Penn State Nittany Lions

          Bird's-eye view of the PSU celebration

          STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- For two years, fans of Penn State football waited to hear that the Nittany Lions’ sanctions would be lifted. And on Monday, all that waiting -- the anger, the doubt, the questions -- melted into relief and gave way to celebration.

          Several thousand students converged on campus to celebrate the NCAA’s afternoon announcement that PSU will be eligible for the postseason this year and will have full restoration of its scholarships next season. Students first met on the lawn of Old Main, the central administrative building, with reports coming just before 9 p.m. about the growing crowd.

          Just before 10 p.m., the crowd -- decked out in blue and white -- spilled onto the campus sidewalks and paths on its way to Beaver Stadium. Some sprinted, some walked and most yelled. A few didn’t even know where they were going.

          “Where are you guys headed?” one reporter asked.

          “We have no idea!” was the response.

          The size of the crowd was difficult to gauge around the stadium’s Gate A, where students routinely enter for football games. But some in the closely packed crowd stood atop merchandise vans, and constant chants rang throughout the night: “We Are ... Penn State!” “Dominate the State!” “Joe Paterno.” “I believe ... that we will win!”

          Several players showed up, but most watched from across the street. Two greeted the students briefly, leading a Penn State chant, before taking off once TV cameras arrived.

          Several police cars remained in the area, but no major incidents were witnessed. State College Police Chief Tom King later told Onward State, a student-run PSU blog, that he considered this “a peaceful crowd.”

          After milling around the stadium, the group finally decided to head to Beaver Canyon, a downtown spot on Beaver Avenue that’s right next to traditional late-night snack spot Canyon Pizza. That’s where the crowd grew even larger.

          The street was cordoned off, and police rerouted traffic around the crowd. The buzz of the group was palpable from at least three blocks away. Some students crowd-surfed on mattresses, others just gawked and took pictures, and apartment balconies flooded with fans taking it all in.

          As students joined in the celebration, and as they got to within a block, most just took off in a full sprint. The energy was akin to an upset over the top-ranked team in the nation.

          “Do we run?” asked one female student in pink dress clothes.

          “Yeah, we run,” her friend responded, before a group of about five well-dressed students took off in a sprint.

          The celebration subsided about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, 10 hours after the initial NCAA announcement at 2:30 p.m. Monday. Classes on Tuesday began at 8 a.m.