tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71400122468285518162024-03-13T14:49:34.261-04:00View From The Stands-Penn State FootballPhoto panorama - View From Our Seats - Penn State vs Iowa 2011 - by Carolyn M. ToddCarolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-22213560897326116182015-01-16T21:18:00.000-05:002015-01-17T09:04:49.834-05:00409 Wins Are Great! Why Am I Not Jumping for Joy?Today's announcement by Senator Jake Corman (R-PA) that the NCAA has repealed the sanctions against Penn State, including restoring the 112 wins the football team achieved during the years 1998-2001, was a pleasant surprise.<br />
<br />
111 of those wins were achieved through the coaching of Joe Paterno. One of those wins was achieved through the coaching of interim head coach Tom Bradley after Coach Joe Paterno was summarily fired on November 9, 2011 by the Board of Trustees.<br />
<br />
But let's not forget that these wins belonged primarily to the players, not the coaches. And so especially for the players, I am happy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I am delighted that all the efforts by Penn State football fans have finally come to a positive conclusion. I was certainly part of those efforts. At the Blue-White game in 2014, I helped place pinwheels at the statue site, along with numerous other fans who believe in honoring Joe:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3cwCtjirA4/VLmwJq8bZJI/AAAAAAAAGNg/SUJHJLTPePU/s1600/IMG_3881-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q3cwCtjirA4/VLmwJq8bZJI/AAAAAAAAGNg/SUJHJLTPePU/s1600/IMG_3881-cover.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
More recently, I signed the "409" boards at the Student Book Store as part of the PR stunt by The Porterfield Group announcing the release of the documentary "The People's Joe", a tribute to the life and impact of Joe Paterno. Two of my stories about Joe Paterno are featured in that film. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-piHi81cPmzQ/VLm0lApq00I/AAAAAAAAGN8/_82lZLGy-dA/s1600/409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-piHi81cPmzQ/VLm0lApq00I/AAAAAAAAGN8/_82lZLGy-dA/s1600/409.jpg" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
So why am I not jumping for joy? Because it's only a partial victory. It doesn't make up for the incredible three years of angst the State College community has gone through in response to the allegations against Jerry Sandusky.<br />
<br />
It does not make up for the pain and anxiety people in State College experienced wondering if the sanctions would include the death penalty for Penn State and change their community forever.<br />
<br />
It does not make up for the fact that due process was so totally ignored, that media coverage was so biased, that anyone who lived in this community felt shamed in some way for what happened, even if they didn't know Sandusky or had anything to do with The Second Mile charity.<br />
<br />
It doesn't make up for the anxiety we all felt when a plane flew overhead, proclaiming "Take the Statue Down or We Will", and then the federal government determined that it wasn't a terrorist threat and wasn't going to force the renter of that plane to reveal who had hired it. Really?<br />
<br />
It doesn't make up for the questions, wherever we went: Did Joe Know? <br />
<br />
Again...and again...and again...this question has come up: Did Joe know? At away football games...the ones I remember were Wisconsin in 2011...Virginia, Illinois and Nebraska in 2012...Rutgers in 2014...opposing team fans who had a hard time with the idea that Joe Paterno could have "covered up" but believed the media hype nonetheless.<br />
<br />
Because opposing team fans generally revered Joe Paterno...until the Sandusky accusations were revealed and then prosecuted as crimes.<br />
<br />
And if you wore Penn State blue and white you were subjected to this, constantly.<br />
<br />
And when I answered, they just thought I was one of those "Joebots" or something, defending Joe Paterno because, well, that's what a Penn State fan does.<br />
<br />
Even on a river cruise in Europe last summer...I got that question. It can be downright disheartening and exhausting to explain your viewpoint again and again.<br />
<br />
As if I knew what Joe knew!<br />
<br />
Fact is, from my own investigation into child abuse reporting laws, Joe Paterno reported in a timely manner what he knew
to exactly the right people at Penn State according to what was mandated by Pennsylvania law to report up the chain of command in an organization. <br />
<br />
And that is what I
have told people. He was praised by the Attorney General for his
cooperation with the Grand Jury, and he was never charged with a crime. So the whole idea that Joe Paterno was complicit in some sort of a cover up for a former employee was always a stretch for me, and that's putting it mildly.<br />
<br />
It doesn't make up for my husband Terry's continuous anger. From the day the NCAA sanctions were announced in July 2012 to the day he died in January 2014, he was angry about what the NCAA did to Penn State and never understood why a former coach's criminal behavior would require such dire punishment against a football program or its players, who did nothing to achieve competitive advantage on the playing field.<br />
<br />
It doesn't make up for those disappointing losses at Wisconsin in 2011, at the Ticket City Bowl, at Virginia in 2012, and at all those other games after the sanctions occurred where the difference between winning and losing could have been the talent of the players who chose to leave. <br />
<br />
The settlement today also does not make up for the unanswered questions about the role of
Penn State administrators in reporting or not reporting what they knew
to authorities. They are people I know and admire. They are people we know to be honorable and honest. And their story has not been told yet in a court of law. <br />
<br />
We have as yet only heard
the prosecutors' side of the story, in the form of a presentment, and
then also a story concocted by a management consultant hired by the Board of
Trustees who himself admitted, when he presented his opinion to the public, that his
conclusions would not stand up in a court of law. He didn't even interview two of the three defendants in the upcoming trials.<br />
<br />
And now we find out that one of the people at the NCAA involved with approving the NCAA sanctions didn't even bother to read that management report that Freeh claimed wouldn't stand up in a court of law.<br />
<br />
And yet the NCAA announced the worse ever sanctions against a sports program in their history based on that management report.<br />
<br />
I'm happy that Joe's wins have been restored, and that the onerous sanctions on the football team that have done so much damage to their ability to compete have now been lifted. <br />
<br />
But there is still angst...still work to be done to find out the real truth. <br />
<br />
And so no, I'm not jumping for joy. <br />
<br />
But maybe I will sleep soundly knowing that eventually, justice will be served.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-14150448725414049882014-08-31T10:43:00.000-04:002014-08-31T13:45:18.441-04:00Penn State Football: These "Irish" Eyes Teared Up As Penn State Pulled Out a Tight WinThe tears flowed freely this weekend, and most of them were tears of sorrow, not joy. They first came on Friday when someone posted a 17 minute video of the pep rally in Dublin, a pep rally in an unfamiliar location but with a very familiar format.<br />
<br />
My husband Terry and I had attended so many in the past at away games and bowl games all over the country. The pep rallies all seemed the same after a while, but there in Ireland, it was decidedly different. The enthusiasm of the Penn State crowd was contagious and it reminded me that of course I would have been there "if only"...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
....if only Terry had not passed away and my life hadn't changed forever.<br />
<br />
I had thought that going to Ireland was a foolish idea, but in fact it
excited a lot of fans who were looking for something different. The
fans appeared to conduct themselves with a lot of class and were having a
great time. I'm sure they spent more than a bit of money supporting
the Irish economy. Can't remember the last time there were that many
fans for a pep rally. Rose Bowl 2009 perhaps? Former coach Bill
O'Brien had the right idea.<br />
<br />
Tears came again when the game was about to start and I was sitting at Rotelli's in downtown State College waiting for an Irish breakfast buffet to get organized.<br />
<br />
I kept thinking that Terry would be irritated that breakfast wasn't ready BEFORE kickoff. He would not have wanted to miss a minute of that game to go upstairs and retrieve his meal. Which, if I wanted to satisfy my hunger, I needed to do. <br />
<br />
The meal was good, by the way. Corned beef and eggs. Irish soda bread. Stew. Breakfast pizza and other stuff. Too much to try. One alcoholic drink included, so I opted for some Irish coffee, something I had not had in a long long time, to put me in the mood to watch this Dublin experience.<br />
<br />
Tears came later when I tried to describe to the Success with Honor organizers of this charity event at Rotelli's, what it was like staying in State College and going to a bar/restaurant for the first time ever to watch a Penn State game on TV. <br />
<br />
For many people in State College it is probably a familiar experience. But for me, I was always on the road with Terry to see the games in person, until last year. Last year Terry was battling cancer, and the away games were watched at home or in the hospital. But at least he was still with me then.<br />
<br />
What I remember mostly about watching away games on TV last year was the dreadful commentary that accompanied the TV coverage. Yesterday, the environment was noisy enough that you couldn't really hear the speakers drone on and on. So all you could do was watch the plays on TV.<br />
<br />
That was a good thing, judging by what others have posted online about the announcers. <br />
<br />
At the end of the game, the tears of joy for a fantastic last minute win in Dublin were mixed with tears of sorrow. I missed Terry so terribly deeply on this, the first game where I was truly without him. <br />
<br />
I missed his running commentary, his sheer joy at a brilliant play well executed, his exasperation when a defensive breakdown allowed the other team to score, his screaming at the coach towards the end of the game when he felt he was being too conservative.<br />
<br />
I could hear him say, "Goddammit Coach we need a touchdown not a field goal!!".<br />
<br />
I missed his complaining that there was too much time on the clock, and that we were about to lose the game, or that there was not enough time on the clock to get down the field and pull out a win. <br />
<br />
At the end of the game yesterday I found myself saying all the things Terry would say to the people around me.<br />
<br />
I think they were a bit mad when I predicted that UCF would score again, and then it happened. I was just glad that there was still enough time on the clock - and three timeouts - so that Penn State could strike back with the game winning field goal. <br />
<br />
Kudos to Christian Hackenberg for getting the team down the field and to Sam Ficken! I knew somehow that, given the right field position, he would come through with the winning field goal. He has become quite the go-to guy on the Penn State team. <br />
<br />
The crowd at Rotelli's erupted. Strangers and friends alike hugged and "high fived" one another and it was then that I realized that being in that crowded bar was probably the next best thing to being in the stands. Penn Staters know how to celebrate victories together, wherever they are and with whomever wears blue and white.<br />
<br />
It was a classic game. A game that neither team should have lost, but one team had to. Both teams played as well as could be expected for a first game of the season. Mistakes made but overcome. One key mistake at the end of the game by Penn State and the outcome might have been different. Central Florida came out on the short end this time, and I wish them well for the rest of their season.<br />
<br />
Kudos to the entire team for bringing home a victory and to Coach Franklin for his first win. Now, get rested really fast and get ready to beat Akron! <br />
<br />
Later on Saturday, I went to Webster's Cafe for a reading and signing by Jay Paterno of his new book, <i>The Paterno Legacy.</i> Here is what Jay inscribed on my copy:<br />
<br />
"To Carolyn,<br />
Thanks for all your support.<br />
It is all real and it will always last.<br />
Best wishes,<br />
Jay Paterno"<br />
<br />
He is right, in more than a thousand ways.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-12141502113261986972014-07-25T16:53:00.003-04:002014-07-26T17:08:53.774-04:00Paterno Legacy by Jay Paterno: A Must Read!I was lucky enough to learn that the Barnes and Noble bookstore in State College had a few copies of this book before anyplace else in the country. I was able to drive down to the bookstore and pick one up right away. Never mind that I almost got a speeding ticket on my way to pick up the book...luckily the police officer that stopped me was kind!<br />
<br />
Once I acquired it I couldn't put it down, even though I went through an entire box of tissues while reading it. There are painful moments, rich moments, humorous moments. It is very well written.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> It's not a pleasant read if you love Penn State. Especially if you teach at or work for Penn State, and during that awful November 2011 were trying to faithfully conduct your job during the chaos of the news media avalanche on State College, while also trying to sort out your many conflicting feelings about what was happening and how the crisis was being managed, and deal with your very confused students in the classroom.<br />
<br />
Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime, and nobody at Penn State could avoid the reality that public reaction to anyone accused of child sexual abuse or to an institution accused of covering up child abuse will be swift and severe.<br />
<br />
And so the horror of the accusations against Penn State were very real for this most avid Penn State football fan. One of my first acts after reading the grand jury presentment was to understand the child abuse reporting laws.<br />
<br />
You see, I had worked for several years in children's services in Massachusetts so I knew something about mandated reporting laws for child abuse. What I discovered in my own investigation into the laws of Pennsylvania was that Joe Paterno did exactly what he was supposed to do according to university policy and the law. There was no cover up on his part. I believed that then and I continue to believe that now. As for the other administrators whom Joe reported to who allegedly perpetrated a cover up, there has been no evidence yet presented in a court of law to determine that. <br />
<br />
As Jay so correctly points out in his book, there was no crisis management and very poor handling of the media during those first critical days. The resulting confusion was then compounded by the choice that the Board of Trustees made to relieve both president Dr. Graham Spanier and coach Joe Paterno of their duties without any investigation or due process. Jay describes the pain of those days for Joe and for his family as they try to respond to what Jay calls the train wreck.<br />
<br />
Jay Paterno describes what it was like for the football team and for himself and his family during those confusing days and weeks. What he states is very painful to read, but it also gives good and new insight into how the Paterno family was reacting during those initial days and weeks, and what their guiding principles were.<br />
<br />
The book also brings back memories of the dreary conclusion to the 2011
season, one that had such promise of perhaps a B1G championship or at
least a good bowl selection.<br />
<br />
Instead this football team, which had no
part in Sandusky's crimes, was passed over by several bowl selection
committees until finally the Ticket City Bowl agreed to extend an
invitation to play against Houston.<br />
<br />
Jay's role on the football team is of special interest here. The pressure he was under was unbelievable, at a time when his family was also confronted with the news that his dad had been diagnosed with lung cancer.<br />
<br />
My husband Terry and I lived that pain with them as we not only
witnessed the Nebraska game, we also traveled to support the team at
Ohio State the following week, at Wisconsin where pedophile jokes were
being shouted at us by some obnoxious fans, and at the Ticket City bowl
where among other things we had to contend with Westboro Baptist Church pickets at the entrance to the stadium. We watched an excellent football team with championship potential fall apart at the end of the season.<br />
<br />
Between the years 1990-2012 Terry attended every game Penn State played and I missed only four. Terry had also attended 426 games overall since 1970, and I had attended games since 1987..<br />
<br />
So this book brought a lot of smiles as well. There were Jay's descriptions of critical plays that were the keys to success in certain come from behind wins. We were in the stands for all of them.<br />
<br />
There were those dreary years between 1998-2004 when losses piled up, especially on the road. When Terry and I would look at each other and ask each spring, "So do we really want to follow a losing team for another season?" And then we would purchase our airfare anyhow, because, well, hope sprung eternal and Joe was right - the team never quit during all those losing years. They were a play or two or a bad call or two away from winning some games that would have made the difference.<br />
<br />
Jay's description of the 2004 season sparked a memory of an encounter Terry and I had with Dr. Graham Spanier at Ohio State. Dr. Spanier was waiting for a ride to take him to his next appointment as Terry and I were heading into the Penn State Alumni Association tailgate. We chatted a bit about the losing season. I asked him if he was getting pressure from the "Joe Must Go" crowd. He told us, "You bet. Over 200 calls or emails per day. I had to hire someone extra just to answer the phones."<br />
<br />
Then he asked Terry and me, knowing we were long time faithful fans, what he should do. Terry and I both expressed that Joe had done so much for Penn State that, regardless of his win-loss record, he had earned the right to determine when he wanted to retire.<br />
<br />
I concluded with this remark "You're damned if you fire him and you're damned if you don't. You are hearing from the naysayers now, and if the losses pile up there will be more of them. But I hate to imagine what the calls would be like to your office if you force Joe out. My guess is it will be a whole lot more." Dr. Spanier seemed to appreciate that input. Jay's take on the 2004 season to me was accurate when he talks about how close Joe might have come to getting fired.<br />
<br />
There was Jay's discussion of the 2005 turnaround season, and Joe's special relationship with Michael Robinson. Jay might not have liked the word vindication, but to me it was very sweet after years of chasing losses on the road. There was also the Big Ten championship 2008 season and the horribly cold Iowa game that year where we lost at the very end of the game and I almost got trampled by Iowa fans trying to run onto the field to celebrate. <br />
<br />
And so, colored by my own experience especially, this book is both a fun and powerful read.<br />
<br />
Why? Because it adds so much insight into the recent history, and when you're not dealing with the painful parts of the destruction of the Paterno legacy and Penn State by the media and by how the Sandusky scandal was handled, the rest of the book is extremely insightful into the workings of the mind of a coaching legend. You learn about his recruiting philosophy, his political motivations, his relationships with other coaching legends like Bear Bryant. <br />
<br />
And how often do you get a perspective on Joe Paterno from three different points of view: a son who was raised by him, a player who was coached by him, and an employee who was supervised by him?<br />
<br />
Jay Paterno provides all three of these perspectives and does it with a writing style that's not only engaging, but hard to put down.<br />
<br />
I never witnessed my father at work. That was his separate life, and he hardly ever talked about it at home. It was only at his retirement party that I finally understood how many people revered him and what he did for his company. Most of us are similar to me. We go through life barely understanding how our fathers or mothers operate at work.<br />
<br />
Jay had the privilege of seeing how his father operated in all areas and described how his dad approached decisions in ways that will bring new insights into how he managed to win for all those years. There were notes that Jay found and shares in this book that provide insights into his thinking about the Big Ten, about certain critical seasons.<br />
<br />
Jay also shared the struggles of watching his father die amidst all the turmoil. The joyful moments and the sad moments. The many many visitors and phone calls. The descriptions of his dad's intentions and his final thoughts.<br />
<br />
Jay gives good insight into why the Paterno family continues to take
action, including legal action, to get to the truth. Clearing Joe
Paterno's name and legacy is only part of their motivation, but they
also have worked to get at the truth of what really happened so that people can
be educated about how to prevent further victims of child sexual abuse
from "nice guy" predators. <br />
<br />
Their love for Penn State
comes through in their legal attempts to counter the false
narrative of the Freeh report, with all the damage it wrought upon the
university. In fact, when reading this book, it's at times hard to understand why the Paternos continue to want to support Penn State. But they do so with grace and class.<br />
<br />
Overall, the book confirms once again how much the world gained by Joe Paterno's life and what we lost when Joe Paterno passed away. The life lessons he imparted on several generations of football players and on all others who came to know him will have an impact for years and years to come.<br />
<br />
As soon as it's available, get this book and soak it up. It will make you cry. It will make you angry. It will make you smile. It will give you insights that perhaps you can use in your work or your daily life.<br />
<br />
And to Jay I say, congratulations for a job well done.<br />
<br />
You told a bold story in a forthright manner, and it is one of the best books I've read in a while. For everything you and your family are going through as the truth of Penn State's involvement in the Sandusky crimes has yet to be determined in a court of law, you will continue to be in my prayers.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-18358202876324130332014-07-02T12:12:00.002-04:002014-07-02T12:14:14.359-04:00Two Ways to Honor Joe Paterno This SummerWhen I think of Joe Paterno and his impact on Penn State University, I think primarily about his commitment to developing young men - his football players - into educated and responsible citizens who contribute greatly to the world we live in. <br />
<br />
Yes, Joe also won a lot of football games - 409 to be exact - but in fact Joe didn't win a single one of those games by himself. His players were the true winners. What Joe did so beautifully over 61 years of service to Penn State as a coach was to establish the right conditions and discipline for those team members to excel. <br />
<br />
And to excel while earning their degrees at a demanding university that cuts no slack to athletes. I know, because I teach at Penn State and have to fill out forms on athletes' progress in my classes - they are very tightly monitored to make sure they are attending classes and succeeding in the classroom. Regardless of their position on the team, if a football player is slacking off in the classroom, Joe Paterno would tell you "Flunk him. It will teach him a lesson." I know because this situation happened in my classroom and that is exactly what Joe Paterno told me. <br />
<br />
Joe Paterno and his wife Sue were also great humanitarians. They gave back (and his family continues to give back) to Penn State University and to numerous Pennsylvania charities. Economically, the success of Penn State football during Joe's tenure contributed greatly to Centre County businesses and tourism and certainly the quality of life.<br />
