All the same the Fire Family is jazzed for tonight’s game. See?

(Note: Not sure where the last d in FireDad went or the closing parentheses. Those frames were right on the project. Very strange, no doubt.)

LittleBrother even got in on the action. (His huge smile is due to the fact that he kept throwing his sign on the ground. BigBrother thought this was hilarious and was laughing those big belly laughs that he is known for.)

Ah, raising little Nittany Lions.

All the same, yes, I’m nervous about tomorrow’s game. I thought about not posting. Because I’m sure that even if we win, certain friends of ours are going to have something (or, lots of things) to say. But, come on. Undefeated! Going into a big, big game! Of course I had to post!

If I have to eat crow tomorrow, well, so be it. But as one of our OSU fans said when discussing the game two weeks ago, what kind of fan would I be if I wasn’t supporting a win. And so, with that, the Fire Family predicts a very close, very interesting but, ultimately, Penn State prevailing game.

BigBrother says so. “BEAT A BUCKEYS, KAY?!” Right on, BigBrother.

Edited at 11:21pm EDT: Nerve-wracking, nail-biting, totally awesome game. WIN!

I don’t like the Wisconsin Badgers. It has less to do with football and more to do with an ex-friend from college who stole my boyfriend and was infatuated with the school. Petty? Sure. But I’ll just turn my negative feelings towards the guys in uniform and yell from my couch (quietly as the game is an 8:00pm start and that’s after TheBrothers’ bedtime) and all should be well.

The good news, of course, is that Wisconsin is kind of sucking it up this year. They’re 0-2 in conference play and I’m almost ready to feel smug. But I’m keeping it in check because I don’t want the OSU fans who live all around me to make me eat crow in church tomorrow. The truth is that while they have two conferences losses, they weren’t exactly blowouts. And so, our guys need to keep their heads in the game and deliver a sound, secure defense and a high-scoring offense.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to be 7-0 going into the Michigan game? (FireDad and I hate Michigan almost as much as we hate Ohio State. In fact, maybe more, because we root for OSU to beat Michigan when they play each other.) I have no idea what this evening’s outcome will be. Only that the outcome will occur way past my bedtime and I will be exhausted in church tomorrow morning. Again. Late night football is killing me, folks!

Today’s picture comes courtesy of HeatherK who sent us the awesome 3T sweatsuit for BigBrother. I couldn’t locate one in the right size on eBay and found two other sites that were sold out so she graciously dressed my oldest son. BigBrother loves it because he “matches” LittleBrother! Thanks, Heather! (This poor, poor shot also brought to you by two boys who are far too interested in the fact that they have their playroom back. Alas.)

All the same, conference play means that it is time to get real. And the reality is that Illinois beat Penn State last year. And that can create nerves. I mean, if it is creating nerves for me, some work-at-home-mom who just so happens to be a football fanatic, well, I’m sure it might create a nerve or two for the guys running around on the field.

However, when I read this post about Illinois’ current statistics, well, I felt a bit better. Basically? Penn State is coming into this game will a whole bunch of advantages. If we can refrain from fumbling the ball (ahem), we should be able to prevail. As a bonus point, the Nittany Lions have won all five of the games against Illinois that happened in Happy Valley. As an added bonus point, fans are bringing the White Out tonight. (Did you get chills? I got chills. So wish we were there!) I don’t see Illinois leaving Beaver Stadium in a very triumphant manner tonight.

As long as Penn State keeps the cockiness about their previous wins and the statistics in the locker room. Leave the cockiness to those of us sitting in the stands. Or, uhm, on our couches.

But still. We will tune in. A bit later than the 12:00 start on the Big Ten Network as FireDad is teaching the county fire school today. (Which means he’ll come home smelling like fire!) BigBrother is getting excited about football games (even on TV) and they usually result in tossing our football (carefully) around the living room. He likes to yell, “TOUCHDOWN!” even when no one has scored. But I do suppose that expecting a not-quite-three-year-old to know the rules of football already is a little too much, right? Definitely by his November birthday, right? I kid. Kind of.

LittleBrother’s Penn State sweats came in Monday’s mail and I found him a seventy-five cent hat at a second-hand store. So, minus socks, he’s now able to support Penn State from head to toe. Also, in the past day, he has started to say ball! And everything, all day, is all about balls. Ball? Ball? BALL! BALL! If he sees a ball, he repeats it over and over and over until you give it to him. It’s really quite adorable. I haven’t yet taken a video as we were home on The Farm for grandpa’s funeral. But I did snap some pictures of the Nittany Lion-ed out outfit this morning.

Hopefully BigBrother’s 3T gear will have been puchased by next week. For some reason, that size is impossible to find in something that isn’t silly looking or overly expensive. Yes, I’m choosy and cheap. Works against me at times.

And so, on this very crisp (63 degrees now) fall day, the Fire Family is going to gear up for what should be an easy win and begin looking forward to conference play next week. In the words of FireDad, he wouldn’t care if everyone in the Big Ten beat Illinois. Even Ohio State. And that’s saying something coming from FireDad.

While I do like the color orange nowadays, I won’t be sporting it today either as Penn State comes up against Syracuse at 3:30 this afternoon. We’ll all be wearing some navy and white. I’ve decided to go the eBay route for the boys’ PSU gear as the backorder is still in place from the first attempt. LittleBrother’s sweatsuit should be here before next week and I’m sure it will be 90milliondegrees and he won’t be able to wear it yet. BigBrother has been harder to dress thus far. Soon, soon.

