The view of Beaver Stadium arising from the mountain tops when driving on I-99 into State College, just as the fog lifts on a brisk Saturday morning, will be unseen by many this fall.

The rows and rows of diverse and unique flags - from Penn State logos to that of someone’s hometown, marking a fan’s favorite tailgating spot - will only feature bare fields of silence.

Everything that was once known by a Nittany Lions’ fan on football Saturdays surrounding Beaver Stadium for the foreseeable future is now an unknown. On Tuesday, The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of fall sports, meaning there will be no football played in the shadows of Mt. Nittany this season.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren had this to say on Tuesday about the Conference’s decision:

“The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward. As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.”

Uncertainty is the word of the year in 2020, and there’s no doubt that is also the case from a leadership standpoint in college football.

Multiple teams have canceled their season, and conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 have canceled fall sports. But the SEC, Big 12 and ACC recently put out statements that they will play in the fall of 2020. That just shows that college football and the NCAA do not have one focused and prompt plan. Players have come out on social media stating that they are safer in their current environment than if they had to go home, and that their mindset revolves around wanting to play in the fall of 2020.

So, we have both the conferences and the players perspective, but what about one of the most important elements of college football - the fan’s perspective.

Let’s take a look about what some Nittany Lions’ fans are saying about the cancellation of Penn State football for the fall of 2020.

“I think most of the fans saw this coming, so I wasn’t that surprised by the announcement; I think it was inevitable with how the situation with the virus is changing every day,” said Joseph Thear, a Penn State season ticket holder since 1982 and former Secretary for the Penn State Carbon County Alumni Chapter for 10 years. “They surveyed the season ticket holders and many others I’m sure; I really do believe they did their due diligence before making this tough decision.”

Summit Hill native and nine-year season ticket holder Nathan Halenar agreed with Thear that the university had everyone’s best interest at heart.

“We all saw it coming, and it is disappointing, but the decision was made in the best interest of the players’ health and safety,” said Halenar, who hosts a tailgate party for every Penn State home game, with an attendance of 40-100 people weekly. “What I would like to see is possibly in the spring, if it is deemed safe to play, that fans can attend as well because that’s such a big part of Penn State football. That is, of course, if there is a vaccine developed in time and medical officials agree it’s safe.”

Speaking of the spring, which is one option the Big Ten has laid out for a possible reboot of the football season, there are many challenges with that course of action. With three Power Five conferences set to play in the fall (the ACC, Big 12 and SEC) and the Big Ten and Pac-12 potentially set to play in the spring, how would college football crown a true national champion or even have a College Football Playoff? Also, playing a full season of football in the spring, then getting just a few months off in the summer, and coming back in the fall and playing another full season of football creates a question of whether this is in the best interest of the players’ health and safety.

Penn State head coach James Franklin (before the Big Ten announcement) on Tuesday went on ESPN’s Get Up and had this to say about possibly postponing football in the fall:

“I’m not saying that we should cancel the season at this point, and I’m not saying we should definitely play, but the decision doesn’t need to be made right now.”

When asked by Get Up host Mike Greenberg if Penn State would follow in the same footsteps of Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, who said he was prepared to look at any and all options to play football this fall if the Big Ten wasn’t playing football, Franklin had this to say:

“I have a responsibility to my players and their families to exhaust every opportunity and option that’s out there, yes.”

“I think if you belong to a conference, then you have to stay with that conference and be a part of that conference. It shouldn’t just be every team for itself,” added Thear.

“If we can have football in the spring, I think that will be something any football fan would like to see, as long as it’s safe for the players, said Joseph DeAngelo, who has been attending Penn State games since the late 1970s. “One thing I would like to see, though, is that all the conferences be on the same page. Two conferences not playing and three conferences playing at two different times of year; I don’t see how that is going to work.”

One other big issue for fans, specifically season ticket holders is: What now? Penn State has been in constant contact with season ticket holders, offering numerous options for continuing their season tickets for whenever the Nittany Lions take the field again and fans are allowed to be in attendance.

One decision that has been made is that season ticket holders will not be refunded their ticket licensing fees/Nittany Lions’ Club donation or season parking pass money, which can equal to a substantial amount of money for some season ticket holders.

“Being a teacher, education is important to me, and if those fees can go toward keeping our sports programs alive for our student athletes, then I’m all for it,” said Halenar. “We have to remember these are students first and desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“I have no problem with it, because they need some revenue to help plug the hole in the dam right now,” said Thear. “We ask these student athletes to do so much, and we all love to watch them compete, but in the end they are there to get an education and if these fees can help, that’s great.”