<br />
For these reasons, the efforts to Honor Joe through the film "The People's Joe" and through a very exciting bench sculpture project "Joe's Bench", planned for downtown State College are worthy of your support. <br />
<br />
These projects are designed to be projects by the people and for the people. Many sculptures are created due to the generosity of a few large donors with deep pockets, but the intent here is to reach out to all who want to share in the story and pay tribute to a man who truly deserves our respect.<br />
<br />
Recently, I was visiting the City of Amsterdam, and while wandering through the Red Light District, happened upon this bench which pays tribute to <span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Lieut-Colonel
Alida Margaretha Bosshardt, a Salvation Army leader who was known as the "Angel of Amsterdam". I didn't even know who she was at the time, but felt compelled to sit on this bench and curious enough to find her biography online. </span></span><br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MHYbXENI3UA/U7QtiJgleSI/AAAAAAAAGLs/nsTzS41pHhQ/s1600/IMG_8775-fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MHYbXENI3UA/U7QtiJgleSI/AAAAAAAAGLs/nsTzS41pHhQ/s1600/IMG_8775-fb.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Just think...how cool would it be if we had something like this in State College to honor a man who would never want to be described as an angel, but who had such an impact on so many lives through his work? </span></span><br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></span> <br />
To find out more about the film and bench projects and to contribute $1, $5, $25, $100 or more towards this effort, visit <a href="http://igg.me/at/joesbench" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">igg.me/at/joesbench</a><br />
<br />
And please...spread the word....this project will happen only with broad-based support.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-63778012631496139452014-01-31T19:03:00.000-05:002014-01-31T19:04:32.913-05:00Penn State Football: A Heartfelt Request in Memory of My Husband<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On January 8, 2014 my husband Terry Todd passed away at the age of 78. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Terry had attended 282 Penn State football games in a
row between 1990 and the end of 2012, and 426 football games overall since 1970. You can read his full obituary <a href="http://www.kochfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=2377305&fh_id=12859" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Football was Terry's passion and in 2013 cancer stripped Terry of
that passion as well as his life. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For that reason I have asked that
memorial contributions in Terry's name be made to the Penn State chapter
of Uplifting Athletes. It's an annual PSU football team effort to raise money for kidney cancer
research, and it seems very fitting to support this charity. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Any donations in Terry's memory are
most appreciated, or you can choose a favorite athlete and support their
efforts in the upcoming 2014 Lift for Life. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You can visit the
Uplifting Athletes website here: </span><br /> <a href="http://www.upliftingathletes.org/">www.upliftingathletes.org</a></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As for me, I
will do my best to carry Terry's passion for Penn State football forward as we welcome Coach
James Franklin and look forward to yet another new beginning for Penn
State football this fall. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thank you for your patience this year, I promise you that this blog will see new life in the months ahead.</span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We Are...Penn State!</span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Carolyn Todd </span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></h5>
Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-75905503985513383582013-09-01T08:42:00.003-04:002013-09-01T08:49:10.526-04:00Penn State Football: Orange Ex'Cused as the Penn State Football Nation Shows Some LoveIt wasn't always pretty, and it came down to the final minute or so, but Penn State got the job done, beating Syracuse 23-17. And so the second season under Coach Bill O'Brien gets off to a roaring start, under the shaky (at times) leadership of a true freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg who is still learning the game but obviously has great potential. At the end of the game, O'Brien relied on the defense to secure the win, not daring to risk another offensive turnover in a game that had plenty of ups and downs for both teams.<br />
<br />
This was a most unusual game for me and especially for my husband Terry. We weren't actually there. For the first time since September 1990 my husband Terry was not able to make a Penn State game in person, and the last game I missed was September 2001, a game in Iowa City that Terry went to but I stayed home due to a sick animal.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I described why we had to cancel all away games in a prior <a href="http://www.viewfromstands.blogspot.com/2013/08/penn-state-football-life-comes-at-you.html" target="_blank">blog post</a>. For this game, we were supposed to board a bus on Friday to head to Secaucus, New Jersey for two nights and the game at MetLife Stadium.<br />
<br />
Instead, we were in a private hospital room at Mount Nittany Hospital where Terry is recovering from a partial lung collapse and other complications related to his illness.<br />
<br />
At least we had a decent HDTV to watch the game. And also, the MRI technician on duty was kind enough to schedule an ordered test around the game. I was assured that Terry would be on the table by 2:30 for his MRI or it would wait until after the game. And so I held my breath as kickoff was about to happen and Terry wasn't back yet. But he did arrive with 30 seconds to spare!<br />
<br />
And so I sat in a recliner next to Terry, with Internet access plugged into an open thread on Facebook run by the private group <b>Penn State Football Nation</b>. This is a group recommended to me when I was trying to sell my two tickets to the Syracuse game (which I had in hand. Penn State is reimbursing me for the remaining tickets we ordered). And so I applied to be accepted to the group.<br />
<br />
Here's its description: "A relaxing comfortable place to come and talk about Penn State Football, tips about tailgating, exchanging tailgating re<span class="text_exposed_show">cipes,
posting photos, contests and many other things related to Penn State
football. We don't talk about a scandal, BoT elections or other disheartening items."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">In other words, it's a drama-free site, and one where the administrators work very hard to keep out any trolls who want to denigrate Penn State or talk about guess who. How the administrators do that is a mystery to me, but it really works. It's a fun group of avid Penn State football fans whom I've enjoyed getting to know over the past few weeks.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">And it was fun to banter back and forth during the game about what was happening on the field. A new experience for me, this open thread stuff. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">The Penn State Football Nation is also a very caring group who promised to serve as my eyes and ears at the game. At about 12 noon here is a photo that came across my Facebook page:</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YrVDFMeC1QE/UiMwayELu-I/AAAAAAAAGJM/f97KxItDfto/s1600/Todd-Speck-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YrVDFMeC1QE/UiMwayELu-I/AAAAAAAAGJM/f97KxItDfto/s400/Todd-Speck-photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">The words on the poster read: "Carolyn and Terry Todd; The Streak Continues; You Are Here in Our Hearts; Get Well Soon Terry."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">We couldn't have asked for a better start to the football season than this message. Thank you, Todd Speck, Melinda Wright, and whoever else organized this! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">What's remarkable is that I have not physically met a single person in this picture. It's simply through this one Facebook discussion group that I've come to know them.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">And that says a lot about what it means to be a part of this phenomenon called the Penn State football family. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">I will write more later about the game itself and what it's like to watch a game on TV after over a decade of being in the stands. I will even post photos from the game, taken by others who are helping me show what it's like at the game.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">But for now I just want to urge any Penn State fan who wants to join the Penn State Football Nation to check them out on Facebook. Again, it's not an open group. You have to request membership and then be admitted. But if you're a true fan that's not a problem. I hope you enjoy the drama-free Penn State football discussions, and experienced the love of all things Penn State football, as much as I have. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-66161905857778129172013-08-25T08:51:00.004-04:002013-08-25T08:54:09.595-04:00A Great Retrospective on the 2012 Penn State Football SeasonYesterday, Penn State sports historian and author Lou Prato stopped by our house to visit Terry. It was a great visit, and we spent time discussing our separate journeys to becoming devoted Penn State football fans. Lou, with his years of experience as a journalist and in broadcast news, has tons of stories not only about his work with Penn State sports, but his coverage of other teams like Ohio State and Michigan. Hilarious. <br />
<br />
Lou learned that our story is different than a lot of Penn State fans. Our devotion to Penn State had nothing to do with attending school here, and so Terry told him about how he evolved from Ohio State to Missouri to Penn State. And I told him about my complete lack of devotion to football before I met Terry. Also as I will tell my students tomorrow when classes begin, the reason I'm here teaching at Penn State's Smeal College of Business is due to Penn State football. It's not the other way around.<br />
<br />
One of Lou's tasks yesterday was to autograph his new book, entitled, "<i>We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions</i>". You can purchase it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Penn-State-Remarkable/dp/1600788629/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377433220&sr=1-1" target="_blank">here</a>. It's a very good read. I finished it in a day. Its hard to put down once you get started.<br />
<br />
While Lou certainly has a point of view about what happened to Penn State as a result of the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal, especially the damages done to the football team and the Penn State brand by the Freeh Report and the NCAA sanctions, he does not dwell too long on those issues in the book. He has written about those topics elsewhere, such as in his columns in <i>Blue White Illustrated</i>.<br />
<br />
Rather, this book is almost entirely about the 2012 team who stayed when the NCAA sanctions said they could leave at any time without penalty. It's about this remarkable group of football players whose emotional leaders were seniors Michael Mauti and Michael Zordich, and their brand new coach, Bill O'Brien, and how they kept Penn State football alive and helped us all smile again.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It's written in diary format, with entries that start on November 5, 2011 when it was announced that Jerry Sandusky would be arrested. Lou does his homework and his research. He reports the facts as researched or reported then his personal reactions to the news. Where he was in a room at a press conference, or at a game personally, you can relive those moments from his perspective, and that is particularly satisfying.<br />
<br />
In his autograph, Lou says the following words to me and Terry: "You are both part of this diary and we went through a lot of these entries together. Enjoy. We are Penn State. Lou Prato".<br />
<br />
Yes, we went through all of it, and there were moments when a simple description of an event or a game brought me to tears. Or brought back smiles remembering what happened.<br />
<br />
I've written my own descriptions of the games played during the 2012 season, as well as other reactions to the situation here at Penn State that you can read about in this blog.<br />
<br />
Lou provides a perspective that I couldn't get whether it was actually being in the press rooms listening to Bill O'Brien or at other events that I wasn't able to attend. <br />
<br />
Last year at the Wisconsin game, when they unveiled the 2012 to put on the wall of honor on the East Stands aside undefeated, Big Ten, and national championship teams, I had very mixed feelings.<br />
<br />
While I thought I appreciated what the 2012 team did for Penn State, I was not at all sure I wanted to be reminded of the 2012 season every year and all the turmoil that we went through in 2012.<br />
<br />
It was a very tough year for any Penn Stater to endure.<br />
<br />
And so I'm very grateful for this book. It really helps me to understand why that 2012 is there on Beaver Stadium for eternity. And I no longer have mixed feelings about it.<br />
<br />
What that 2012 team did to save Penn State football was remarkable.<br />
<br />
As for the upcoming 2013 season, "Charlie Mike!" If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, buy the book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-9609280476116468612013-08-06T20:42:00.005-04:002013-08-06T20:43:09.889-04:00Penn State Football: "Life Comes At You Fast", and Sometimes It Isn't PrettyIt is with a great deal of sadness that I announce that as of this coming football season, the attendance streaks at Penn State football games for my husband Terry and myself will end. For Terry, it was 282 games in a row. The last game he missed was the Penn State - USC game in Los Angeles in 1990. For me, it was 146 games in a row. The last game I missed was the Penn State - Iowa game in 2001 in Iowa City. The games we attended were anywhere in the country: home, away, and bowl games.<br />
<br />
Somehow, none of that matters now. It's just a game, after all. Right???<br />
<br />
Well, maybe.<br />
<br />
There was a sign I saw recently in a medical office: "Life is just a game. Football is serious business." For us, it certainly has been that way. It dominated our lives each fall, and, well, I expect there to be a big hole now.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I know how it will be filled, and finding time to tend to what needs to be done over the coming months will be a real challenge.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> On July 29th we got the rotten news that Terry has lung cancer. <br />
<br />
Terry just started a rigorous schedule of chemotherapy treatments this week. Due to the risk of exposure to infection, along with the many other side effects he might encounter, he was told to avoid buses, airlines, and crowds. So far, though, so good. <br />
<br />
We are in the process of cancelling all our reservations for away games this fall. We had paid for all that in May. Airlines, tours, hotels, and of course tickets. Hopefully these businesses will be sympathetic and we will get that money back.<br />
<br />
As for home games, we are hopeful that at least some of those games might be possible. <br />
<br />
For now we are taking it one day at a time and we need to see how Terry responds to the chemotherapy. So far, after the first treatment, so good. His first treatment seems to be tolerated well. <br />
<br />
So, as the Nationwide insurance ads suggest, life comes at you fast. And sometimes it isn't pretty. <br />
<br />
I will continue to work in my job as a marketing professor at Penn State during this time. I am grateful that Smeal College of Business has worked with me to reduce my teaching schedule this fall so that I can support Terry as much as possible.<br />
<br />
As for this blog, well, the whole premise of my writing was that I offered a different view from many Penn State fan blogs because we were actually at each game. So that whole premise is suspended for this season.<br />
<br />
What I will and can write about Penn State football remains to be seen. I'm open to suggestions. If someone wants to be a guest blogger, is attending any or all away games, and wants to partner with me, shoot me an email. I do plan to attend every home game, hopefully with Terry at my side.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, be sure to hug your loved ones as often as possible, and your healing thoughts and prayers for Terry are surely appreciated. Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-3570539761543246082013-07-23T12:07:00.000-04:002013-07-23T14:10:10.487-04:00Penn State Football: Is This The Feeding Frenzy the NCAA Wished For?Is this what the NCAA intended last year when, as part of the NCAA sanctions announced a year ago, they reduced scholarships for Penn State football by 20 scholarships per year for four years, and they allowed current Penn State football players to leave for other schools without penalty?<br />
<br />
Fortunately many of the schools represented here in this mascot collection exercised restraint last summer on recruiting current PSU football players, and the one school that did not, Illinois, does not have a mascot so is not in these photos. Chief Illiniwek, now gone, was never a mascot. He was a spirit, I was told when I tried to acquire one the first time Penn State played Illinois in Champaign.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxY929yPdeU/Ue6lpLSlZII/AAAAAAAAGI0/h9PNWfJw_1Q/s1600/IMG_1758+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxY929yPdeU/Ue6lpLSlZII/AAAAAAAAGI0/h9PNWfJw_1Q/s320/IMG_1758+-+Version+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vnNLOjnPXZ0/Ue6ltiFiN4I/AAAAAAAAGI8/3CPQXnxJYSo/s1600/IMG_1765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vnNLOjnPXZ0/Ue6ltiFiN4I/AAAAAAAAGI8/3CPQXnxJYSo/s320/IMG_1765.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Photos by Carolyn M. Todd. All Rights Reserved.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Sure looks like the NCAA wanted a recruiting picnic full of mayhem
that would cripple if not destroy Penn State forever. A feeding frenzy
of sorts.<br />
<br />
And even if none of these schools pictured
here directly tried to destroy Penn State, they are in fact represented
on the NCAA Board and Executive Committee that discussed, approved and authorized the sanctions announced by Dr. Mark
Emmert on the basis of a management advisory opinion piece called
the Freeh Report rather than follow its own investigation rules.<br />
<br />
Fortunately,
few players transferred, thanks to the quick thinking leadership of the 2012 football team
senior leaders, and the fact that the new coaching staff at Penn State, led by Coach Bill O'Brien, had earned the team's respect.<br />
<br />
However,
with 80 scholarships gone over the next four years, I can't help but
think that Penn State's ability to be competitive over time,
even with the most brilliant coaching staff around, will be crippled.<br />
<br />
The
feeding frenzy might not be so dramatic as it was last summer, but if nothing is done about
these draconian scholarship reductions, sanctions that are particularly punitive to current students and players who had nothing to do with Sandusky's criminal behavior, it will be felt over time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-53470348638531321042013-07-21T13:35:00.001-04:002013-07-21T15:44:10.407-04:00Penn State Football: On Losing Your Voice When It Comes to SanduskyMedia critic John Ziegler had it right in his newly published online book, "The Betrayal of Joe Paterno", which I recommend that you access <a href="http://www.framingpaterno.com/betrayal-joe-paterno-how-it-all-probably-happened" target="_blank">here</a> at his website www.framingpaterno.com. In Chapter 5, entitled "The Firing", Ziegler describes the late night decision of the Board of Trustees to fire Joe Paterno via cell phone at 10 p.m., and then the ensuing "riot" downtown after it became known.<br />
<br />
This riot of a few thousand people who were downtown when they heard the news consisted of a trash can fire and the toppling of a news van that created serious damage to the van. But because all the national media were present, the images became something much more like a full scale riot in the minds of the public.<br />
<br />
Never mind that five times as many students turned out two days later for a candlelight vigil on the lawn of Old Main to pray for victims of child abuse, and students and alumni in the next several weeks also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for child abuse prevention causes at that Saturday's game and beyond. That didn't get nearly the publicity or the press images.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> Ziegler states:<br />
<br />
"Because the students were roundly castigated for having put football
ahead of the victims of child abuse (forget the fact that football had
nothing to do with their reaction and due process should have dictated
that it was not yet known whether there were indeed victims of a crime),
it created a dramatic chilling effect on all protests against what had
been done to Paterno. Ironically, had no one on campus cared much for him and there had been no demonstration on his behalf, it would not have
become instantaneously politically incorrect (to the absurd point of
being equated with supporting child molestation) to even stand up and
defend his basic right to due process.<br />
<br />
"From that moment on, the student body and the vast majority of the
Penn State population were stripped of their fighting spirit. It was as
if almost the entire community had been simultaneously emasculated and
permanently chastened. They were now more than ripe to be manipulated by
the “move on” philosophy which would soon be instituted..."<br />
<br />
What is right about Ziegler's perspective is how utterly speechless all of us at Penn State became over what happened in November 2011, with the charges against Sandusky, as well as former administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. <br />
<br />
In fact, to this day it has been difficult for many of us to find a voice to express any sort of dissension over the popular belief, promulgated by the news media and also by Penn State's own Board of Trustees, that there was a major moral failure at Penn State by four Penn State senior leaders - Joe Paterno, Gary Schultz, Tim Curley and Graham Spanier. Especially if we work at Penn State and know some if not all of these people personally.<br />
<br />
I do believe there were certainly failures in how Sandusky was handled, but the true reasons for the failures have not at all been determined. My immediate suspicion based on reading the initial grand jury presentment was that there were major communication problems between Mike McQueary and the senior administrators with whom Mike McQueary met after Joe Paterno asked him to meet with those administrators to report to them what he saw in that locker room in 2001.<br />
<br />
I have been waiting for the courts to help sort out what those communications were, and I have stuck, stubbornly at times, to my belief that people are innocent until proven guilty. <br />
<br />
Sandusky has been proven, through due process and a jury of his peers, to be guilty of child sexual abuse. The rest of the people charged with criminal behavior in failing to take action against him have not yet had a jury of their peers where testimony and evidence is subject to cross-examination. The presumption of guilt has therefore not been proven.<br />
<br />
I spoke with a colleague at Penn State about the Sandusky scandal not too long ago. I asked how she was handling the last year, and her response was familiar and telling: "Like a lot of folks, I read everything there is to read about it and I'm keeping a private diary of my reactions to everything."<br />
<br />
It doesn't surprise me that this colleague is keeping thoughts
private, at least for now. I also read everything I can about the Sandusky scandal. I have many blog articles I have started but failed to complete.
