I was just interested to see if there were any Penn State alumni, students, or fans that are Celiacs and on this board!!!

I am an alumni (2002) and will be watching the Nittany Lions win (on TV, won't be in FL, unfortunately!) on Tuesday over FSU!

Let's Go State!

Hi LauraJ. I am not a Penn St alumni, but my fiance is (class of 1986). He is going to the Orange Bowl but I will be watching from home. I am recently diagnosed, and am not up for traveling yet. We went to four games this year, even though it is a five + hour drive for us. Go State!

Not Penn St, LauraJ,

100% Buckeye here --- but I will root for PSU in the bowl game !!

GO BIG TEN!!

Go Bucks

I didn't attend Penn State, but there is an unsubstansiated rumor that I spent some time at the State Penn.

My husband big Nittany fan (by the way, what is a "Nittany" -- couldn't find it in dictionary.

Loves his Nittany Lion T-shirts too. Had to find Penn State's gift shop on line to buy them for him! Last one I got him after I went to PA on trip wore out.

Yay PSU!

teebs-You are going to marry a great man if you are marrying an alum! I hope he has a great time in FL! I don't blame you for not going....I was diagnosed in grad school at Auburn during football season and didn't make it to a single game....it was just too much! I went up to PSU for two games this year, my first games since I graduated in Dec 2002 (stayed up there til May 2003). And I understand about the drive---its a haul from Virginia Beach!

broncobux and CDSurviver-one of my best friend's from PSU goes to OSU for vet school now and loves it. She still bleeds blue and white though . Thanks for cheering us on!

celiachap-the sad thing is, everytime I hear that joke, I still laugh!!!

Deb-I take it your husband is a Joe Paterno fan, then?! I can understand about the t-shirts....I have tshirts, sweatshirts, jackets, framed pictures, mugs, glasses, blankets, jewelry, .... you name it! My husband got me a Larry Johnson (#5) PSU jersey for Christmas. LOVE IT!

Here's a little bit of Nittany history for you, taken from the PSU website.

The word "Nittany" seems to have been derived from a Native American term meaning "single mountain." (Since a number of Algonquian-speaking tribes inhabited central Pennsylvania, the term can’t be traced to one single group.) These inhabitants applied this description to the mountain that separates Penns Valley and Nittany Valley, overlooking what is today the community of State College and Penn State’s University Park campus. The first white settlers in the 1700s apparently adopted this term, or a corruption of it, when they named that mountain, i.e., Mount Nittany or Nittany Mountain. Thus by the time Penn State admitted its first students in 1859, the word "Nittany" was already in use.

The Nittany Lion as Penn State’s mascot originated with Harrison D. "Joe" Mason ’07. At a baseball game against Princeton in 1904, Mason and other members of Penn State’s team were shown a statue of Princeton's famous Bengal tiger as an indication of the merciless treatment they could expect to encounter on the field. Since Penn State lacked a mascot, Mason replied with an instant fabrication of the Nittany Lion, "fiercest beast of them all," who could overcome even the tiger. Penn State went on to defeat Princeton that day. Over the next few years, Mason's "Nittany Lion" won such widespread support among students, alumni, and fans that there was never any official vote on its adoption.

The Nittany Lion is essentially an ordinary mountain lion (also known as a cougar, puma, or panther), a creature that roamed central Pennsylvania until the 1880s (although unconfirmed sightings continued long after that time). By attaching the prefix "Nittany" to this beast, Mason gave Penn State a unique symbol that no other college or university could claim.

We are not PSU grads -- but we live here in Happy Valley! It is just NUTS here and we are sooooo excited for all the fine young men who represent the university so well. GO STATE!!!

joanna

I'm just down the road in Carlisle, PA. I like PSU.

But my heart is with the underdog Mountaineers in the Sugar Bowl!

Used to live in Morgantown, WV - similar to State College, but much more insane!

Teebs?

Oh, ryebaby, I'm so jealous! I would love to live up there! My parents live outside of Harrisburg and my sister is a junior there, so at least its relatively easy to get up there when I'm home. I can't wait to wear my new jersey on Tuesday night. I'm going to a bar to watch the game w/the alumni association.

So I have a story that will make you smile. I went up for like the second or third game of the season, and tailgated with my parents, sister/her boyfriend, some of her friends, and then two of my girlfriends from PSU. I was starting work on Monday and my mom wanted to make sure there was NO way that I could get sick from the weekend. She and I made a whole gluten-free tailgate, including pasta salad (tinkyada, salad dressing, veggies), etc. No one there knew that the whole thing was 100% gluten-free (haha...minus the beer.....I had my own wine!) until we all started talking about it. My mom had made the cake at my wedding (she is an amazing baker), and my friend Aaron goes, "Mrs. X (my mom)!!!!!!!!!! How come there is no cake at the tailgate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She explained why, etc., and I said something about how you can make gluten-free desserts, I've just yet to perfect a gluten-free brownie. All of a sudden, a woman appears, and says something to the effect of, I have gluten free brownies!!!! They were at the tailgated behind us, and I think she had Celiac kids. She offered me some delicious brownies....it was just too funny that there were two Celiac tailgates so close to each other that she overheard our convo!

That is one of the many, many, many reasons that I will forever love Penn State!

chuikov---you live very close to where I am from! I graduated from Cumberland Valley HS. During college summers, I used to waitress at the Applebee's in Mechanicsburg on the Carlisle Pike. (That was pre-Celiac, needless to say!) We were just up there for a couple days after Christmas and had a great time.

My mom is a UGA grad so I'll be rooting against WVU

Hey Laura, I'm really close to that Applebees. Nice area overall. I think I'll be here for a while.

Sorry about UGA .

lol....yes, sorry about UGA.

And, Auburn lost last night also (where I did my graduate work).

Oh well, the only one that truly matters is the PSU game tonight!

Have you found any good places to eat out up there? When we are home, my mom obviously cooks big gluten-free meals for me, but I would be interested if you knew of any good places, besides things like Outback, etc.

I love Rillo's. You are probably familiar with it, but if not, they have a great Italian menu (not so much Italian-American). Good seafood, pork, chicken and beef dishes that don't include pasta, breading or bread. It's always a risk to eat out I suppose, but I've never had any problems there.

The Cottage Pie is good at Market Cross Pub too, but its hard to stay away from the English beer.

Cancun is pretty good too.

I gotta admit, I was really rooting for WVU last night! It was the sorta David and Goliath scenario that makes College sports fun.

Hi LauraJ,

I'm actually a grad student at Penn State, and I actually love tailgating as well. My boyfriend makes gluten free fried chicken for me and I drink wine while the rest of the folks eat brats and beer. It's so much fun. Let me know the next time you tailgate--we always have plenty of gluten free food.

Yup! PSU grad in 2004! Just found out i have celiac and am hating it! i love bread! i love food period! i'm trying to adjust but not sure how long i can do this. Any advice?