During Penn State wrestling’s dual against No. 7 Ohio State Friday, some fans were caught off guard by a beat flooding into Rec Hall from the speakers.
It was revealed that head coach Cael Sanderson made the decision to leave the speakers on in Rec Hall as a way to encourage some noise from the 6,600 people in the stands.
“Rec Hall is awkwardly quiet,” Sanderson said. “We need some noise in there.”
Aside from the emphatic shouts of “two” and “three” when Penn State recorded a reversal or a takedown, Rec Hall is typically quiet enough for your entire section to hear your conversation.
Sanderson even brought up a young Nittany Lion’s enthusiasm to make his point.
“You can hear a four-year-old kid in the corner, yell ‘We Are!,’ and if that’s the case, it’s too quiet,” Sanderson said.
Some fans called to turn the music off during the first few bouts of the dual, but the crowd eventually settled into the new normal and accepted the background noise.
Wrestler Mitchell Mesenbrink has been wowed by the Rec Hall atmosphere since his first dual and commented that with or without the music, the blue and white faithful do know how to get loud.
“It’s cool, and you can hear it [because] it’s loud, but every place that I have gone into… It’s always loud,” Mesenbrink said.
While the fans have it in them when it counts the most, it’s time to start celebrating the little victories in a big way, too.
“It’s awkward, and you know, it’s a sporting event,” Sanderson said. “Let’s make some noise.”
Penn State fans have a few more chances to turn up the intensity this season or Sanderson may be forced to take another step up.
“We might crank [the music] up a little bit more,” Sanderson said.
No mention of the annual Bryce Jordan Center dual was made, but 16,000 wrestling fans should be enough to give the speakers a break for a night on Feb. 12.
While the next dual in Rec Hall is a few weeks away (Feb. 18 vs. Nebraska), Sanderson and his crew will wrestle in their most important dual yet against No. 2 Iowa at 8 p.m. on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