There are many thoughts that I have been tempted to share, but have held
back upon.<br />
<br />
Anytime I have shared my thoughts in news media, mostly commenting on articles or commentary where blatant lies have been promoted, I have been almost always treated with some sort of rejoinder that suggests that I am one of those so-called "Joe Bots" who only thinks about Penn State football and Joe Paterno's legacy. <br />
<br />
It's discouraging when time and again you suggest that people are innocent until proven guilty and people respond with "where's your sympathy for the victims?" <br />
<br />
It's certainly not that I'm unsympathetic to the victims. At one point in my early career I worked for the Massachusetts Office for Children and was engaged in training parents on how to detect signs of child abuse and child sexual abuse. There were plenty of horror stories shared at that time as well as plenty of discussion on how to report suspected abuse and what type of evidence is used to convict abusers.<br />
<br />
It is, in fact, because of that professional experience that I firmly believe that the victims are served better if we know the full truth about what happened, so that perhaps we can prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again.<br />
<br />
So far, the truth about what actually happened at Penn State has been very elusive, and Freeh's stated opinion that there was a cover up to "avoid bad publicity" just doesn't make any sense. <br />
<br />
In my view, Penn State and Joe Paterno would have likely been revered for turning in Sandusky, not condemned. Assuming, of course, that the 2001 incident would have resulted in an arrest. It might have been investigated and closed just like the 1998 incident was.<br />
<br />
There would have been a tiny bump of bad publicity for Penn State, but mostly praise. And so the charge of avoiding bad publicity is a shallow diagnosis on the part of Freeh with no evidence to back it up. Of all the conclusions of the Freeh Report, that was the one that was the most aggravating, because it was so transparently an opinion, and not a fact-based conclusion. <br />
<br />
My colleague also shared with me that there is currently a lot of PhD research into the reactions of people to the Sandusky scandal. There are studies going on about the thousands of emails Penn State has received, of the press reports, of blog posts and comments in the media. There are likely to be several PhD dissertations awarded over the next few years based on the impact of the Sandusky case and the media coverage that occurred.<br />
<br />
Ziegler's recently published book and website that criticize the media narrative of this case are only some of the many stories that will be told about this saga as the years unfold. <br />
<br />
As an avid amateur photographer, I belong to a local photography club. Two of the club's most active and competent photographers have spent the last year documenting the Sandusky crisis in photos. Their photojournalism work was presented at the Photographic Society of America's annual convention last year, and written up in one of their monthly PSA Journals.<br />
<br />
In April of this year, they showed a five-minute glimpse into just one segment of their continuing photography work in an essay competition, a piece entitled "The Statue".<br />
<br />
Their slideshow documents in photos and with an accompanying narrative the weekend in State College when the dismantling of the Paterno statue took place a year ago. It was an extremely well-done photojournalism essay, and I thought it was the best essay presentation that night and deserved a first place award.<br />
<br />
It was also a very sad and compelling five-minute visit back to that awful weekend a year ago. It brought me to tears.<br />
<br />
But the judge, a photography professional and a State College resident, did not award anything - not even an honorable mention status - for their work. Her reason had little to do with the artistic merit of the composition.<br />
<br />
She was simply tired of hearing about the Sandusky scandal and expressed her feeling that as a town we had to "move on". I was quite disappointed that she allowed her emotions to rule out an amazing piece of work that I hope someday that everyone will have the opportunity to see once it's finished.<br />
<br />
I don't think Ziegler was right in thinking that the riot alone was the turning point that caused all of us to be silent. Because with or without the riot, the crime of child sexual abuse is perceived by people to be horrific, even viewed by some as more horrific than murder.<br />
<br />
It is nearly impossible for any institution or individual member of an institution to be seen as anything but defensive and insensitive if they try to say anything cautionary about any accusations related to such crimes.<br />
<br />
Penn State's Faculty Senate voted not to make its own
public statement challenging the Freeh Report and the NCAA sanctions,
after two sessions of heated debate about what the Faculty Senate role
could be and the purpose of such a statement. A group of thirty former
Faculty Senate chairs did make a public statement decrying many of the false
conclusions of the Freeh Report and the NCAA consent decree, especially when it comes to the so-called football culture at Penn State. You may review that statement <a href="http://www.senate.psu.edu/agenda/2012-2013/aug2012/pastchairs_statement.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
And
so the Faculty Senate formally decided to contribute to the silence
Ziegler talks about. Essentially they left it to outsiders to fight the
battle: groups and people such as <a href="http://ps4rs.org/" target="_blank">Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship</a>, the <a href="http://paterno.com/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Paterno family</a>, John
Ziegler, Franco Harris, <a href="http://notpsu.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ray Blehar</a>, and <a href="http://emf.intherough.net/Critical%20Analysis%20of%20Freeh%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">Eileen Morgan</a> to question and to
fight the overall media coverage of this story. <br />
<br />
For me and perhaps for other Penn State employees, my hesitation to discuss the Sandusky scandal has had very little to do with the riot. My speechlessness has been more the direct result of the firing of Joe Paterno by the Board of Trustees. The utter disregard for due process and proper channels of communication
in the firing of Joe Paterno has sent a message that reverberates
loudly for any Penn State employee.<br />
<br />
That night I determined that if Joe Paterno could be forced out at a moment's notice, then it was possible that any employee at Penn State was vulnerable for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong forum. That is, unless one has tenure, which I don't, and even then, one needs to be very careful so as not to hamper one's career.<br />
<br />
In February this year I wrote a blog post criticizing the Freeh report conclusions about Penn State's football culture. The post was widely circulated and praised in tweets by ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge and by Scott Paterno. My first thought when I got that news was to wonder if I would be reprimanded or receive some sort of warning for saying anything in print. Fortunately nothing happened, so perhaps I'm a bit paranoid. But even to this day, I do feel a bit constrained in what I say.<br />
<br />
As for "moving on", not all of us who live in this town are ready to do that. Perhaps we don't talk about it as much as we did last year, when the events of last June and July were so devastating and all-consuming. Then, you couldn't get away from it. It dominated any discussion with friends or acquaintances or perfect strangers if you were wearing Penn State gear. As with any crisis, however, you can't be consumed by it all the time.<br />
<br />
Probably the most important communication I have received since
November 2011 about the Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal happened on the
day the news broke.<br />
<br />
It was a phone
call from my older sister, who lives in the community and worships at the parish near Boston
where some of the major Catholic church child sex abuse scandals occurred. She knew
the priests. Her sons were friends of those who were abused. She described the division in
the parish and in the community. How people cancelled their
subscription to <i>The Boston Globe</i> for breaking the story. How people
were shunned for being supporters of the accused priests or for NOT
being supporters of the accused priests. How everyone questioned their religion. It was an
awful time for her and her family. <br />
<br />
Her words of
advice: "Carolyn, be patient. It will take ten years for any perspective to be gained and for things to
return to normal. I'm praying for you and everyone in
State College."<br />
<br />
There has been a sense of overwhelming sadness and dismay at this
entire incident, starting with feelings of horror about what the victims
must have experienced, and then digesting how this crisis has affected
Penn State and the lives of people we know.<br />
<br />
But my sister's words have been words of comfort to me. Words that suggest that we are in the middle of a history that is in the process of being written, and that the final result will not be clear for quite a while.<br />
<br />
Her words have held me in good stead knowing that eventually there will be a conclusion about this, and that if it takes ten years or more, what matters is that the truth will be known.<br />
<br />
Patience is a virtue, they say. In the meantime, we have no choice but to keep on keeping on. And no, I won't use the term "move on", tempting as that might be. <br />
<br />
As it is said in Ecclesiastes, "To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose unto Heaven." There will be a time for the truth. It will probably take a while to get there.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-53761338532083363142013-05-28T21:00:00.003-04:002013-05-29T19:50:29.315-04:00Penn State Football: Will Bob Costas Create New Discussion on Sandusky Case?Tomorrow night, on Wednesday May 29 sportscaster Bob Costas will air a
long-awaited discussion about the Sandusky scandal. He has been
rumored to have second thoughts after the Paterno family commissioned a
report authored by former US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh
regarding the Freeh Report's inadequacies.<br />
<br />
According to ESPN: "In addition to
Thornburgh, former FBI supervisory special agent and former state
prosecutor James Clemente, and Dr. Fred Berlin, a treating physician,
psychiatrist, psychologist and expert in sexual disorders and
pedophilia at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine,
contributed independent evaluations of the Freeh Report." The report
was entitled "The Rush To Injustice Regarding Joe Paterno."<br />
<br />
According
to NBC's Vice President of Communications Adam Freifeld, “(The Freeh
Report) will be the focus of Costas Tonight tomorrow at 11pm ET
following hockey on NBCSN.”<br />
<br />
Is this good news or bad news for Penn State fans waiting to hear some positive news about the role of Joe Paterno in this scandal? It remains to be seen what Costas will say and what he will conclude.<br />
One has to ask about the timing of this broadcast. The show is not exactly prime time coverage!<br />
<br />
Those
of us who have lived through this saga remember all too well how
overly-consuming the media coverage was in November of 2011. Prime time
coverage was not a problem when it came to media suggestions that
former Penn State head coach and college football icon Joe Paterno was
somehow at fault for not stopping Sandusky's crimes.<br />
<br />
As to any effort at vindication, it appears to me that the media has given such news second fiddle at best.<br />
<br />
Here is what John Ziegler, independent documentary film maker and creator of the website www.framingpaterno.com has to say:<br />
<br />
"Having
spoken to Bob Costas twice about the facts of the case and the nature
of the show he might do on this, I am confident that he will take a
fair and objective second look at the facts here. Unfortunately, he
will not be taking an advocacy role here and the size of that audience at
the time with limited time to promote won't be ideal."<br />
<br />
Bob
Costas' show will air on NBCSC immediately after the hockey program is
concluded. That is anticipated to be about 11 p.m. EST on Wednesday.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-804074168210501852013-02-19T20:53:00.000-05:002013-02-22T09:21:42.396-05:00Penn State Football: It's About That Culture ThingWhy did Louis Freeh determine that Penn State had a so-called "football culture"? <br />
<br />
In his report, Freeh states the following key finding:<br />
<br />
"In the Fall of 2000, a University janitor observed Sandusky sexually assault a young boy in the East Area Locker Building and advised co-workers of what he saw. Also that evening, another janitor saw two pairs of feet in the same shower, and then saw Sandusky and a young boy leaving the locker room holding hands. Fearing that they would be fired for what they saw, neither janitor reported the incidents to university officials, law enforcement, or child protective agencies."<br />
<br />
Later in his report, Freeh describes an interview with one of the janitors involved: "Janitor B explained to the Special Investigative Counsel that reporting the incident 'would have been like going against the President of the United States in my eyes.' 'I know Paterno has so much power, if he wanted to get rid of someone, I would have been gone.' He explained, 'football runs this University,' and said the University would have closed ranks to protect the football program at all costs."<br />
<br />
And so according to Freeh, even though a more senior janitor discussed with these two janitors how to report what they saw, the two janitors involved decided that because they were fearful of losing their jobs, they would not report a tremendously awful crime. Or at least that's what they told Freeh twelve years after it happened.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
They blamed Paterno's power for their failure to do what was the right thing to do at the time - to call the police.<br />
<br />
I don't necessarily want to judge them. I can understand the fear of losing a job, whether that fear is founded or not. But it's a true shame that they did not report the crime when it occurred in 2000.<br />
<br />
Sandusky might have been behind bars a lot sooner given what appears to be the clearest eye witness account of Sandusky performing a sexual act on a victim. A lot of victims might have been spared over the past decade.<br />
<br />
And as the Paterno family report published last week has pointed out, just because a janitor <u>assumed</u> that Joe Paterno MIGHT fire him for reporting a crime doesn't make it true that he WOULD have or even COULD have.<br />
<br />
There is no evidence that Paterno would have dismissed these janitors and not taken them seriously. There is also no evidence that Paterno would have fired these janitors. <br />
<br />
AND significantly enough there is no evidence that Paterno had the authority to fire these janitors even if he desired to, which in my opinion is not something he would have done.<br />
<br />
Remember, in the year 2000 Sandusky didn't report to Paterno or have anything to do with his program. And it has been well documented that Paterno wasn't close to Sandusky or consider him a friend.<br />
<br />
In addition there is ample evidence that when Mike McQueary reported something in 2001 that was far <u>more</u> ambiguous than what one of the janitors reportedly saw - he told his dad and a medical doctor that night and the jury during the Sandusky trial that he did NOT see a rape - Mike was neither fired or told by Paterno to keep it quiet.<br />
<br />
Paterno made sure that Mike met with Tim Curley and Gary Schultz to report to them what he saw. Mike was kept on as graduate assistant coach and then later on he was promoted to assistant coach.<br />
<br />
So why was Freeh so sympathetic to these janitors for not calling the police and so willing to blame the "football culture" for their inaction?<br />
<br />
I probably never will understand that part of the history of the Sandusky scandal. It's hard for me to fathom how anyone can be blamed for somehow ignoring a crime that was never reported. But that is in essence what the Freeh report does. It blames Paterno and the football culture.<br />
<br />
Joe Paterno had a lot of influence, for sure, at Penn State. But was he powerful enough to decide EVERYTHING at the university? No, he wasn't. That is a myth perpetrated by people who have a limited view or don't understand how academia works. <br />
<br />
Dr. Vicki Triponey, the former VP of Student Affairs, was another one of Freeh's interviewees and it appears that her assertions also had influence on Freeh's conclusions about a football culture. She is well-known for her complaints that she couldn't wrest control away from Joe Paterno on whether or not his players could continue to play while facing disciplinary proceedings. Her complaints have been well-publicized in the media. She felt that it should be up to Judicial Affairs, not coaches, to determine player involvement in practice or games. Joe Paterno objected to that.<br />
<br />
