Penn State Tailgaters are no joke! This is a feature story about a family that has created several tailgate traditions over the years outside of Beaver Stadium.
State College, PA - What could an Emmy Award, a lucky shot and a family of five all have in common? The answer, a Penn State Tailgate of course.
Gary Golaszewski has been tailgating at Penn State football games since the 90’s. Golaszewski has enjoyed the tradition so much, he eventually made the decision to move his wife Ame and their three kids from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to State College to be closer to the gameday experience.
Since the move, the tailgate has only grown bigger and better. The three-space pregame event is located just behind Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a giant white tent, a 20-foot flag and quite the display of food. However, what makes the Golaszewski
tailgate so special is the star power it attracts.
Emmy-winning producer and director, Shannon Furman has been making appearances at Golaszewski tailgate since the early 2000’s. She even donated one of her many Emmys to the tailgate for people to take pictures with on gameday.
“Shannon was kind enough to give us one of her several Emmys to decorate the tailgate and for people to take pictures with,” Golaszewski said. “We are constantly looking for ways to enhance the fan experience.”
Furman has also brought some former Penn State greats by the tailgate to check out the scene of the infamous spot.
“Shannon always tends to bring the star power to the tailgates, Golaszewski said. “One time she brought former Penn State football player, Michael Robinson which was very cool.”
Furman loves everything about the tailgate, calling it, “the greatest tailgate on earth.”
The tradition of the toast before kickoff has to be her favorite part.
“It is something everyone looks forward to every week, they just expect it at this point,” Furman said.
The toast originated as the “Sam Ficken Shot,” named for 2012 Penn State kicker, Sam Ficken, who was struggling to make field goal attempts.
“When we started passing out these shots at the tailgate, Sam immediately started doing better,” Furman said.
The name has now changed a couple of times to reflect the name of a person who everyone at the tailgate feels might need an extra boost of support during the game.
“We have called it ‘The Born Again Christian’ one year for Christian Hackenberg and we called it the ‘CJF’ for Coach James Franklin when he was on the hot seat in 2016 and it has always seemed to work, whoever we have rallied behind seemed to have a great season,” bragged Golaszewski.
The traditions created at this tailgate are just the beginning for this family. Within the next year, Gary and Ame Golaszewski hope their oldest daughter, Elizabeth will get accepted at Penn State University and makes the Lionettes dance team to start a new chapter of memories for Saturdays at Beaver Stadium.
Cited: Ame Golaszewski (Gary’s wife)