Penn State, Washington fans come together to help St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix

About 100 college-football fans — clad in a mixture of purple and blue — gathered at St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix on Friday morning to give back to the community that's hosting its teams this weekend. 

Before partaking in Fiesta Bowl fun, Washington and Penn State fans went to the food bank to pack emergency food boxes for Arizona's hungry.

"This morning, we're not rivals. I don't know about 2 (p.m.) tomorrow — that might be a little different," Penn State Alumni Association CEO Paul Clifford said with a smirk, referring to the Saturday kickoff time at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Clifford and other volunteers then headed into the warehouse to pack boxes with canned and boxed goods.

St. Mary's spokesman Jerry Brown said football fans from about a dozen universities have come to St. Mary's before the Fiesta Bowl over the past decade as a way to give back before the big game. Ohio State University started the tradition and has since encouraged other teams to follow suit. 

Brown said each box that the volunteers packed will feed a family of four for three to four days. St. Mary's hands out 45,000 emergency boxes a month, he said.

Penn State fan Steve Love said his friend Wendy Oakes texted him a few weeks ago asking if he'd like to go "volunteer at a food bank with Huskies fans."

His response? A prompt "Sounds OK to me!"

The two and Oakes' 84-year-old mother made the trek to Arizona from Pennsylvania. Upon arriving at St. Mary's, they quickly befriended a pair of Washington fans from Hawaii. 

When the time came to form volunteer teams, the game-day rivals teamed up without hesitation.

The marching bands, cheerleaders and mascots from both universities came out to pump up the volunteers. When University of Washington mascot Harry the Husky arrived, university President Ana Mari Cauce quickly wrapped him in an embrace and proceeded to dance with him in ballroom style.

"I have a thing for Harry," she said. "I mean come on, he's tall, dark and handsome."

Suzanne Dale Estey, president of the University of Washington Alumni Association, brought her husband and two young boys from Seattle to attend the Fiesta Bowl festivities. 

She said it was important for them all to give back before taking in the game.

"It's good to find common ground with our opponents, and also address a serious need in the community," Estey said.

As some of the dignitaries from both schools spoke at the start of the event, Estey became emotional.

"(Volunteering together is) so simple, but it's so important," she said.

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