But what was NOT so well publicized in most media, although reported in a <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/2012/09/02/3320036/study-counters-triponey-claims.html" target="_blank">Centre Daily Times article</a> written by Anne Danahy, is that an independent Faculty-Senate committee at the university interviewed 40 people about Triponey's concerns and about her proposal for Judicial Affairs to determine whether or not an athlete should continue to play on a team if faced with disciplinary proceedings. This Faculty-Senate committee, NOT Joe Paterno, made the final recommendation to the university president as to how student discipline of both athletes and non-athletes should be handled.<br />
<br />
Essentially this academic committee confirmed the notion that coaches <u>should</u> be allowed to determine whether or not a player should continue to play, not Judicial Affairs. They determined that for non-athlete extra-curricular activities it was left to the leader of those activities (e.g. advisor) to determine whether or not a non-athlete facing discipline should continue to participate. The committee felt that athletes should not be treated any differently than non-athletes.<br />
<br />
The Freeh report's opinion that there is some sort of a "football
culture" that needs to be rectified at Penn State seems to be one of the reasons that the NCAA has
come down especially hard on Penn State in assessing the harsh sanctions
that it has. <br />
<br />
Never mind that what happened at Penn
State was criminal activity by a former coach, that none of the current
players ever worked with. Never mind that it had nothing to do with creating
competitive advantage on the playing field, which is supposedly what the
NCAA is supposed to be investigating.<br />
<br />
Mark Emmert, mimicking Freeh, publicly stated that Penn State's "football culture" needs to change as a justification for his announcement of harsh NCAA sanctions. And what was even worse, he seemed to imply that academic integrity at Penn State had been compromised.<br />
<br />
What was it about a 91% graduation rate of football student athletes at Penn State that Emmert didn't like?<br />
<br />
Perhaps the problem was that the people Freeh interviewed at Penn State ADMIRED the <u>academic</u> culture that was built within the football program?<br />
<br />
And perhaps Freeh's teams confused admiration for Joe's commitment to academics and fundraising for an attitude of "Joe can do no wrong" or "Joe has too much power"?<br />
<br />
Let us not forget, Emmert chose to accept the Freeh report and announce the worse NCAA sanctions ever against a university rather than launch his own investigation.<br />
<br />
So Emmert doesn't even know who Freeh interviewed in his investigation. <br />
<br />
Trust me when I say, Penn State faculty and staff are smarter than to think Joe Paterno could have done no wrong. We respected Joe Paterno's abilities as a head coach, his philanthropic efforts on behalf of Penn State, and his determination to make sure his players graduated.<br />
<br />
But we also knew that he was quite human. He wasn't perfect. We also knew that Joe had boundaries he respected. He had a lot of influence, but he didn't always choose to use it. <br />
<br />
Evidence of that fact is that neither Joe Paterno nor anyone else from the football office has ever interfered with a faculty decision related to the academics of a football player.<br />
<br />
There has been no pressure to pass any athlete. None. Ever. By any coach of any athletic program at Penn State. <br />
<br />
As an instructor at Penn State I've had my share of student athletes in the classroom - football and otherwise - and all I can say is that every scholarship athlete I have had in my classes is very closely monitored, three times per semester! To make sure they attend classes, to make sure they are participating, to make sure they are passing. It works, and Penn State has been admired over the decades for it working so well.<br />
<br />
And speaking of football culture, what about the fact that football student athletes are involved in
all sorts of other initiatives, such as "Lift for Life", where this year alone they
raised over $100,000 to combat kidney cancer? <br />
<br />
And where this year Offensive Lineman Eric Shrive was named "Rare Disease Champion of the Year" by Uplifting Athletes and the Maxwell Club for his personal efforts in raising over $69,000 of that amount to fight this disease. Congratulations, Eric, on that honor!<br />
<br />
No, Freeh and Emmert got it wrong. If you want to know what Penn State's culture is truly about, consider this past weekend's efforts in the dead cold of February.<br />
<br />
710 student dancers on their feet for 46 hours. More than 15,000 students on their feet in the stands supporting those dancers. Countless Penn State student clubs and organizations spending weeks and months on end canning on street corners to raise money to combat pediatric cancer.<br />
<br />
Countless folks - students, families, community members - standing in line for hours outside of the Bryce Jordan Center trying to get into the arena to lend their support to the dancers, and turned away because the largest inside venue on campus isn't big enough to accommodate all who want to participate.<br />
<br />
Numerous committees are organized throughout the year to support this event and make sure the dancers are well taken care for, and that the Thon children themselves - children who suffer tremendously from treatments related to their cancers - are having a great time.<br />
<br />
That's right. The children themselves who benefit from Thon interact directly with the students at Penn State, through the Four Diamonds Fund, which is the major beneficiary of the Thon fundraising effort.<br />
<br />
Just about every student club participating in Thon has one or two of these children assigned to them. That makes the fundraising to cure cancer personal. Very personal. And given that these children sometimes don't survive, it is agonizingly emotional in the final hours when during the Thon family hour the triumphs over cancer are celebrated, but then also the names and photos of the Thon children who passed away are flashed on the screen.<br />
<br />
I teach at Penn State. I'm a huge football fan, as you know. But, when I think of culture at Penn State, I don't think of football first. <br />
<br />
I think of Thon. Thon is what pervades the atmosphere among students at Penn State, and it is what differentiates Penn State from any other major university in the world. Thon pervades all year round.<br />
<br />
Football at Penn State is exciting, fun, a major passion each fall for seven home weekends each year. But isn't that true at every FBS school? Isn't it true at Alabama? Wisconsin? Michigan? Ohio State? You name it. Football is big in the fall at all of my top five favorite college football venues. I beg you to contend that Penn State football is more important than football at any other of these schools.<br />
<br />
But while football is primarily a fall activity, the Penn State Dance Marathon drives Penn State students 52 weeks per year. The student clubs, fraternities, and sororities all organize into teams to can on weekends on street corners in communities throughout the northeast and even across the country.<br />
<br />
Thon itself has what seem to be a zillion different committees, whether they be rules and regulations, morale, security, entertainment, communications, and of course there is a huge competitive thrust among the numerous student clubs to raise enough money to be eligible to sponsor one or more dancers to represent them, and to be recognized as a top 5 contributing student club among various designated categories of clubs when the grand amount is announced.<br />
<br />
And so on a weekend in February, a miraculous event occurs, the culmination of a year's worth of effort. A bunch of students hold a 46 hour dance party at the Bryce Jordan Center. No alcohol, by the way, is allowed within the BJC, and anyone who is visibly drunk is turned away.<br />
<br />
The Thon kids have a ball. The dancers learn what it is like to suffer...and to survive.<br />
<br />
Football culture? Football players are involved as well in supporting Thon. In fact, all the athletes at Penn State put on a show for the dancers on Saturday night. The athletic teams spend hours developing, practicing, and then competing for the best dance routine, and it's a highlight of the weekend...you can view it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtcWwc3tB0A&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">here</a>. It's a great laugh, especially the men's hockey team and this year's winner, the men's swim team.<br />
<br />
In the end, in my opinion, the Penn State student culture is defined by Penn State students striving to make an impact on the world. The students contribute tremendously to the families whose kids are suffering from cancer, and to researching a cure for pediatric cancer. This year, they raised over $12 million. Since the beginning, over $101 million. For the kids.<br />
<br />
And you know what? On Monday morning, the Thon mission will start all over again. New leadership for Thon will be named, a transition plan to impart all the lessons from this year's successes and failures will occur, and committees will be formed to start the effort all over again for next year.<br />
<br />
The janitors were wrong. Louis Freeh was wrong. So was Mark Emmert. Football doesn't run everything at Penn State.<br />
<br />
If you want to know what the culture at Penn State is about, especially in terms of student life, look no further than Thon.<br />
<br />
Congratulations, Penn State students! For The Kids!!! $12.3 million plus. Every year I look at what Penn State students accomplish, and I'm absolutely amazed. As we all should be.<br />
<br />
The world's largest student-run philanthropy. That's what defines Penn State culture, much more than football does. And I suspect it always will.<br />
<br />
But it's also what's incredibly disturbing about the Sandusky crimes. Penn State's culture is defined by the acronymn "FTK". For The Kids. <br />
<br />
Sandusky violated first of all his victims, but also the entire Penn State University, through his heinous criminal actions. He struck at the core of Penn State's cultural beliefs which have always been about supporting children through Thon. He also struck at the core of the community's support of The Second Mile, the charity he founded, which has also been all about supporting children.<br />
<br />
That is what is so hard to accept. That this monster in our midst could go after the very kids that the culture of this school and this community could work so hard to support.<br />
<br />
As for a football culture? For any Penn Stater, they know better. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-45774078971609438312012-11-29T13:13:00.002-05:002012-11-29T21:56:06.806-05:00Penn State Football: Solid Performances in a Tumultuous YearThis has been an emotional couple of weeks for any Penn State football fan. <br />
<br />
The 2012 season ended in a fine way, with a superb win against Indiana, and then a tense, passion-filled finish in overtime against a tough Wisconsin team. In the last two games we saw Matt McGloin and Allen Robinson tie or break offensive records. At the Indiana game we saw linebacker Michael Mauti get injured. And we all cried as he was driven off the field in a cart.<br />
<br />
At the Wisconsin game we saw the 31 seniors who stayed despite the NCAA sanctions come out onto the field to be honored.<br />
<br />
We watched the year 2012 be put up on the east suites wall in honor of them, something that is normally reserved for undefeated years or championship seasons.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
We watched the defense stop Wisconsin and we saw kicker Sam Ficken win a game on the strength of his kicking leg in overtime.<br />
<br />
We saw Michael Mauti on the sideline motivating his team, all of whom wore #42 on their helmets. We saw a defense step up in the second quarter after Wisconsin scored two quick touchdowns in the first. We saw a team that had no quit in them.<br />
<br />
And we saw a crowd that stayed through the end of the Wisconsin game despite the bitter cold, that was there to help this team close the season well, even if it took extra minutes in overtime to do so.<br />
<br />
This week, we saw all sorts of accolades go to Penn State players and their coach. Head coach Bill O'Brien beat out undefeated Ohio State's Urban Meyer for Big Ten Coach of the Year.<br />
<br />
Well deserved, coach, well deserved! Because even under normal circumstances, replacing Joe Paterno would be a daunting challenge. Under the extraordinary circumstances that Bill O'Brien faced, it was downright amazing to achieve an 8-4 record.<br />
<br />
Also well-deserved are all the other Big Ten selections of Penn State players for various honors:<br />
<br />
Deion Barnes, Big Ten Freshman of the Year<br />
Michael Mauti, Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year<br />
Allen Robinson, Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year<br />
<br />
All-Big Ten Conference First Team Selections:<br />
Allen Robinson, <br />
Matt Stankiewitch<br />
John Urschel<br />
Jordan Hill<br />
Michael Mauti<br />
<br />
All-Big Ten Conference Honorable Mentions:<br />
Adrian Amos<br />
Deion Barnes<br />
Kyle Carter<br />
Mike Farrell<br />
Matt McGloin<br />
Stephon Morris<br />
<br />
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award:<br />
Jordan Hill<br />
<br />
A solid 8-4 season, which started as a 0-2 season. Who would have thought, after everything that this team experienced in its last year, that it would turn out like this? Not my husband Terry nor me.<br />
<br />
We had made all our away game reservations in May, before the sanctions were announced. That was a good thing, because they weren't changeable. We figured we were looking at a 4-8 or 5-7 season when the sanctions were announced, perhaps even worse. We were not looking forward to traveling to all those games to watch our team lose. The team exceeded our expectations by a long shot.<br />
<br />
Normally this week I would be engaged in speculation with friends,
colleagues, and my husband Terry as to where Penn State might be going
to a bowl game. It is a somewhat empty feeling to realize that the rest
of the college football season will pass us by. It has been several years since Penn State's season ended so early, and that was due to a losing season in 2004.<br />
<br />
Football for the rest of this season will still be
fun to watch, but it won't be quite the same when there are no stakes
involved for your team. <br />
<br />
To not go to a bowl game when a team puts in a solid performance of an 8-4 season, especially given the circumstances this team confronted, is difficult for all the students directly associated with football Saturdays.<br />
<br />
It's not just the players, who miss out on the opportunity to go someplace warm over the holidays. It's also the band members, the cheerleaders and the dance team who miss out. A bowl game was a reward for all of them for their hard work during the season.<br />
<br />
For us, it was how we spent our holidays. Every year we would wait until the first week of December to make our travel plans. Not this year. Our plans for the holiday are already set. <br />
<br />
A bowl game also gives the players extra practice sessions, and that can help set up a team for next year's season. Not this year. Not for Penn State.<br />
<br />
And it's not due to anything that this group of Penn State student-athletes or this new group of coaches did to create unfair advantage on the playing field of football. <br />
<br />
It's due to criminal activity by a serial pedophile who took advantage of his position as a retired football coach to molest children on campus and elsewhere.<br />
<br />
What happened to Penn State could have happened anywhere. Child sexual abuse is more common than we as a society care to admit. But because it is such a heinous crime, people are quick to react and to judge, often before all the facts are in. <br />
<br />
There are still court trials to be held to determine the guilt or innocence of Penn State administrators.<br />
<br />
In spite of the fact that the juries in those trials haven't even been chosen yet, the Penn State football program has been condemned and sanctioned in a way that exceeds anything the NCAA has ever done in response to criminal charges anywhere. <br />
<br />
There is an old folk song where the words are "There but for fortune go you and I."<br />
<br />
To all the fans of college football who now hate Penn State due to the vile acts of one man, let this be your mantra.<br />
<br />
What happened at Penn State could have happened on any college campus. There but for fortune go you and your beloved program. <br />
<br />
That is why it's very important to get to the truth as to how this could
have happened and understand why administrators at Penn State didn't report the 2001 shower incident to authorities. <br />
<br />
And that is why there still is much to be discovered on how to prevent a pedophile from invading a college campus and doing his ugly deeds in such a setting ever again. <br />
<br />
Everywhere we traveled this season - to Virginia, to Illinois, to Iowa, to Nebraska and to Purdue - college football fans approached us with sympathy rather than with disdain. They understood our pain.<br />
<br />
We had more welcoming comments at every place we visited than we
have ever had in the past. People went out of their way to ensure that
Penn Staters were greeted and respected. <br />
<br />
Travel to away games this year in fact was more fun than usual.
