Penn State fans show pride as Lions fall

Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Penn State Nittany Lions leads his team onto the field before the start of their game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 1, 2012 in State College, Pa. / Rob Carr/Getty Images

(AP) STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Nittany Lions bounced and bumped off each other behind a closed gate, antsy to attach the focus for a battered fan base on football, not lurid tales of child abuse, for the first time in 10 months.

Penn State's public address announcer needed no major introduction:

"Please welcome ... the Nittany Lions!"

With that, coach Bill O'Brien led the charge in the first home opener without Joe Paterno since 1949, his players behind him, storming the Beaver Stadium field as more than 97,000 fans kicked off a new chapter in the program's tarnished history with a raucous and sustained ovation.

Then came the familiar cheer that has echoed through the stadium for decades:

"We are ... Penn State!"

Penn St pep rally opens historic football weekend

But in a clear display of O'Brien's challenge ahead, the new, short-handed Nittany Lions wore down in the second half, and Ohio, from the Mid-American Conference, upset Penn State, 24-14. It was a sad ending for a devoted fan base that came ready to rock the house, after scandal rocked the program.

Penn State held a moment of reflection Saturday for all victims of sexual abuse. Penn State also asked fans to pause and know that all those affected by abuse are remembered in their hearts.

A university accused of placing football first turned the page when it invited 600 athletes from all of its sports teams to participate in the pregame show as part of Penn State's "One Team" motto.

Yes, this would be a time to remember all those hurt.

But the tagline in the scoreboard highlight video made it clear Penn State's program was ready for "the next chapter."

Fans cheer before the Penn State Nittany Lions arrive for their game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 1, 2012 in State College, Pa.

/ Rob Carr/Getty Images

When the team arrived at the stadium, O'Brien, the former offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots, was the first person to deboard off bus No. 1, followed by his game captains Derek Day, Jordan Hill, Gerald Hodges and Matt McGloin.

Boisterous fans waited at the tunnel entrance for hours and lined the road like a parade route as they waited for team busses.

They showed their love for JoePa with chants of "Joe Pa-ter-no!" before turning their shrieks toward O'Brien. There were thunderous roars for the players as the exited the bus. The fans showed they will stand by the players that stuck with the program.

More than 90 percent of the roster stayed after the NCAA handed down its punishment July 23.

So much has changed on the field, but the lively atmosphere remained the same outside Beaver Stadium. The overall mood around the program is that of pride, perseverance and support — for both O'Brien and Paterno.

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[NB62]

The students of Penn State and the football team players were not responsible for the crimes that took place there.Just leave these kids the hell alone and let them get and education and have some fun

[rwsmith29456]

Alumni, faculty, athletes, students and a lot of others didn't have anything to do with child abuse. I think it's wrong to heap sanctions on a school because of a few perverts.

[andrewjsacks]

Penn St. was overly penalized and Paterno's reputation unfairly besmirched.

[cuffhead]

I bet a million bucks if there was another scandle, the higher ups would do whatever they could to cover it up. Things haven't changed.

[anonymous010]

Exactly. You can tell just from the reactions of the Penn State crowd that these people have learned nothing from this whole ordeal. They're already trying to forget what happened and put football back on that pedestal and unwittingly enable the next guy to do whatever he wants - all he has to do is win a whole bunch of games and they'll fawn all over him too.

The NCAA should just shut their team down and put them out of their misery.

[stuwerb]

Time to change the name of the school to Ped State.

[blindersoff]

Peen State?

[UForgotPoland]

Their school deserves what it got, that's what happens when you place a game over basic human dignity. I'm glad Paterno got his legacy tarnished!

[call_me_the_breeze]

State Penn rocks

[seterk]

Those people haven't changed at all. They still act like they are the victims, not the children.Love the guy with the "screw the ncaa" t-shirt.I mean, how dare they find child rape unacceptable.It's almost as if they worship football and not God.Pathetic people.

[Rafterman11]

"Those people" on the field and in the stands were not responsible for anything that happened. Why are you blaming them?

[animaltoo]

It is a shame what Paterno had no more respect for the school or decency than to harbor a pedophile.