Super Bowl Notebook: Penn State bonding, an unexpected tattoo and bedazzled helmets

Here are some odds, ends and observations from Super Bowl week, as the NFL media machine — not to mention football fans from all over — descended on Ocean Drive.

49ers and Nittany Lions

No roster across the NFL has more Nittany Lions than the San Francisco 49ers, who are one of a few teams to boast three former Penn Staters: kicker Robbie Gould and defensive linemen Kevin Givens and Anthony Zettel.

None of them overlapped with each other in Happy Valley, but they’re feeding off each other now.

“It definitely makes it easier having them two here,” Givens, a rookie, said of Zettel and Gould. “Once you’re a Penn Stater you’re always a Penn Stater, so we all socialize with each other and stuff.”

Gould said the trio will sometimes trade stories with each other from their respective times at Penn State. Now, they’re hoping to share the memory of earning a Super Bowl ring.

“To represent Penn State is definitely something a lot of guys would love to do,” Gould said.

A pair of Nittany Lions will also suit up for the Chiefs: guard Stefen Wisniewski and safety Jordan Lucas.

Cat Tat

Let’s let Penn State alumnus Blaise Collin tell his own story: “There’s this guy from France who has nothing better to do than spend his free time working on football writing and he has a PSU tattoo.”

Collin is a Penn State alumnus covering football for the French outlet, 4th & Goal Magazine. In his day job, he’s an engineer working on a nuclear reactor, but his love of Penn State football inspired him to be involved in sports writing. He even has the blue Penn State logo tattooed on his right leg.

The tattoo idea surfaced after Collin and his friend, who was a Temple alumnus, spent time shadowing Matt Rhule, the former Penn State player, former coach at Temple and Baylor and current head coach of the Carolina Panthers. By the end of the experience, Collin’s friend was itching to add to his tattoo collection.

“My friend had planned to get the Temple tattoo on his shoulder and asked me if I’d get one, too,” Collin said. “I knew that if I got a tattoo it would have to be something that means a lot to me. The Penn State logo was an obvious choice considering the impact the school had on me. I thought ‘what the heck’ and went for it.”

Are You Experienced?

A mainstay of Super Bowl week, the NFL Fan Experience was located in the Miami Beach Convention Center and visited by thousands of people throughout the week. The experience consisted of Super Bowl memorabilia, football skill games — run the 40-yard dash, for instance — photo opportunities, a chance to interact with current and former NFL players and some off-the-wall artistry.

One section of the artwork that was particularly hard to miss was the bedazzled football helmets. All 32 NFL teams were represented with a blinged out helmet, set in a glass case.

Some fans, meanwhile, were serious about testing their football skills. One gentleman joining in on the fun and games, was not going to miss his opportunity to boot a field goal through the uprights in front of hundreds of fans. He felt it would be best to slip off the sandals and take his chances bare foot, a la 1980s-era Eagles kicker Tony Franklin.

Despite his unorthodox strategy, he’s unlikely to get a contract. Both attempts were no good.

This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 8:00 AM.