Especially when we won on the road. And most especially at Iowa!<br />
<br />
For that we will be eternally grateful. <br />
<br />
As I reflect on this season, it has been a remarkable one. One which exceeded all our expectations. For that, we thank the 31 seniors who stayed and led the way for the rest of the Penn State football team.<br />
<br />
This team does deserve that 2012 honor on the East wall of Beaver Stadium.<br />
<br />
Even if the year 2012 will remain one of the hardest years ever for Penn State and the State College community, a year that many of us would just as soon put behind us as rapidly as possible.<br />
<br />
Thank you, seniors, for doing all you did to give us hope that we will in fact recover from the tragedy that beset Penn State. Thank you for contributing to the healing in this town.<br />
<br />
You did your part to make us smile again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-47764429551063846142012-11-20T11:06:00.000-05:002012-11-21T15:27:57.206-05:00Penn State Football: Will Renewing Old Rivalries Be Worth It for Penn State?Especially if the old rivalries do not include Pittsburgh?<br />
<br />
With yesterday's announcement that Maryland will be joining the B1G conference in 2014, and with today's announcement that Rutgers will also join, I have been amused by some of the comments on my Facebook home page deriding the additions.<br />
<br />
I suppose, if you were looking at these additions from solely a football point of view, and if you weren't one to travel to watch games in person, you might ask, "What's the point?". Penn State has played Maryland in football 37 times. The record against Maryland is 35 wins, one loss, and one tie.<br />
<br />
The last time Penn State lost to Maryland was in 1961. One might look at this move and say that Penn State had found another team to beat up on every year. In fact that's what numerous people are saying. Ho hum. So what?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I was at the game for the 13-13 tie in 1989. It was a frustrating game. A tie is as bad as a loss, if not worse. It leaves you with this unresolved feeling, and a tie was not something Joe Paterno would ever go for. But Maryland did at the end of the game, rather than risk a loss.<br />
<br />
Penn State was playing Maryland at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, a baseball field ill-suited for football and force fit for that purpose. It wasn't the best environment. But College Park's stadium, which had only about 48,000 seats, had outgrown the demand for tickets for the Penn State game, so they moved the game to the Baltimore venue.<br />
<br />
A lot can change in twenty years. Memorial Stadium was torn down, replaced by Camden Yards. We were staying at the Inner Harbor Marriott in Baltimore for a Penn State-Maryland game the weekend they imploded all the warehouses and other buildings to create that new venue. We had a view of the implosions directly from our hotel room window.<br />
<br />
In fact we threw an implosion party after the game with our friends and their family who were diehard Maryland fans. The mini-bar bill for that implosion party was amazingly high. Live and learn. We haven't done that again. But we always enjoyed the interactions with Maryland fans and our excursions to Baltimore and the Inner Harbor.<br />
<br />
But I digress...<br />
<br />
There were actually some close games in the decade of the 1980's. Nail-biters. Penn State always wound up winning, but the games weren't decided until the fourth quarter. Bobby Ross was the coach from 1982-1986 and had an overall winning record of 39 wins, 19 losses, and 1 tie. He led his team to three straight ACC conference titles. Since then, only Ralph Friedgen has had a winning coaching record, and he also achieved an ACC conference title, in 2002.<br />
<br />
Penn State's own linebackers coach, Ron Vanderlinden, was head coach at Maryland from 1997-2000. He left after accumulating a losing record, but was recognized for paving the way for Ralph Friedgen's immediate success with solid recruiting. Vanderlinden was hired by Coach Joe Paterno and he was one of the two coaches retained by Coach Bill O'Brien when O'Brien took over in January 2012. <br />
<br />
In fact, Coach O'Brien himself may have had something to do with Friedgen's success. He coached the running backs at Maryland for two years before being named offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Duke in 2005. <br />
<br />
So the ties run deep between Penn State and Maryland, and not only as an old rivalry. It's not just athletics, either. The University of Maryland and Penn State University compete with each other all the time for the best academic students. Or cooperate with each other on research. There has been cross-hiring not only of coaches but also of professors and administrators.<br />
<br />
Maryland is located in an area where Penn State fans will flock to the game. In fact, even today, Byrd Stadium at the University of Maryland lists as its top crowd a 1975 game between 14th ranked Maryland and 9th ranked Penn State. That crowd was 58.973.<br />
<br />
With seating capacity of about 54,000 it wouldn't surprise me if the annual games between Penn State and Maryland were moved to FedEx Field, with a capacity of over 90,000. With 46,000 Penn State alumni living in Del-Mar-Va and another 316,000 living within 200 miles away in Pennsylvania, that will probably be necessary.<br />
<br />
And it wouldn't surprise me that, due to Maryland's entrance into the Big Ten, its football program will become more competitive. It is very dangerous to try to predict the future by looking at the past. Penn State had to make numerous adjustments when it joined the Big Ten. The nature of the personnel that were recruited changed. Especially when it came to size of the players. Maryland will adjust as well.<br />
<br />
As for other sports, like basketball or lacrosse, Maryland will be immediately competitive. And we will look forward to the challenge of playing them.<br />
<br />
What about Rutgers? Is this another school that Penn State can beat up on in football? In twenty-four games dating back to 1918, Rutgers has won only twice. In 1918, and in 1988. <br />
<br />
My husband Terry and I actually missed that 16-21 loss in 1988. His daughter had the audacity to get married on a Penn State football weekend. We had also missed the win in 1987 for our own wedding. That was an accident. October 10, 1987 was the open date. After our wedding was arranged, the schedule was changed for TV coverage.<br />
<br />
If you look at the series with Rutgers, there was one game in 1918, a six-year home and home series between 1950 and 1955, and then an annual competition between 1977 and 1995. Of those last seventeen contests, eleven were played at Beaver Stadium, and only six were played at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. <br />
<br />
Coach Joe Paterno always spoke highly of playing Rutgers, and he hired Dick Anderson, former head coach for Rutgers, to coach Penn State's offensive line. Dick Anderson retired last year from Penn State.<br />
<br />
When it was announced that Nebraska was joining the Big Ten, Paterno expressed his displeasure that the B1G conference was moving west rather than east. He especially wanted to see Rutgers join the Big Ten. <br />
<br />
Why? Recruiting. Over the years Paterno built very strong ties to New Jersey high schools and coaches. Playing every few years at the Meadowlands was a showcase for recruits and also a compelling value proposition for New Jersey players to come to Penn State and play on their home turf once in a while.<br />
<br />
Paterno also knew that with about 40,000 plus Penn State alumni living in the NY-NJ-Conn tri-state area, and with that big group of 300,000 plus alumni living next door in PA, the Meadowlands would essentially be a Penn State home game. And it was.<br />
<br />
Rutgers as a football school has changed significantly since 1995, the last time Penn State played against them. In the last seven years, Rutgers has had six winning seasons, and the school is currently ranked 18th in the BCS poll and contending for its first ever Big East championship.<br />
<br />
Penn Staters now have another reason to root for Rutgers against Pitt this weekend (as if we really needed another reason!) <br />
<br />
In 2006, Rutgers had its best season with an 11-2 record and a final ranking of 12. This was under the leadership of Coach Greg Schiano, who left in January 2012 to take over as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coach Kyle Flood, promoted from within, appears to be poised to continue the winning tradition.<br />
<br />
Rutgers also has built a new stadium since Penn State stopped playing them, and that stadium now has a capacity of 52,454. However, as with Maryland's stadium, that capacity might not be enough to satisfy the demand for tickets to a Rutgers-Penn State game.<br />
<br />
My former students are already planning their tailgates for MetLife Stadium (the Meadowlands)! <br />
<br />
Personally I'm excited about both schools entering the B1G conference. Why? Because as someone who has
traveled to every away game that Penn State plays, I'm quite
tired of getting on and off planes to get to most B1G games. It will be nice to hop in the car and drive to two away games within a four hour drive. Until now, Ohio State was the closest away game, more than five hours away.<br />
<br />
I'm especially pleased that Illinois might move to the Legends Division. Why? Because that's the most difficult school to get to from Penn State. It involves a flight either to Indianapolis or to Chicago and then a two hour drive. We used to fly Delta directly into Champaign, but Delta dropped that route this year. Flying there less than bi-annually will suit me just fine.<br />
<br />
As someone who is also a season ticket holder for men's and women's basketball, Rutgers and Maryland both add greatly to the quality of competition in that sport.<br />
<br />
As someone who is on the faculty at Penn State and recognizes the quality of academics from both schools as well as the potential for research collaboration, I see both Rutgers and Maryland as a great fit for the overall goals of the Big Ten. <br />
<br />
Will it make Penn State fans happy? Penn Staters like to win games, and the past would indicate we will always have a chance to win against both schools. However, the past doesn't predict the future.<br />
<br />
There is a certain group of
fans who are disappointed it wasn't Pitt and are very hopeful that Pitt
will be the next announcement if the B1G expands to sixteen teams.<br />
<br />
Pitt
in fact would be a good choice for further expansion, if such is in the
cards in the future, but they too would have to pay a $50 million exit
fee to the ACC, not so easy.<br />
<br />
Its size is comparable to state
universities. It's a state related institution. Like Maryland and Rutgers, Pitt is a member of the
Association of American Universities (AAU), one of the 63 leading research universities in the United States. <br />
<br />
But there is not so much gain for the B1G by adding Pitt. No new cable
deals, no new recruiting. Penn State already has western PA. covered. Perhaps adding Pitt and a MAC school like the University of Buffalo (also an AAU member) would bring added value?<br />
<br />
If the B1G conference is looking at two more teams, it's hard to tell at this point which teams might be available or willing. Especially given the desire to have B1G schools be part of the AAU.<br />
<br />
But, if the B1G conference planned to stick with just fourteen teams, why is its new logo B1G? That G sure can convert to a 6 easily! Or maybe the logo can just be converted to BIG.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-23816880850165893762012-11-15T08:43:00.004-05:002012-11-15T08:57:05.219-05:00Penn State Student-Athletes Host Silent Charity Auction for Penn State Dance MarathonHead to <a href="http://athletesforthekids.cstvauctions.com/gallery.cfm">http://athletesforthekids.cstvauctions.com/gallery.cfm</a> to bid on several different offers related to Penn State sports.<br />
<br />
Just a few of the offerings listed are a football autographed by Coach Bill O'Brien, a set of season tickets to women's soccer games, a Penn State golf outing package, behind the scenes with the Lady Lions basketball team, or a photo shoot with the Nittany Lion.<br />
<br />
Whether your favorite sport is fencing, lacrosse, football, volleyball, or soccer, there is something for everyone on this list.<br />
<br />
Bidding ends on November 19. So support the Student Athlete Advisory Board's initiatives to raise money for a great cause and submit your bid soon!Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-67927262574836950542012-11-12T08:17:00.001-05:002012-11-12T16:25:27.011-05:00Penn State at Nebraska: A Rivalry Mired in Controversy IntensifiesThere is no turning back the clock. Not to 1982, when #2 Nebraska played #8 Penn State and lost its chance to play for a national championship due to an errant call on the sidelines.<br />
<br />
How do I know that call was errant? A call that Penn State and Nebraska fans have been arguing about for thirty years? What Tom Shatel of the Omaha World-Herald called the "Crooked Sideline"? <br />
<br />
Mike McCloskey is the tight end who caught the ball out of bounds that led to Penn State's touchdown and win as time ran out. <br />
<br />
At one point in my professional career, before I arrived at Penn State, I happened to talk with someone at work about Penn State football. This man had been a college football official in 1982. I don't even remember his name. But I remember the conversation as if it were yesterday.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
This colleague was not the official who made the call. But he <u>was</u> officiating on the sidelines for that Penn State-Nebraska game and he was involved in the consultation on that call.<br />
<br />
It was a bad call, he told me. Nebraska had sent its game tape to prove to the conference officials in charge of officiating that game that they had been wronged. There was a referee meeting the week after that game to review the game tape, go over what happened, and make sure such a bad call didn't happen again.<br />
<br />
This was, of course, before instant replays had become a regular part
of the college football game. Now, football games still get some bad calls, mostly errant penalty calls, which aren't subject to review. But it's
far less often that a play subject to review, like a touchdown, turns out to be a bad
call. The errant calls are usually reversed today.<br />
<br />
Terry had the pleasure of going to the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1983 to watch Penn State beat Georgia for its first national championship. Had there been instant replay then, Nebraska would probably have been there instead of Penn State.<br />
<br />
And so I can understand the hard feelings over the last thirty years that Nebraska was cheated out of a national championship, a championship that would have been the first under head coach Tom Osborne. Instead, it was the first under head coach Joe Paterno.<br />
<br />
No, there's no turning back the clock. Not to 1994, when Nebraska and Penn State were both undefeated, but in the pre-BCS college football environment, it was the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll that determined who would play whom.<br />
<br />
Nebraska was ranked #1, Penn State was ranked #2, and Miami, a 10-1 team, was ranked #3.<br />
<br />
There was a lot of press sentiment towards Nebraska's head coach Tom Osborne, who had had a stellar career at Nebraska but had still not won a national championship. By that time, Joe Paterno's teams had won two.<br />
<br />
Penn State had the best and most explosive offense on the field that year. But its offense was perhaps too explosive. The problem was that the offense scored too quickly and wasn't on the field much. The defense was on the field a lot, and was perceived to give up too many points.<br />
<br />
Especially at Indiana. Even though they were late touchdowns leading to a 35-29 score and meaningless. Even if the winner of the game was never in doubt. The week before, Penn State had beaten Ohio State resoundingly with a 63-14 score.<br />
<br />
But after Indiana, Penn State was downgraded to #2. And a certain number of Ohio sports writers appeared to have a lot to do with that. Why? We will never know for sure.<br />
<br />
Had there been a BCS in 1994, Penn State would have played Nebraska
for the national championship. As it was, Penn State was locked into
the Rose Bowl contractually. <br />
<br />
I have a vivid memory of sitting in a ballroom on New Year's Eve in downtown Los Angeles the night before Penn State was to play Oregon for the Rose Bowl. We were watching the Orange Bowl. We were all rooting for Miami for the first time in our collective Penn State fan lives.<br />
<br />
Due to the way polls determined national champions, and due to the Big Ten tie-ins to the Rose Bowl that year, the only way #2 Penn State would gain even a share of the national championship was for Nebraska to lose and Penn State to win.<br />
<br />
Nebraska won, and so did Penn State. Dilemma unsolved! Nebraska wound up the consensus #1 in the polls, Penn State #2. Even though Penn State beat Oregon resoundingly and didn't lose a game all season. In past years, when there were two undefeateds, there were two national champions. Not in 1994. Why? To this day, I'm not sure. <br />
<br />
Rivalry, anyone? My husband Terry has "hated" Nebraska ever since, even though when you really look at the situation, it had more to do with the media, and with the way national championships were determined, than it did with Nebraska football or its fans.<br />
<br />
We had two good, clean games, in 2002 and 2003. Penn State won at home, 40-7. Nebraska won at home, 18-10. No controversy at either. But also no settling of those prior scores. Well, maybe a little in 2002. That blow-out win felt especially good.<br />
<br />
So fast forward to Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. A replay official viewing video evidence does not find sufficient evidence to overturn the errant call in the fourth quarter that gave a touchback to Nebraska rather than a touchdown to Penn State.<br />
<br />
That replay official should have slowed down the video review to still shots or looked at both the Fox and ABC tapes available in the booth. Some photos have since emerged, including one published on the front page of the Omaha World-Herald, that clearly show Matt Lehman breaking the plane on the goal line with full control of the ball. In fact, Tom Shatel of this newspaper has suggested that the "Crooked End Zone" at Memorial Stadium evens the score for the 1982 game. You can read his article <a href="http://www.omaha.com/article/20121111/NEWS/311119970/1002#shatel-huskers-mccloskey-moment-maybe-nu-s-due-for-some-luck" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
No Tom. Your 1994 national championship evened that score. This errant call creates a new score to settle!<br />
<br />
But back to the game. With the score 27-23 in favor of Nebraska as a result of that call,
rather than 30-27 in favor of Penn State, there was still plenty of time
for Penn State to have another scoring run to widen the lead. There was still plenty of
time for a big defensive stop. <br />
<br />
There were over seven minutes left in the game. <br />
<br />
Did the errant call matter? Of course it did. Perhaps it did. Honestly I have no idea. There was too much time left.<br />
<br />
I consider the defining moments of that game the first six minutes of the third quarter. When Nebraska erased a 14-point deficit by scoring two touchdowns back-to-back very quickly.<br />
<br />
Terry had turned to me at halftime and asked whom I thought would win. The
Penn State fans around us were confident that Penn State would win. I wasn't so
sure and neither was Terry.<br />
So I proposed that whichever team made the best second half adjustments would win.<br />
<br />
So
when Nebraska came out after the half, decimated our defense with its
rush offense, and scored two touchdowns in the first six minutes of the
third quarter, tying the game at 20-20, we knew it would be an uphill
battle from then on.<br />
<br />
Nebraska had made the best second half adjustments. <br />
<br />
Penn State's offense was still gaining ground and producing points (assuming the officials let them stick) but the defense did not seem to be able to stop the dual running threats of Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez and running back Ameer Abdullah. They combined for a net total of 220 rushing yards in the game.<br />
<br />
The crowd, which had been pretty silent in the first half, really woke up.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was where we were sitting, down low in the corner of the end zone, surrounded by mostly red. Perhaps it was due to a couple of loud whistling Nebraska fans behind me.<br />
<br />
But this was the noisiest environment I have been in for a very long time. In fact, I can't recall any place noisier that wasn't Beaver Stadium. <br />
<br />
The momentum in the second half had clearly shifted to Nebraska, and I don't think that a 30-27 score in favor of Penn State would have stopped Nebraska. It would have just motivated them more. <br />
<br />
Unless that touchdown had the effect of shifting momentum back to Penn State and creating a spark for its defense to stop the run and quiet down that crowd, something they hadn't been able to do in the second half at all.<br />
<br />
No, you can't blame the officials for Penn State's loss. Not with that much time left. However, what made this unusual was the fact that instant replay did not overturn the field officials' decision. That the replay official found insufficient video evidence when others found plenty of sufficient video evidence. It was one more thing that Penn State needed to overcome in a close contest and uphill battle in the second half. <br />
<br />
There are some who would say that Big Ten officials are conspiring against Penn State to help them lose. That the Big Ten might be embarrassed if Penn State under sanctions won too many games and so the officials have been somehow "briefed" to give Penn State opposing teams an advantage through unfair officiating.<br />
<br />
I'm not ready to subscribe to any such conspiracy theory, even though at times I have wondered about some of the calls against Penn State, especially penalty calls that can't be reviewed. I believe that the Big Ten officials are just trying to do their jobs, and that sometimes it's hard to see what really happened.<br />
<br />
I know. That play occurred right in front of us and we couldn't tell if Matt Lehman broke the plane with full control of the ball. It was close.<br />
<br />
But I do think that the Big Ten conference has to review what happened at this game and at others around the conference where the officiating this season appears to be worse than usual, even with instant replay.<br />
