STATE COLLEGE, Pa — Penn State game days have many ongoing traditions.
One tailgating tradition has been going on for years. It includes everyone who is tailgating in Lot 13, no matter what team they support.
The celebration is called communion. It happens every hour on the hour leading up to a Penn State kickoff.
Over 200 people come from all over the Beaver Stadium tailgating lots to one tent for one reason.
"Everyone who knows Lot 13 knows that on the hour, they migrate to this section, do a shot of liquor and celebrate the Penn State fight song. That’s what it comes down to," communion tailgater David Hutchison says.
He claims: "It's became an everyone thing, but it was a bunch of Navy buddies who did the same thing the same way for years. Now it’s become a big group tradition."
It's a tradition that has continued for generations at Beaver Stadium.
“It’s funny because everyone who had a kid go through Penn State, their kids now know to come here. It's kind of like an extension of parents and grandparents, overall, just a nice reunion for everyone," Hutchinson says.
Communion tailgaters say that it’s nice to have a central celebration every year for every home game.
“State College has changed a lot since we left college, but this is the one static thing that remains the same. It's always fun to know you walk to this lot and it's always going to be the same,” Hutchinson says.
They always try to include tailgaters of the opposing teams. Hutchinson says some teams even brought the tradition home with them.
"I had a couple from Nebraska say they do it there now at tailgates. It's spread to multiple schools now, Nebraska and Iowa. They told me they do a 'We Are' at the end to honor Penn State, since we're the originators," he says. "We want to make sure when they come to Happy Valley, they have the Happy Valley experience."
Every game, more people show up to celebrate communion. They are expecting the biggest turnout of the season for the game against the University of Pittsburgh
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