt a fly. Her outraged father made sure he let the guard know how unwarranted the extensive search was. But hey, the man is just doing his job. Arriving at the entryway of the corridor to the sections of the stadium, any person would be intimidated by the larger-than-life sized murals of former football players that have played on the field that he is about to be face to face with. "DONOVAN McNABB-Quaterback. BRIAN WESTBROOK-Running back.", the names of these former players lead the newcomer to their seats. When the fan arrives at the hallway that has their section number on it, nothing can prepare them for the sight that is about to be experienced. With the light at the end of the tunnel getting brighter and more clear suspense fills the football-lover who suddenly feels like a giddy child on Christmas morning waiting to open their presents. At last, the moment has arrived. Stopping dead in their tracks the average football fan is in awe of the inside of the colossal structure built around a 100x53 yard plot of grass (Figure 1). A sea of green that is made up of individual seats can be seen as far as the eye can see, each one unique with its own story about what it has witnessed in its life at Lincoln Financial. Walking to their seats, one can hear the warm up music as the players get in the zone and ready for the upcoming battle. The aroma of cheesesteak and sunscreen fill the air. Men and women can be seen covered from head to toe in body paint. From all over the stadium comes the smooth "hiss" of the carbonation from beers being opened. The warm seat kisses the back and buttocks of every fan in the house who isn't too excited to be standing and jumping in place. The excitement calms as kickoff comes near.
    
     At the top of their lungs, the entire student section screams "WE, THE T" as the kickers foot comes in contact with the ball and the game is underway. After receiving the ball, Temple quickly drives down the field and scores a touchdown. The stadium erupts and the alma mater of the
university can be heard being played by the band. Seasoned fans and Temple alumni proudly sing along with the tune. A man with salt and pepper colored hair begins to sing obnoxiously into the face of another man wearing blue and white. His melody is quickly interrupted, though, as the Penn State fan's fist smashes into the other man's jaw. Needless to say, both men are promptly thrown out of game. As they leave, the rest of the fans forget about the confrontation and focus their attention to the owl doing backflips on the 35-yardline.
    
     "I really love the atmosphere here. I love feeling the power to stir up the entire crowd and cheer on the home team," expresses veteran senior mascot, Matt Martino. He sounds almost too excited as he shares, "Not to mention I'm getting paid for this!" Matt is one of three Temple student mascots who take turns attending most of the university's sporting events. "It's really no comparison. My view beats those crumby, overrated 50-yardline seats too. The whole job is a win-win-win situation." Matt is definitely right about that, but it must be taken into consideration that the fans on the 50-yardline don't have to wear an eight-pound mascot head when they watch the game. "My day starts when the players' days start. We usually board the bus to the stadium three hours before the game. As a team, we walk straight to the locker room. I sit in a separate room as coach Rhule goes over a final game plan. After that, we all get suited up and we head to the field. We are met there by the newest music to get loose to. About a half-hour before the game we go back to the locker room. The players are allowed ten minutes to do any pregame rituals or good luck strategies to prepare their minds for the game. We then leave the locker room and start the walk back to the field. One of the stadium workers gives us the "okay" to run out on the field, and this moment is truly indescribable. We are confronted by fireworks and screaming fans as we come out of the tunnel onto the field." (Figure 2)
    

     Trash talk between fans of both sides of the contest are continuously heard throughout all four quarters of the game. Temple leads by 17 points as the end of the final period approaches. Within the last minute of the game the student section realizes that victory is sealed. They chant all sorts of profanities with no sense of the families around them, but no one attempts to stop the crowd of students, most in their early twenties. The final horn sounds, and the game comes to an end. 10-27 is the final score as Temple beats Penn State for only the fourth time since 1931. There is no delay as red and black fireworks blast from the top section of the stadium and an even bigger flash comes from the cameras trying to capture the radiant image. As fans start to file out of their seats and into the endless lanes of traffic, the smiles on their faces go from ear to ear until the next Saturday when they do it all over again.