<br />
As for the environment at Nebraska, let me just say this.<br />
<br />
Thank you, Nebraska fans, for being so welcoming to Penn State fans. You far surpassed your own reputation as being the friendliest fans in college football.<br />
<br />
Nebraska fans of all ages came up to us and greeted us. Made sure we were having a good time. Expressed sympathy for the players who are being subject to sanctions due to no fault of their own. Expressed a sincere desire that we be treated well by everyone in Lincoln. Told us they were praying for Penn State to overcome the disastrous circumstances of the last year.<br />
<br />
One fan came up to Terry after the game and asked if he had a great time in Lincoln. It was the wrong moment to ask such a question. We had just lost the game. Terry said no, why would he enjoy losing?<br />
<br />
The fan seemed crestfallen, and went on to say that he had a great time at Beaver Stadium last year and hoped that the Nebraska fans had returned the favor.<br />
<br />
Terry reassured him that the fans were great, and felt badly, as he should have, about his initial grumpiness. Terry just hates to lose.<br />
<br />
Can Penn State and Nebraska have an intense rivalry and yet have such great respect and friendliness towards each other?<br />
<br />
Time will tell, but I for one am glad that Nebraska is on our schedule as an annual Big Ten contest. Win or lose, it's always intense, and I suspect it will get more so over the coming years.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-7970293788566618242012-11-05T09:15:00.001-05:002012-11-05T14:21:28.177-05:00Penn State Football at Purdue: A Damp Cold Day Didn't Dampen Penn StateSelf, take note. Next time the weather calls for 30% chance of rain and mid-40's temperatures, pay attention. Assume it will feel like 25 degrees. Because at Ross-Ade stadium it did. In fact it rained quite hard that morning and on the way to the game. I was prepared with rain gear and lots of layers plus a wool hat but needed better protection for my feet and hands. <br />
<br />
I hadn't packed my warm toasty waterproof boots nor my Goretex waterproof mittens. Those would have helped immensely! I should also know better. No matter how many games I've been to over the years, that first really cold game of a season always seems like one that I'm not quite prepared for. The Purdue-Penn State game was the first really cold game of the season. And I was very fortunate that it didn't rain during the game. It could have been worse.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Basically my hands and feet were so cold by half-time that I spent the entire half-time in the ladies' room under a heater to warm up. I missed the Purdue half-time show for Military Appreciation Day, which was very disappointing. The Purdue band is quite good and entertaining to watch. <br />
<br />
The ladies' room heater blasting warm air did the trick. I was able to tolerate the rest of the time in the stands. And honestly I didn't want to leave. I wanted to savor every moment of Penn State's third Big Ten road win.<br />
<br />
The game itself was uncomfortable at first. Purdue scored on its first drive, but was held to a field goal by Penn State's defense.<br />
<br />
Penn State's first drive stalled at the fifty yard line, and on 4th and 1 Matt McGloin threw an incomplete pass to Brandon Moseby-Felder. Not a good start.<br />
<br />
In typical fashion my husband Terry was swearing at Bill O'Brien's latest fourth down coaching call. On the 50-yard line and you're going to go for it on 4th and 1 rather than punt? A punt that could have pinned Purdue deep in its own territory? How stupid!<br />
<br />
The call didn't make sense to us, and probably never will. I was thinking that even if you're going to risk 4th and 1 at that point in the game, why not do the quarterback sneak that has worked so well all season?<br />
<br />
Bill O'Brien has warned us numerous times that 4th downs are always a possibility. It has felt okay when you're around the 30-yard line and worrying about whether a struggling kicker can make a field goal. But on the 50-yard line? It's fun when it works, but maddening when it doesn't.<br />
<br />
In any case, it turned out that it didn't matter. Three plays later, Purdue fumbled the ball and Penn State recovered on its own 41-yard line. Basically a nine-yard gain in field position. Whew. Sigh of relief.<br />
<br />
Penn State was able to turn that into a field goal, but not a touchdown. The score was tied 3-3. <br />
<br />
Then, after a five-play drive stalled for Purdue, quarterback Matt McGloin completed a 42-yard pass from the Purdue 48-yard line to wide receiver Brandon Moseby-Felder. One play later, fullback Michael Zordich ran it in for a touchdown. Two quick plays for seven points.<br />
<br />
The first quarter would end with a 10-3 score in favor of Penn State. But it wasn't pretty. On the next Penn State drive Ricardo Allen of Purdue sacked Matt McGloin for a 10-yard loss that ended the drive.<br />
<br />
In the second quarter, Penn State's Michael Mauti was called for kick-catching interference, giving Purdue possession on the 50-yard line. I turned to Terry and said that I didn't have a good feeling about this game. Purdue's drive stalled at the 28-yard line and they missed a field goal. <br />
<br />
Penn State tacked on another field goal to make the score 13-3 and then with 1:58 left in the half and starting at the PSU 45, Matt McGloin threw a 31-yard pass completion to Brandon Moseby-Felder. Matt McGloin rushed for 9 yards, and Michael Zordich for 15 to make the score 20-3.<br />
<br />
Purdue could not get a last drive going with 1:15 left on the clock. The half ended with Purdue quarterback Robert Marve fumbling after a sack by Mike Hull and recovering his own fumble. <br />
<br />
And so I started to feel a bit better when I went to the ladies' room to warm up my hands and feet. <br />
<br />
The radio in the ladies' room was giving first half statistics. The stat that was the most remarkable to me was time of possession. Purdue possessed the ball for 17:19 during the first half and came away with three points. Penn State had the ball for 12:41 and came away with twenty points. <br />
<br />
But also, Penn State was called for four penalties totaling 45 yards. Purdue was called for two penalties totaling 18 yards. We were beginning to feel that the officials had been directed to favor Purdue. It is a feeling we have had before in other games this season, and it makes one wonder.<br />
<br />
However, we also did not benefit from watching the game on TV where re-runs can help clarify the appropriateness of penalty calls. Were the penalties just? I would like to hear your perspective on this in the comments section.<br />
<br />
Penn State had overcome a lot in the first half to score twenty points. In addition, kicker Sam Ficken had been reliable on two field goals and two extra point attempts.<br />
<br />
Penn State made the most of its first possession of the third quarter and tacked on another touchdown, using Zach Zwinak's rushing prowess for most of that drive. <br />
<br />
After a Purdue three-and-out, Penn State conducted a seven-play drive and tacked on the fourth touchdown of the game, making the score 34-3.<br />
<br />
Kicker Sam Ficken scored ten of those points!<br />
<br />
As the sun started to come down, we heard someone behind us yell "Go Clock Go". It was getting even chillier and the game was over. The Purdue stands emptied out. It seemed that only the Purdue band remained, playing its tunes with gusto and drowning out the small Penn State pep band right next to them.<br />
<br />
Actually the Purdue band was a lot of fun to watch and listen to. Penn State's Beaver Stadium seems to rely a bit too much on piped-in music, and Penn State's band doesn't play nearly as much during a game. Purdue didn't have any piped-in music. Its band played often and incessantly.<br />
<br />
Purdue put together one last drive and scored a touchdown with zero seconds remaining on the clock. The final was 34-9. <br />
<br />
And so, another victory for Penn State in this most unusual year. For Matt McGloin, a pretty phenomenal day, achieving a new passing record of 321 yards, two touchdowns on 59% completion. On defense, Gerald Hodges led the defense with six tackles and two assists, including three tackles for total loss of ten yards. Sean Stanley achieved the only sack of the day with a loss of thirteen yards.<br />
<br />
A great day for them and for the entire team! <br />
<br />
On the way home from the game, I sat next to a Purdue season ticket holder. He lives in Indianapolis and was on his way to California through Detroit for a business trip.<br />
<br />
His resigned reflections were sobering. Essentially when it comes to football, Purdue fans seem to be used to a rough go of it. Their expectations for bowl games are almost non-existent. This man told me that f they're lucky, the Music City bowl might be in the cards for a winning season.<br />
<br />
Even the Lafayette based media was not very optimistic about Purdue's chances against Penn State, and there were some calls for firing the coach. I heard three radio broadcasters pronounce before the game that Penn State would win. The local newspaper also picked Penn State. Although all these media chose scores that were a lot closer than the 34-9 final. <br />
<br />
So while it was a good road win for Penn State, it was also sobering to think about how the Nittany Lions and its fans might evolve if Coach O'Brien can't recruit the right kind of talent. And Penn State doesn't quite have the basketball reputation that Purdue has - at least not yet - to serve as an alternative source of die-hard passion for Penn State fans.<br />
<br />
A lot is riding on Penn State's ability to keep the recruits who have declared so far and to keep the wonderful talent that has emerged this year to create what is now likely to be a winning season against all odds. <br />
<br />
Go Penn State! Beat the Cornhuskers! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-33829924564558309022012-10-28T20:44:00.000-04:002012-10-28T21:27:52.038-04:00Penn State Football vs Ohio State: Adversity Reigned in Loss to BuckeyesEarlier this week I was invited on the student-run radio show <a href="http://motownmornings.blogspot.com/2012/10/we-interviewed-writer-of-view-from.html">Motown Mornings</a> to make a prediction for the Penn State-Ohio State clash at Beaver Stadium.<br />
<br />
I'm not one to usually predict scores, in fact yesterday morning I was feeling a bit like I might have jinxed the game by predicting that Penn State would pull off a 30-27 win. The actual score was 35-23 for Ohio State.<br />
<br />
I was in the right neighborhood on total points scored. But not on the final outcome.<br />
<br />
There were, however, a couple of key observations I made on that interview that turned out to be true.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
First, I was worried about Ohio State's close calls against Indiana (where OSU won 52-49) and Purdue (where OSU won in second overtime). I predicted that those close calls would cause Ohio State to be very motivated to fix whatever weaknesses caused those close calls.<br />
<br />
Second, I stated that the Penn State offense needed to score early and often on Saturday. Which they didn't do. In fact, the Penn State offense didn't score until the fourth quarter. Penn State's first touchdown was the result of a blocked punt, and a Sam Ficken field goal added three points in the third quarter.<br />
<br />
And finally, I stated that Penn State needed to score at least 30 points in order to beat Ohio State. The team fell short on that as well, scoring 23 points versus Ohio State's 35 points.<br />
<br />
A participant behind me in the stands started complaining that he and his buddy had wasted $200 only to see Penn State lose.<br />
<br />
Wow. Would they really have wanted to stay home? Didn't they realize that a game is played to see who wins? That there are no guarantees? Especially when an undefeated team coached by a very talented Urban Meyer is the visiting team?<br />
<br />
I realize that $100 per ticket was a lot of money, especially considering that the seats were worth about $70 apiece. <br />
<br />
But they had just experienced one of the most fantastic environments in college football in the fourth largest stadium in the world for normal attendance: a night game of 107,818 very loud fans all dressed in white and on their feet for most of the game tremendous noise to try to help Penn State win this game.<br />
<br />
At times the stands shook more than I have ever experienced at Beaver Stadium, thanks to the student section to our right.<br />
<br />
Heeding Coach Bill O'Brien's plea for students to abandon their "Diet Cokes" and be in the stands at kickoff, the students were in fact on time and very boisterous and entertaining throughout. Proving again why ESPN has declared it the best student section in the country. <br />
<br />
Diet Cokes? Really Coach O'Brien? Don't you realize that Penn State is a Pepsi school? LOL...<br />
<br />
There were great emotional highs: the first half defense, the blocked punt, the made field goal. There were raucous celebrations in the stands. It was fun at times.<br />
<br />
There were also great emotional lows: four sacks of Matt McGloin, missed blocks, dropped passes, strange penalties, a failed fake punt. And as the game progressed it became very clear that Penn State's defense couldn't contain Ohio State's offense and the Penn State offense couldn't overcome all the adversity to make a fourth quarter miracle happen. <br />
<br />
Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller was brilliant and interesting in
how he executed the offense and overcame the noise factor in the second
half through unusual hand
signals. Miller's passing statistics were unimpressive. His ability to
run was hard for our defense to stop. He earned 134 rushing yards of
OSU's 234 rushing yards total. <br />
<br />
The Penn State team lost the game. But they didn't quit. They were beat by a better team last night.<br />
<br />
It appears that Ohio State did in fact figure out its defensive weaknesses. Or perhaps the team figured out Penn State's offensive weaknesses.<br />
<br />
Penn State hung with Ohio State in the first half in a defensive battle. Essentially, in the second half, Penn State was beat up on the line of scrimmage, play after play after play.<br />
<br />
With a paltry 28 net yards rushing, the OSU defense shut down Penn State's running game. That statistic is skewed quite a bit though by four sacks of quarterback Matt McGloin, which accounted for 37 rushing yards lost.<br />
<br />
But still, it's hard to win a game against a tough Big Ten team if all that can be relied upon is passing.<br />
<br />
And speaking of passing, quarterback Matt McGloin didn't have much time to throw. The Ohio State defense blitzed and blitzed, and the Penn State offensive line kept missing its blocks. And sometimes, when Matt McGloin did get off a pass, receivers wouldn't hold on to complete. <br />
<br />
Sometimes these days as a Penn State fan you just hold your breath and wonder what Coach O'Brien is going to cook up on fourth down. He took a huge risk in the third quarter with the score 14-10 in favor of Ohio State when he ordered a pass rather than a punt on the OSU 43 yard line. <br />
<br />
It was the sort of play that would have been deemed brilliant if it worked, simply because it's unexpected. Punter Alex Butterworth did throw an adequate if wobbly pass into wide receiver Derek Day's hands. But the ball wasn't caught, giving Ohio State a short field to work with for a touchdown.<br />
<br />
So there was some swearing in the stands instead.<br />
<br />
Again, Penn State was beat by a better team, but in my estimation, it was a privilege to be there, win or lose. <br />
<br />
One aspect of last night's game I was very glad to see was that all three Big Uglies were there. The three Duda brothers, John Paul and
David, were below us in their funny masks and uniforms dancing and entertaining the
crowds.<br />
<br />
Several times in the past difficult months I have been asked by my students and others - mostly young people - what would happen to the guy who posed with the Uglies as Joe Paterno.<br />
<br />
That person would be Ralph DiFranco, a very dedicated Penn State fan who lives near Columbus Ohio. I had spoken with Ralph at the Ohio State game last year, and he told me he might don the Paterno mask for special appearances only. <br />
<br />
Sadly, a lot has happened since then. But I do hope he has the opportunity to do that someday. <br />
<br />
The Penn State-Ohio State was the right moment for Ralph's debut appearance as Coach O'Brien! Whom any Penn State fan has also learned to love and respect this year.<br />
<br />
I ran into Ralph on the way back to our car. He showed me his special mask and outfit he has made that includes cleft chin,
bushy eyebrows, earphones, and all. I had the opportunity to take his photo.<br />
<br />
He told me that it has been a difficult adjustment this year, but that the Big Uglies were back to support the team. Although he also confessed that the cleft chin on his mask needs a bit of work...<br />
<br />
I think it's quite brilliant! But then, I don't have to wear it, as he does...<br />
<br />
And so, the Big Uglies are back, Coach O'Brien has a lot of work to do to prepare for an away game at Purdue this weekend, and there's this pesky problem of Hurricane Sandy headed directly for Centre County, Pennsylvania.<br />
<br />
Last I checked, Accuweather was predicting that the eye of the storm would basically pass overhead.<br />
<br />
Before the game yesterday, I ran into Dave Joyner, the Interim Director of Athletics for Penn State, in the grocery store. I had already calculated that it's over 500 miles to drive to Purdue.<br />
<br />
I suggested that if he is going to hire a bus to get the cheerleaders and pep band there, we might want to join. I'm not sure if our flights from State College will happen on Friday. It depends on how this whole weather system evolves and the airlines' ability to adjust.<br />
<br />
Should be an interesting week, where other issues besides football will dominate.<br />
<br />
For all the readers of this blog on the East Coast, please stay safe!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-3969140711188181352012-10-22T20:03:00.000-04:002012-10-22T20:17:27.470-04:00Penn State Football: A MOST Satisfying Win at Iowa and a Call to ActionThe gold "America Needs Farmers" campaign rally towels were on every seat, including the seats where the Penn State fans were congregated. Mixed in with Penn State fans were numerous Iowa fans. Evidently Penn State had returned some of its seat allotments, and we were unlucky enough to have four Iowa fans - two couples - in front of us swinging their towels with gusto, so our view from the stands for this game looked something like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvCGQUXSVDY/UIW2HuMaGKI/AAAAAAAAFY8/PfXUuZV7i58/s1600/DSC07933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvCGQUXSVDY/UIW2HuMaGKI/AAAAAAAAFY8/PfXUuZV7i58/s320/DSC07933.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's not that we minded too much. Once the score became 24-0 at halftime, and then 31-0 and 38-0 the towels were swung with somewhat less enthusiasm and less often. One couple stopped swinging their towels when a towel hit my face and I asked them to please stop, which we very much appreciated. The other couple kept up their non-stop enthusiasm well into the fourth quarter, as Iowa scored two late touchdowns and I ducked a lot to avoid being swatted. But they also left before the end of the game, well before Iowa's last touchdown made the score 38-14 in favor of Penn State.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> As for us, watching Penn State decimate Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in front of a "Black and Gold Spirit Night" crowd was well worth the trouble to get to Iowa City for the game. And trust me, it was trouble. There was no easy way to get there, and the connections from State College were, well, challenging at best. We left home 5 a.m. on Friday morning and returned home at midnight on Sunday night. All for a game that started at 7 p.m. CDT on Saturday. I went to the mall near our hotel to buy warmer clothes for the game and wrote a blog post in anticipation of the game to keep myself busy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVoB4Cudgs4/UIXNMG9EW8I/AAAAAAAAFaM/dh2a3pAimM4/s1600/DSC07801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uVoB4Cudgs4/UIXNMG9EW8I/AAAAAAAAFaM/dh2a3pAimM4/s320/DSC07801.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The stadium was sure spirited. The entire crowd near us stood for all four quarters. Normally at away games the trend has been to put the fans up in the nosebleed section. Iowa has not yet followed that trend. We were close to the field. If we wanted to see the game, we had to stand. If we wanted to sit, we could watch it on the Jumbotron, but of course that way you could see only what the cameras featured.<br />
<br />
In fact, that's why we go to the games rather than watch them on TV. You see a lot more of what happens in a football game because your eyes can take in a heck of a lot more than the TV cameras can. <span id="goog_2015536205"></span><span id="goog_2015536206"></span><br />
<br />
Unless, of course, you're standing in the 6th row between the five and ten yard line and you have these towel swingers in front of you. Even without the towels, from that low angle you can only see clearly until about the 35-yard line on your side of the field. After that, your depth perception becomes very distorted. What looks like a five-yard run can actually be fifteen yards. You can't see sideline pass catches. It's hard to follow the ball. So...when the team was playing on the other side of the field, we just sat down, enjoyed the rest, and watched it on the Jumbotron. It was just easier.<br />
<br />
It always confounds us why people like low seats. We much prefer higher seats, where we can see the entire field. And we can sit through the entire game. Sorry, but we're not exactly young anymore.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, when the Penn State team was in the Red Zone in front of us, it was a lot of fun, and you could catch all the action up close. Even if you had to stand.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjcojMVSW-I/UIXJKVDzdkI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/2cos00WGo14/s1600/DSC07889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zjcojMVSW-I/UIXJKVDzdkI/AAAAAAAAFZ0/2cos00WGo14/s320/DSC07889.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
But let me back up, because I do need to also acknowledge one other thing about the Iowa fans we encountered: numerous fans approached us, welcomed us to the Hawkeye Express or to Kinnick Stadium, and wished us well.