I’ve spent this morning learning more about the Penn State, Syracuse rivalry. (Parts one and two.) I love history lessons. And I love football. And that’s a good read. More importantly, Penn State won the last matchup in 1990. And they’re predicted to do so again today. (Of note, the previously linked blog refers to Paterno as a “veritable coaching god among mere mortals.” Can I get an “Amen” from someone?)

Trust me. We’ll watch today. We’ll root for Penn State. But the excitement level of this game in the Fire House is rather low. Then again, the Nittany Lions could use some more trouncing experience for their bigger matchups later this year. Right? Right.

And don’t forget, tomorrow is Steelers Sunday Snapshots day. Who is joining us this week?

Today we’re pairing off against the Oregon State Beavers. (3:00 on ABC.) Predictions are back and forth depending on what site you read (though this one brings up the point of the White Out being overwhelming) over whether the Nittany Lions will come out on top or leave me cussing over dinner (which is a nice time out with my parents tonight so, really, cussing isn’t the best idea). Interestingly, when it comes to Pac 10 teams, the Oregon State Beavers are the only ones we haven’t previously come up against. Makes me kind of nervous. Hopefully our quarterback(s) will keep quarterbacking. That would be a nice change of pace for this season, wouldn’t it?

In other Penn State news, do you know why we have a hard time sometimes? It’s because Paterno is a stand-up guy and benches players for acting like freaking idiots. (Another has been booted for “getting himself in a jam.”) While other teams have been known to cover up such nonsense or deliver a minor slap on the wrist, Paterno doesn’t mess around. If you’re playing on his team, you’re going to play by the rules. And the rules don’t include some marijuana and a lot of paraphenalia that leads me to believe that there was more than just some marijuana. Kudos to Paterno. (Also, FireDad and I are loving a Penn State blog, Black Shoe Diaries. If you’re a fan (with a sense of humor at times), you should be reading. Also, I officially have a Penn State folder on my Google Reader now. Know of another must-read Nittany Lion blog? Hit me up comment style.)

The boys’ Penn State shirts did not arrive this week due to an error in the order process. (One shirt was backordered as I was processing my order. Bummer.) And so they’ll just sport blue and white today. Or perhaps I should dress BigBrother in his 2T khakis which are now the approximate length of Paterno’s pants, throw him in his blue zip up jacket with his button up shirt and tie and take some pictures. What do you think? In fact, I may consider forgetting the lion costume purchase for BigBrother this year and send him out trick-or-treating with FireDad dressed as a mini-Paterno. This seems like the cheaper option made all the more amusing when you consider that LittleBrother will be dressed in BigBrother’s old lion (non-Nittany) costume. Then again, while BigBrother likes football, I’d have to do some teaching so he got his costume come October 31st. That’s just under two months. It’s do-able, right?

And, to close off my Saturday football post, I’ve decided that we need a Penn State + Stop, Drop & Blog graphic. Who wants to make one for me? Look for it next Saturday when I talk about today’s win. Right? Right.

For those who don’t know, we are Penn State fans. Which is somewhat difficult, living in the middle of Ohio State country. Furthermore, not only are we Penn State fans living in Ohio State country but we loathe Ohio State. We detest the scarlet and gray. I know. We get a lot of grief from friends and family who think the sun rises and sets atop “The Horeshoe.” But we shrug it off most of the time. In fact, a few friends have stepped out of their Buckeye comfort zone and purchased Nittany Lion gear for the boys.

So what are two Penn State fans doing in the middle of Buckeye-land anyway? To be fair, I’m originally from Pennsylvania. While I originally lived closer to the University of Pittsburgh, we weren’t really Pitt fans. We preferred Penn State and good ole JoePa. But what about FireDad? He’s not from Pennsylvania. The question most often asked is if I was the one who converted him to Penn State loving. The answer is, “Nope.” He’s always been a Penn State fan living in Ohio State-land. That’s how I knew I had found a the right guy. Well, that and quite a few other things but, yes, we bonded over football. What can I say? I’m a football lovin’ lady. My Dad (& Mom!) raised me right.

Thankfully we subscribe to Dish Network and so the Big Ten Network is at our disposal. While Time Warner finally got off their collective doopa and started offering this area the Big Ten so that Buckeye fans can watch their team as well, Time Warner is not offering their viewers the alternate channels. This is where Dish Network becomes my hero. If we were stuck with (the overpriced) cable company’s offering, we could not watch Penn State lay a whooping on Costal Carolina. But, just like last year, we have quite a few alternate channels to watch quite a few different games all day long. Today, however, as FireDad is working some overtime at the Fire Department, I am recording the game (yay DVR!). FireDad is being forced to watch the Ohio State game at work and we’ll watch Penn State when he gets home this evening. (Ahem, so don’t leave a comment about the score. Or perhaps I just won’t read comments until after we watch the game.)

And so, this is just a warning that Saturdays will now feature blathering about last week’s game, this week’s game and more football stuff. So if that’s no your thing, you may just want to skip my Saturday posts. And, oh, please, don’t ever, ever, ever send my kids anything Ohio State unless you want some retaliatory purchases sent your way. (This last sentence was written for our friends George, Ryan and the entirety of the Fire Department.)

Go Penn State! (Post inspired by my (yes, female) friend’s College Gameday Blatherings today.)

(Upcoming football posts: That’s right. We’re Steelers fans living in the trifecta area of Steelers/Browns/Bengals fans.)