Twins have score to settle on Penn State game days
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The referee turned on his stadium mic and his words made Steve Ake cringe, "There's a problem with the scoreboard."
Sitting beside his twin brother, John, who was running the commercial clock at the time, all Steve could do was watch as John and another operator tried frantically to fix the game clock.
The referee's words echoed through the stadium, riling up an already supercharged crowd, who impatiently waited for the game to resume. This wasn't any scoreboard; this was the one at Penn State's Beaver Stadium. This wasn't any football team; it was the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions. This wasn't any crowd; it was a stadium full of 110,830 "Whiteout" crazed fans, the second-largest attendance in school history.
Within a few seconds, the scoreboard error was fixed, and the game resumed. All was forgotten as the Nittany Lions went on to dominate Iowa, 31-0.
"There was a mix-up," Steve recalled of a miscommunication with the sidelines that paused the game briefly. "There was like a 30-second delay, and 110,000 people started booing, booing my brother. It was literally 30 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime."
John added, "We just needed a little more time to reset the timeout clock."
As explosive and up-tempo as the offenses of college football teams are these days, the Ake brothers knew it was bound to happen.
They just hoped it wouldn't have happened on this stage - in front of a national television audience.
Steve, who lives in Belleville, and his twin brother, John, from State College, are scoreboard operators this season for Penn State football. They sit up in the press box at Penn State home games and control the numbers.
With as many numbers that are on the large scoreboard, it takes more than one operator to run it each game.
"I keep track of what yard line the ball is on, the score, timeouts and down and distance," explained Steve, who updates the scoreboard using a small control box. "It takes more guys to operate the game, the play, and the network commercial clock."
There are actually five personnel who team up to run the scoreboard.
"It's nerve-wracking at first," Steve added. "Everyone can see what you are putting up there. At the Iowa game, times get pretty tense, You've got to stay on top of things. When Penn State gets on the field, they're usually in their hurry-up offense."
Most games the brothers have a spotter of sorts who assist them with the spot of the ball and down and distances. "We double check and get it right," Steve said. "We look at the field and look at the scoreboard, it's good to have a backup."
With high-octane offenses airing it out, there isn't much time to celebrate a Nittany Lion score.
"Now, the teams do the NASCAR thing," John said of offenses racing up and down the field. "They don't huddle, they move to the ball very quickly". You have to change it (scoreboard) from first and ten to second and five very quickly. Each play requires a quick and accurate update".
From time to time, the brothers have shared glances that put the job experience all in perspective. "He looks at me and is like, 'Isn't it awesome we get to do this together,'" Steve said. "It's just such a cool experience to be a part of it, and I do it with my twin brother. That makes it even better."
Don't think for a minute the job is easy.
"The scoreboard control is just a little box with buttons, but it's more complicated than I thought," said Steve, a senior buyer at Philips Ultrasound in Reedsville.
John, who works at Penn State in Central Procurement, also worked on the sidelines maintaining the headsets for the coaching staff. "I volunteered to do the headsets for Penn State games for several years," John recalled. "I traveled with the team. It was when Saquon Barkley was there. It was very exciting to hear the coaches and their passion for their jobs and the players. An unforgettable experience".
He stepped into a scoreboard operator role when a former neighbor, Bob Baldwin, of State College, who has handled the same role for over 20 years, said he and the other operator Bruce Cifelli, from Bellefonte, "needed help on Saturdays."
"He said, are you interested in helping out with the scoreboard?," John said. The two soon realized it would be a "really cool thing" to do together, Steve added.
The men will be at their posts for the last three Penn State home games - against Indiana, Michigan, and Rutgers.
"You do not have time to be a fan," John said. "You're watching the game from a whole new perspective. You're doing something, so fans can follow along. The downs have to be set right, the time needs to be accurate, it's all part of fan experience".
"You don't celebrate touchdowns, you have to watch to see if there are any penalties," he added. "You have a job to do. There are no high-fives. You don't cheer. I stay focused on every play. But the days I don't operate the scoreboard, I revert back to being a fan."
Coaches may also look to the scoreboard for down and distance for their play calling.
"We have to change it (information) quickly," John explained. "Our job is to spot the ball accurately and put it up the scoreboard fast. You can imagine that coaches may even look at the spot to determine if they want to kick a field goal."
Is there any secret to picking the right spot?
"If you see green, you always go to the next yard line," John said. "So, we're consistent with it."
It's hard not to show that Nittany Lion pride as both men are also Penn State grads.
"When you're doing something with family and Penn State, It makes you even more Penn State proud," John said.
"All my life I have felt very fortunate and lucky to have a twin," John said. "He's my best friend and we've been together since the womb. It's just a thing with twins; it's a connection that we hope we can bring to the job."
The home finale - Nov. 18 against Rutgers - will be extra special as they will share the booth together working in tandem for the first time as spotter and scoreboard operator.
On that Saturday, as they do for many game days, Steve will drive over to State College and the brothers will ride to Beaver Stadium and work the scoreboard together.
Steve and his wife, Donna, have six grown children and two grandchildren. John and his wife, Sue, have two grown children and two grandchildren.