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style><br />
<br />
Several expressed real sympathy and sorrow for what has happened at Penn State over the past year as a result of the Sandusky criminal activity, and many also expressed a desire that Penn State recover quickly from the losses it has already encountered, and will continue to encounter, as a result of the NCAA sanctions. Admiration for Coach Bill O'Brien was also expressed numerous times.<br />
<br />
And that felt good. Because Iowa has become quite a fierce rival, and we had some negative experiences in 2010, the last time we visited Kinnick Stadium, with just a few fans that made us wonder what it would be like this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YTzsiPrXA/UIXNihcDS0I/AAAAAAAAFaU/-eyzz40Q5vw/s1600/DSC07725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YTzsiPrXA/UIXNihcDS0I/AAAAAAAAFaU/-eyzz40Q5vw/s320/DSC07725.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Add to that the fact that we would be riding to and from the game on the Hawkeye Express from Coralville, and we were a bit fearful about how the Sandusky scandal would impact our experience at Iowa. <br />
<br />
The student-run blog Onward State showed a photo from the Iowa game with five individuals wearing prison stripes with the name J. Sandusky on their shirts. You can see it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151947981930663&set=a.153687930662.147352.143212655662&type=1&theater" target="_blank">here</a> if you choose. What I would like to express to all who view that photo is that those few tasteless individuals were only five of the 70,000+ fans present, and NOT representative of the majority of Iowa fans we met that day.<br />
<br />
The fans we met offered us beer, brats, seats at their tailgates, and expressed their desire that we be treated very well (as long as we didn't win the game).<br />
<br />
And even after the game, the fans who stuck around until the end of the game and rode with us on the Hawkeye Express congratulated us as we entered the train and expressed how much they admired how the game was coached.<br />
<br />
In fact, my husband Terry and I can't agree more. We are very impressed right now with what Coach Bill O'Brien and his cadre of assistant coaches have done with this team. <br />
<br />
But more importantly, we are impressed with what this team has done. In the midst of all the adversity confronting Penn State football, and despite the losses of seventeen scholarship players, many of whom who were key players involved in spring practice, the players who stayed have adjusted to so many things.<br />
<br />
These players have adjusted to a new coaching system, to a brand new language on positions and play calls, and to a fast-paced game that is confounding every coach that Penn State plays.<br />
<br />
These Penn State players have overcome weaknesses or adversity in the
last five games and found a way to win. They have done a tremendous job
and their motivation is what is causing us all to realize that Penn
State football is not only still a great deal of fun, it's the best sort of fun because it surprises and delights every week.<br />
<br />
We don't really know what to expect, but we know that this team will try its best to win. <br />
<br />
It's no small feat to not only win at Kinnick Stadium, but to DOMINATE Iowa at night in front of an amazing home crowd. We were all expecting a close game. It wasn't.<br />
<br />
So to fans we say, let's get out and support this team. Not only this weekend against Ohio State, where it's a given that the stadium will be full.<br />
<br />
Plan now to be there on November 17 when it gets pretty cold, and we play Indiana, a team that could surprise us, given their close game against Ohio State. You - we - are needed in the stands.<br />
<br />
Plan to be there on November 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Against Wisconsin. It's a game that could determine the Leaders Division championship, for which Penn State is a contender. Get ready now to don your cold garb and get your butts in the seats for this team's final game. <br />
<br />
There are tickets available. Buy them! Go to <a href="http://www.gopsusports.com/tickets/m-footbl-tickets.html">gopsusports.com</a> now and buy them at face value directly from Penn State. You don't have to go to scalpers to get good seats.<br />
<br />
Be there to support this team! They are a special group of guys who deserve our support.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-83393638381438780092012-10-20T11:44:00.000-04:002012-10-21T10:39:28.895-04:00Penn State Football at Iowa: It's Time to Win at Kinnick StadiumIt's been a long dry spell at Kinnick Stadium, and I'm not talking about the weather. In fact, as I write this, it is a misty morning in Iowa City. The prediction for later today is for clouds giving way to sun and a high of 60, low of 40, winds of 5 mph with gusts up to 7 mph. Right now at 9 a.m. it feels just a bit raw and damp outside.<br />
<br />
Yesterday it was windy enough that I started to worry about what I had brought to wear to the game. So I went to the mall across from the hotel to buy yet another layer of fleece and some light gloves to complement my hooded sweatshirt and light jacket.<br />
<br />
With the game starting at 7 p.m. we could be wearing cotton shirts at 3 p.m. and wishing for down jackets at 11 p.m. So layering seems the best approach.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Oh how I long for the pre-2001 days of being able to bring a back pack into a stadium with your extra clothes! Now stadium security will take such carry-in items away from you.<br />
<br />
We are also boarding a train to get to the stadium from our hotel (the black and gold <a href="http://www.iowanorthern.com/hawkeye/" target="_blank">Hawkeye Express</a>) - a first for us. So we are going to have to be inventive about how we carry all the garments we might need or want to shed for a long day and evening with a twenty degree difference in temperature range. Sun making way to dark night.<br />
<br />
Kinnick Stadium makes our top ten list as a college venue. It was the first Big Ten (B1G) stadium we visited in 1993, the year we joined the B1G conference. It was also the venue that made us realize that Penn State would fit in nicely in the B1G - with the exception of Northwestern, the schools were all similarly sized, public, large land-grant institutions with amazing football atmospheres. <br />
<br />
Iowa has a vibrant tailgating atmosphere, friendly fans, and most importantly a family based in Iowa City - the Cahoons and the Schraeders - consisting of both Iowa and Penn State fans who have welcomed us each year to a rather special tailgate in their reserved parking lot. Some of their tailgates have been quite elaborate, including a year when deep-fried turkey injected with cajun spices was on the menu, made in a special high-speed cooker. It's been fun.<br />
<br />
The first three times we came to Iowa City, in 1993, 1995, and 1999, Penn State won the games. Hayden Fry was head coach for the first two of those games. In 1999, Kirk Ferentz was the new head coach.<br />
<br />
In that first decade it was a very pleasant, laid-back atmosphere where beer and brats were the order of the day and the fans supported their team, win or lose. Our hosts were clearly upset whenever Penn State beat them but they were always kind. <br />
<br />
Then came the new century, the year 2000, a very painful double-overtime 23-26 loss at home in Beaver Stadium. Penn State rallied from behind to tie the game, bring it into overtime and then lost it in second overtime when Iowa was ahead by 3 and intercepted a pass.<br />
<br />
What followed in those "dark" mostly losing seasons from 2001-2004 were four consecutive losses to Iowa. The worst of which was a 4-6 loss at Beaver Stadium in 2004, when both teams were horrible offensively, and Kirk Ferentz took an intentional safety with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and allowed Penn State two points on a bet that Penn State couldn't produce enough offense to kick a field goal. Alas he bet correctly. One of the worst Penn State losses we have ever witnessed.<br />
<br />
After two years where Penn State and Iowa didn't play each other, Penn State became a force again in the Big Ten, including earning the Big Ten Championship and a BCS bowl berth in 2005. The Iowa rivalry renewed in 2007 and Penn State won 27-7 at Beaver Stadium.<br />
<br />
We headed to Kinnick Stadium in 2008 and this time the Penn State team was undefeated and looking potentially at a BCS bowl berth, even the national championship.<br />
<br />
It was a bitter cold windy day. I was sitting right behind the Penn State bench next to our friend Tyler, whose dad was 60 rows above us with my husband, shivering in that wind. Tyler and I were mostly out of the wind, but so low in the stadium that it was hard to see over the players or the photographers/press roaming the sidelines. Still, it was darn cold. Fortunately we were well clothed.<br />
<br />
Coach Joe Paterno's philosophy at the time was not to coddle the players with things like heaters on the sidelines. There were cloaks the players could drape over themselves, but no heaters. What we could see in front of us were football players shivering in that cold. To this day people believe that made the difference in the game. <br />
<br />
But whether it was cold hands on the part of the receiving corps or Darryl Clark, the quarterback, playing beyond his capability after suffering a concussion two weeks earlier, it didn't matter. Iowa outscored Penn State 10-0 in the fourth quarter. It was an errant pass by Clark when the score was 23-21 that led to a field goal kicked by Iowa's Daniel Murray at the end of the game. Murray won it for Iowa, with one second remaining. Penn State lost 23-24.<br />
<br />
Those kinds of losses always hurt, especially when all the stats went Penn State's way. The rush onto the field after the game where Tyler and I nearly got trampled didn't help our feelings.<br />
<br />
Iowa had become a very tough environment to play at. And in the process Iowa had become a fierce rival of Penn State.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1xGQThVDLE/UILEkiuCv_I/AAAAAAAAFM4/5BtEd5FuFPg/s1600/DSC07642+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1xGQThVDLE/UILEkiuCv_I/AAAAAAAAFM4/5BtEd5FuFPg/s400/DSC07642+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The logo on a t-shirt sold by the Central Iowa Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Penn State lost again in 2009 10-21 and 2010 3-24. In those years Iowa simply had a better and more experienced team. The "stripe-out" black and gold stadium was a difficult atmosphere to play in, and even some of the Iowa fans we encountered were a bit more overbearing. Or perhaps it just seemed that way. The hospitality of the Cahoons and the Schraeders, of course, have always far offset any negativity we have experienced from any Hawkeye fan.<br />
<br />
In 2011, at Beaver Stadium, Penn State won only its second game since the year 2000 in ten contests against Iowa*, a 13-3 defensive battle that was a very satisfying victory after so much frustation in the past decade.<br />
<br />
That same defense is mostly still here. Penn State has had a week off to prepare, not necessarily a good thing, but somehow I think that the Penn State offense and defense will be ready for Iowa. What I worry about is special teams play, because in tight battles, the kicking game does matter.<br />
<br />
Will Penn State be ready enough to finally win one here?<br />
<br />
That's why we're here.<br />
<br />
It will be a nice feeling to finally come home from this battle in the cornfields bearing our shields, rather than on them. And we don't want to miss it.<br />
<br />
*Note: the wins against Iowa in 2007 and 2011 have since been vacated due to NCAA sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. However, the statistics and history still remain, as do my scoreboard photos of those wins.Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-18690901212014428142012-10-17T18:34:00.001-04:002012-10-17T18:55:18.557-04:00Twenty-Five Years of Marriage...and Penn State Football!On October 10 my husband Terry and I celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It was a somewhat subdued celebration. We exchanged sweet anniversary cards in the morning, went out to dinner that evening. That was about it. No big fanfare. As it has been since we were married in 1987 on a perfect fall foliage weekend in New England.<br />
<br />
That's just the way we are. We don't really exchange gifts or do anything really big on these types of occasions. Our attitude is that if there is a particular pleasure that either of us seeks we don't need to wait for a special occasion. We talk about it and then just do it if we can.<br />
<br />
Also, on our anniversary, I had a full schedule of classes and a meeting. It was the middle of the week.<br />
<br />
Still, 25 years is a milestone in so many ways, especially when your marriage is also the start of a very long relationship with Penn State and its football team that has impacted so much of your life, including your career.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
When Terry and I discussed marriage, back in the fall of 1986, he
made one thing perfectly clear: "Carolyn, there is one thing you need
to know about me. I intend to go to Penn State football games. You can
do one of two things: you can kiss me goodbye most weekend Saturdays
in the fall or you can go with me."<br />
<br />
I wasn't opposed to
football. But I was completely oblivious, let me put it that way,
because it's as kind as I can be to myself. I simply wasn't
interested in football or most other sports.<br />
<br />
Okay, maybe as a born and bred Bostonian I got excited about the
occasional New England Patriots run at the playoffs. Or certainly the Red Sox or Celtics if they were having a good year. Despite all kinds of opportunities to learn ice skating as a kid (and a mandatory gym class on a cold pond behind my junior high school) I can't say that I ever became a fan of hockey and the Boston Bruins.<br />
<br />
But sports were more
of a "social butterfly" thing than anything else. It wasn't about watching the
game. It was about cheering loudly in a bar somewhere in the Boston
area with a bunch of friends and having a few beers and a good time.<br />
<br />
I was a total neophyte to college football. The only really decent college
football team in Boston was a couple of miles from where I lived.
Boston College was on the street car line that stopped in front of my
apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts. It was in fact the school that all my Catholic friends in high school aspired to attend, that is, if they couldn't get accepted to Notre Dame. That's all I knew about it.<br />
<br />
I remember one year when Doug Flutie
was a quarterback for Boston College. I still remember a
bunch of folks who boarded the same street car as me who
were dressed in maroon and gold and cheering loudly because Flutie had just won the
Heisman Trophy.<br />
<br />
But honestly I had no idea who Flutie was or why anyone
was so excited. And what's the Heisman Trophy? <br />
<br />
When Terry and I were actively planning the wedding, I was thinking about a fall wedding, anathema to most college football fans. I asked Terry what date would work for him.<br />
<br />
He immediately consulted the Penn State football schedule, chose the open date, and declared October 10th. In fact, he told me that was the ONLY date in the fall that would work.<br />
<br />
But that was okay. In fact, it was perfect, I thought. Columbus Day weekend in Boston, the height of the fall foliage season.<br />
<br />
I loved the fall. And I found the perfect location: a log cabin chapel at a Baptist camp in Groton
Massachusetts that I was familiar with, because I had worked there as a
teenager/college student. In fact, a childhood dream was about to come true, because as a teenager I had always thought this would be the perfect setting for a wedding.<br />
<br />
Wedding plans were humming along. Until about two months before the wedding.<br />
<br />
That's when TV scheduling intervened and moved the open date for Penn State football. Penn State was going to play Rutgers on October 10th on TV.<br />
<br />
There was no going back. Terry was upset, but we couldn't change the wedding date. Terry had to suck it up and miss a Penn State football game to marry me.<br />
<br />
But then he started working on the honeymoon.<br />
<br />
Penn State was playing Syracuse on October 17th, at Syracuse. Terry immediately proposed for our honeymoon that we take a driving trip through upstate New York.<br />
<br />
Understand that for about a year I had been working on a project for my company that required my presence in New York City five days per week. The team location was an office building in downtown New York City, Times Square. On Monday morning I would fly from Boston to New York and on Friday afternoon I would fly home to Boston. <br />
<br />
So when I told my boss I was about to marry someone from Allentown PA and I asked if I could transfer permanently to New York City, he was very supportive. <br />
<br />
I was actively looking for a job near Allentown, and trying to do that from Boston was next to impossible. I felt that it was best to relocate there as soon as possible. <br />
<br />
And so, for the four or five months just before our wedding, I had been commuting. From Allentown, PA. to downtown Manhattan. <br />
<br />
And on weekends? The best way to describe this is by referring to the singing telegram that my best friend Jeanne Gillis sent us at our wedding (to the tune of I've Been Working on the Railroad...)<br />
<br />
"Carolyn's been riding on the bus...all the livelong day.<br />
Going into New York City and back to Allentown PA...<br />
Can't you hear your Terry calling...we're off to a Penn State game..."<br />
<br />
Which, by the way, was 185 miles one way on each Saturday morning.<br />
<br />
Plus a driving trip that September to play Boston College at Foxboro Stadium. During which time we also had to apply for a marriage license!<br />
<br />
So...as far as our honeymoon was concerned, the last thing that I wanted to do after commuting six hours per day on a bus and then driving to and from Penn State games on weekends was to go to upstate New York on a driving fall foliage trip for our honeymoon.<br />
<br />
I just wanted to get off any form of ground transportation and relax - completely. A beach seemed like the right approach to me. We decided on the Bahamas, for ten lovely days.<br />
<br />
We did not pay much attention to the Penn State-Rutgers game on October 10th. We were a bit busy with our wedding. Penn State did win that game 35-21. <br />
<br />
On October 17th - exactly 25 years ago today - at our hotel on Cable Beach in the Bahamas, we tried very hard to find the Penn State-Syracuse game on TV. We did find it, but unfortunately there were transmission problems, and so instead we were shown some newscast about a private plane crashing into a motel somewhere in the midwest that dominated the airwaves that day and was shown over and over again. <br />
<br />
We eventually gave up on the Penn State-Syracuse game and went back to the beach (or the casino, I don't remember which) and enjoyed the rest of our honeymoon.<br />
<br />
It's just as well. Penn State lost that game 21-48.<br />
<br />
Thus I became a Penn State football fan, through marriage 25 years ago. It wasn't always easy.<br />
<br />
There was a very cold game at Beaver Stadium that year - against Notre Dame in November - the wind chill factor was -40 in the stadium. Penn State was empty in the fourth quarter, it was so cold.<br />
<br />
But neither Terry nor his friends would leave. They were going to stick it out through all that cold to watch Penn State pull out a 21-20 win. I spent the entire third quarter in the ladies' room trying to get my toes defrosted before heading back to the stands to watch the finish.<br />
<br />
That's when I realized how dedicated Terry was about Penn State. That summer I headed to L.L. Bean and bought boots and other apparel that would withstand that sort of temperature.<br />
<br />
I felt so stupid at times. I remember going to a Maryland away game where after the game we had dinner at Johnny Unitas' Golden Arm Restaurant. Terry and his friends couldn't contain their laughter when I asked, "Who's Johnny Unitas?"<br />
<br />
And then in 1988, in Birmingham, we were at another restaurant where the folks next to us said, "Hey, there's Bart Starr!" I turned to Terry and asked again. He just chuckled.<br />
<br />
I've learned not to ask. Now, I just use Google.<br />
<br />
Something amazing happened along the way. <br />
<br />
I think it was around 1988 or 1989 that I realized how much fun it was to follow Penn State to away games (visiting Alabama in 1988 and Texas in 1989 influenced me greatly).<br />
<br />
It was no longer Terry that defined my passion for Penn State football. I discovered I enjoyed it and loved it too. <br />
<br />
And so it was me who suggested to Terry that we try to make it to all
Penn State football games, including all away games, for one year.<br />
<br />
In 1990 we made every game except the USC game in September, and we've been doing it ever since. <br />
<br />
Twenty five years of marriage, and Penn State football. It's been a very fun ride.<br />
<br />
As for this weekend, on to Iowa! And yet another new experience: we will be boarding a train called the "Hawkeye Express" to get to the game.<br />
<br />
And among others, we will be meeting up with Tyler Schraeder, a lifetime Penn State football fan whose dad is a Penn State grad and whose mom is an Iowa fan. Tyler lives in Omaha, Nebraska and is a senior in high school.<br />
<br />
Ironically, Tyler just announced that he has been accepted to the University of Iowa for college. But he swore to me this week that his allegiance won't change.<br />
<br />
Go Penn State! Beat the Hawkeyes!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-33608116520030789502012-10-08T21:48:00.000-04:002012-10-08T21:54:28.849-04:00Penn State Football: First Ever Homecoming Game - Guest Blog by Kelly Burns<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-520092929 1073786111 9 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
span.st
{mso-style-name:st;
mso-style-unhide:no;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:11.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoPapDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
line-height:115%;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I am pleased to introduce you to Kelly Burns, a former student who is a passionate football fan. Here is her perspective on her first Homecoming game after graduating in May with an MBA from Smeal College of Business. She is also a good photographer, and shares her new perspective from the Club Seats at Beaver Stadium. Enjoy! Carolyn Todd</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
This past weekend marked my first Penn State
Homecoming Weekend as a ‘full-time’ alumnus. After completing my undergraduate
degree at PSU in May 2010, I jumped right into the MBA Program that August and
spent an additional two years as a graduate student in Happy Valley.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I interned with Penn State Football (PSF) Marketing
and Promotions from May 2009 through April 2012, which was a large chunk of my
time as a student. This also included three unpaid summer internships with Penn State Football.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
With my MBA graduation in May 2012, I officially
became a two-time PSU alumnus. I have since moved home to Maryland, and I am
continuing the job hunt for a marketing position in the MD/DC area. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I arrived in Happy Valley on Thursday for the
Homecoming Weekend, both excited and nervous for Saturday’s game against
Northwestern. Most of Friday was spent walking around the shops downtown.
Numerous groups had claimed their parade seating by lunchtime, with the usual
territorial chalk markings and small circles of students seated along College
Ave. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I also stopped by the Hintz Alumni Center on Friday
afternoon for their alumni ice cream social, which also included performances
by alumni Blue Band members and appearances by the Homecoming Court, the
Nittany Lion mascot, and Blue Sapphire. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
That evening I attended the Homecoming Parade and I
was glad to see many of the same groups from previous years, such as one of the
Kentucky alumni chapters that has a guy dress up as KFC’s Colonel Sanders. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I
was also very happy to see a tremendous showing of support for Coach Paterno by
alumni in the parade, in the form of t-shirts and signs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Last year I walked in the Homecoming Parade with the
(former) Great Show Squad Football Marketing group and the Blue Bus (which we
had decorated with blue and white balloons, stand-ups of former players, and
various banners, including ‘The Great Show with Joe Paterno’). Things have
certainly changed since last year for all Penn Staters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V9oaNjHyn-o/UHN7aNkhAsI/AAAAAAAAFMA/huzjdmXzRVg/s1600/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+336.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V9oaNjHyn-o/UHN7aNkhAsI/AAAAAAAAFMA/huzjdmXzRVg/s400/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+336.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#47 Jordan Hill - where's the name on his jersey? </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
There were students walking with the Blue Bus again
this year, but the bus had different adornments – a picture of Bill O’Brien
with the phrase ‘We Are’ on one side of the bus and pictures of several current
players on the other side of the bus. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
From speaking with one of the current
Athletics Marketing interns, I learned that the pictures on the bus were meant
to represent the players and coaches in the parade since they could not be
there themselves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Saturday morning, gray clouds covered the sky and a
blustery wind blew through the tailgates outside Beaver Stadium. I was
surprised by all of the empty parking spots outside the stadium, and I wondered
just how many alums had really made the trek to PSU for Homecoming after
everything that had happened over the past 11 months. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
My parents are club seat ticket holders and had
purchased club tickets for me and my boyfriend, Chris, for three of the games
this season: Ohio University, Northwestern, and Ohio State. The OU season
opener on September 1 also happened to coincide with my birthday, and it also
marked the first game I attended as a non-student, non-Football intern since
2007. Needless to say, I felt a lot of different emotions that day, and it was
a very painful loss. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I hoped attending the Northwestern game would be
slightly more enjoyable, but I still had no idea what to expect. The game held
a lot of meaning for me because the last time we played Northwestern in Beaver
Stadium was in 2010 and I had assisted with the post-game celebration of Coach
Paterno’s 400<sup>th</sup> win as part of my role as an intern. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fmPqRVK3afE/UHN8BcqhodI/AAAAAAAAFMM/0egvvLw-lx4/s1600/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.two+085.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fmPqRVK3afE/UHN8BcqhodI/AAAAAAAAFMM/0egvvLw-lx4/s400/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.two+085.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was a solid show of support for Joe Paterno throughout the weekend</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
While the NCAA has erased that win and over 100 others
from the record books, it is still included on my resume, along with the
post-game celebration of his 409<sup>th</sup> win in 2011 and numerous other
game day promotions we held over the past few seasons. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I took my seat in the stands a little after 11am and
watched the team do their warm-ups. The alumni Blue Band did their annual
Homecoming pre-game performance, which is always fun to see. There were a
handful of former cheerleaders and Lionettes on the sidelines as well, as per
tradition. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
At 11:30am, the student section was less than half
full and there were a lot of empty seats throughout the stadium, including the
majority of the row in front of us and the seats to our left. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ax9gi5y37yM/UHN65bHxU0I/AAAAAAAAFL4/MFE3dWI5IC0/s1600/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+223.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ax9gi5y37yM/UHN65bHxU0I/AAAAAAAAFL4/MFE3dWI5IC0/s320/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+223.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Penn State Olympians are recognized during the game. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Apparently the students didn’t hear Coach O’Brien’s
message at the pep rally the night before, when he told students to be in their
seats by 11:30. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Eventually the student section filled up a bit, but
not until around 1pm or so, and it never filled entirely. The game attendance
was never announced on Saturday, but the newspapers on Sunday said that
attendance was 95,769 – a disappointment given that the game was Homecoming,
which was usually sold out in the past. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qt_qlGwzvNo/UHN6oyZDiTI/AAAAAAAAFLs/AMXtNs4PJu4/s1600/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+190.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qt_qlGwzvNo/UHN6oyZDiTI/AAAAAAAAFLs/AMXtNs4PJu4/s400/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.three+190.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Nittany Lion floats up the student section as they celebrate another PSU touchdown. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
It’s hard to pinpoint one specific thing causing the
lowered attendance because there are so many different factors, such as the
weather, the time of the game, the STEP plan with ticket prices, and the
continued fallout from the Sandusky Scandal.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
I was impressed that the fans didn’t make a mass
exodus following Northwestern’s punt return touchdown run when they took the
lead 28-17. I like to think that this gave the PSU players the support they
needed to make such an impressive comeback to win 39-28. Our fans continue to
show their unrelenting support for our Football team. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
These players are the ones who make me proud to still
be a Penn Stater because they do not quit when confronted with adversity. They
truly embody one of my favorite quotes, which is by <span class="st">Dr. Robert
H. Schuller: “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="st">When I left Beaver Stadium after our
victory on Saturday, I took a few lessons with me. For one, I don’t think I
will ever have the same Penn State Football game day experiences as I did prior
to November 2011, but this is just a reminder that nothing ever stays the same.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="st">Life is about learning, adapting,
improving, and never giving up. However, it’s about more than not giving up on
ourselves; it’s about not giving up on others as well. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="st">Our fans have not given up on our team
because our team has not given up on us. Together we are all going to make it
through these hard times, win or lose. Together We Are, and always will be,
Penn State.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u5YBHhQKjKU/UHN576iNQlI/AAAAAAAAFLk/w0Q-A0gXAsc/s1600/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.five+140.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u5YBHhQKjKU/UHN576iNQlI/AAAAAAAAFLk/w0Q-A0gXAsc/s400/psu.northwestern.10.6.12.five+140.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The players and coaches sang the alma mater with the students (and alumni) after their 39-28 victory over Northwestern.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-91032732643807903502012-10-07T13:00:00.000-04:002012-10-07T13:01:16.253-04:00Penn State Football: The 2012 Mascots at Mid-SeasonThere is a tradition in my home each football season. On our
fireplace mantel in our family room, the mascots of all the teams that
Penn State plays are lined up in the order that we play them.<br />
<br />
At
the beginning of a season, the mascots are all standing or sitting.
But as we play each game, the only mascots that remain standing are the
teams that win. The rest of the mascots are turned face up and on their
backs.<br />
<br />
So here, at the halfway point in Penn State's
season, is how the mascots appear on our mantel. I will update this
every once in a while throughout the season, and this will appear as one of the pages in the header.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7dmVa1swKU/UHGJY2b7heI/AAAAAAAAFIs/2kywZRWX8SQ/s1600/DSC07634.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7dmVa1swKU/UHGJY2b7heI/AAAAAAAAFIs/2kywZRWX8SQ/s320/DSC07634.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The
Ohio Bobcat and the Virginia Cavalier remain standing. Penn State lost
to Ohio 14-24 and to Virginia 16-17 due to a heart-breaking missed
field goal at the end of the game. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J1osiwsjbiU/UHGLrQYtegI/AAAAAAAAFI0/qPwxpSOlOCk/s1600/DSC07635.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J1osiwsjbiU/UHGLrQYtegI/AAAAAAAAFI0/qPwxpSOlOCk/s320/DSC07635.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The
Navy Goat and the Temple Owl are on their backs. The Navy Midshipmen
were soundly defeated by Penn State 34-7 in the first team win under
Coach Bill O'Brien's tenure as head football coach at Penn State. Penn
State proved to be too much for the Temple Owls as well, winning that
battle 24-13.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCG5lx5I6UQ/UHGMlhj57nI/AAAAAAAAFI8/LyeUJhTFYhE/s1600/DSC07636.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCG5lx5I6UQ/UHGMlhj57nI/AAAAAAAAFI8/LyeUJhTFYhE/s320/DSC07636.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When
we first started playing Illinois, Chief Illiniwek was still around,
and I was looking for a mascot to represent him. I was told, "The Chief
is not a mascot; he is a spirit." So the best I could find was this
bear that has Illinois insignia on his paws and on a bow-tie around his
neck. All that to explain why I'm showing an Illinois bear on his
back! The Chief is no longer a symbol of Illinois, thanks to the NCAA
determining that Chief Illiniwek is insulting to Native American
cultures. There has been no effort to promote a new mascot at that
school. In any case, it felt very good to beat Illinois 35-7, a new
fierce rival, thanks also to the NCAA. <br />
<br />
The Homecoming
battle against an undefeated and very good Northwestern team will
become a legendary come-from-behind win in Penn State football history.
The team scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat
Northwestern 39-28. So now the Northwestern Wildcat is on his back!<br />
<br />
What's next?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BG0HqoUR0KI/UHGQLNx8_AI/AAAAAAAAFJU/fWmP92EYij4/s1600/DSC07637.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BG0HqoUR0KI/UHGQLNx8_AI/AAAAAAAAFJU/fWmP92EYij4/s320/DSC07637.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
October
13 will be a bye week, giving the Nittany Lions two weeks to
prepare for a trip to Iowa City to play the Iowa Hawkeyes on October
20. Then, there will be the classic 6 p.m. White-Out game October 27 at
home against division rivals Ohio State Buckeyes under the direction of
its new head coach Urban Meyer. Judging from last night's very solid
drubbing of Nebraska, Ohio State will be Penn State's toughest test.<br />
<br />
Much
of Penn State's fate this year (and possibly in future years) will rest
on how well Penn State plays against these two teams. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfz5HAICm80/UHGRDF8RGkI/AAAAAAAAFJc/QujMcZjvbR4/s1600/DSC07638.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfz5HAICm80/UHGRDF8RGkI/AAAAAAAAFJc/QujMcZjvbR4/s320/DSC07638.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Then,
Penn State goes on the road, twice in a row. To play the Purdue
Boilermakers on November 3 and then the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November
10.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7hMYrTsT4S8/UHGRuEoLDiI/AAAAAAAAFJk/RB_Qv-faf6c/s1600/DSC07639.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7hMYrTsT4S8/UHGRuEoLDiI/AAAAAAAAFJk/RB_Qv-faf6c/s320/DSC07639.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Finally,
Penn State plays the Indiana Hoosiers at home on November 17. The
Hoosier is another mascot that I couldn't find at Indiana, so I settled
for "Big Red", the dog. And the Wisconsin Badgers will roll into Beaver
Stadium for the final game of this year on November 24. <br />
<br />
My
predictions? Penn State is becoming a very good offensive and
defensive football team, and we see improvements each week. It was very
significant that Penn State was able to muster a come-from-behind win
against Northwestern. The mark of a good football team is that they can
face adversity and find a way to win.<br />
<br />
But Penn State
has to show marked improvements in its special teams over the next two
weeks. They can't expect to get 5-6 in fourth down conversions every
game and they can't expect to win in tight games without a solid kicking
game. We simply can't afford the costly special teams mistakes made on
Saturday that gave up two cheap touchdowns to Northwestern: a muffed
punt, and then the longest punt of the season by Alex Butterworth that
out-punted the special teams coverage.<br />
<br />
On a positive
note, kicker Sam Ficken didn't make a mistake on Saturday. He made all
the extra points and kicked one field goal. Alex Butterworth also made
some good plays, including pinning Northwestern on the one-yard line on
one of his punts.<br />
<br />
If Coach O'Brien can figure out how to solve the special teams issues, then Penn State has a chance to have a very good season. <br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-90109145119089036822012-10-06T21:17:00.002-04:002012-10-06T21:19:10.055-04:00Penn State Football: On The People You Meet at Away Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The Penn State-Illinois game was the first B1G away game of the season for Penn State. Away games are a different animal from home games. At Beaver Stadium, there's a normal routine. You tailgate in the same spot with the same folks, you sit (usually) with the same season ticket holders, unless someone has decided to sell their tickets, which is rare. <br />
<br />
Away games are somewhat of a dice throw in terms of where you will be located in the stadium and whom you will meet. To make it easier for Penn Staters to get together, the Penn State Alumni Association holds a tailgate in a huge tent not too far from the stadium. That helps. There are always a few familiar faces to greet you.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Like John Black. He's the editor of The Football Letter, produced by the Penn State Alumni Association for every game. John is an amazing writer, very insightful in terms of the ins and outs of any Penn State football game, and he also has the longest Penn State football attendance streak of anyone we know. In this photo, John is discussing "keys to the game" at an Alumni Association pep rally.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYIOpIiz7wo/UHAX5giAOcI/AAAAAAAAFDE/WV2SwQhrGvM/s1600/DSC02062+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYIOpIiz7wo/UHAX5giAOcI/AAAAAAAAFDE/WV2SwQhrGvM/s200/DSC02062+(1).jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
John hasn't missed a Penn State football game, anywhere in the country, since 1973, when he started writing the Football Letter. If my math is correct, that's close to 40 years of perfect attendance!<br />
<br />
Even Joe Paterno, in his career, missed a couple of those games. John hasn't. Granted, he is paid to attend these games. Terry, who hasn't missed a game anywhere since 1990, pays his own airfare and it's on his own time. That's a huge difference.<br />
<br />
Still, John Black has not been sick, had a funeral to attend, or had a family conflict of any kind (to our knowledge). That's truly amazing. And the best part is John's knowledge about Penn State football. His letters are fun to read and just by themselves, worth the price of admission of becoming a member of the Penn State Alumni Association.<br />
<br />
At any away game, John always looks to see if we are present, and we always look for him. John is always relieved when he sees us, he is worried that something prevented us from coming to a game. We feel the same way about him. He is a mainstay of Penn State football, and I can't even imagine what would happen without his weekly perspective on the game and his cheery disposition.<br />
<br />
But as stable as John is at away games, there are also surprises, people whom you have not met before, but who have an interesting story. That happened to us in Champaign, over breakfast at the hotel. That's where we met Jason Hosch and his family.<br />
<br />
Jason is a Penn State alumnus, a former Penn State Blue Band member. But I didn't know that when I first met him. What attracted me was his t-shirt, as shown here.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X97fE0EGAl0/UG98khRe2qI/AAAAAAAAFCI/L91sqWBbulQ/s1600/IMG_0277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X97fE0EGAl0/UG98khRe2qI/AAAAAAAAFCI/L91sqWBbulQ/s200/IMG_0277.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
A sabbatical college football tour? What the heck is that? So of course I had to ask, and he told me that he and his family (his wife Janell and their two five-year old children) are spending the fall visiting college football venues around the country (and even internationally - Notre Dame vs. Navy in Ireland). They are basically driving throughout the United States in their van and visiting various venues. Here's the back of his t-shirt:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yo6BclhuYgg/UG9885TBt5I/AAAAAAAAFCQ/snFnZjMP9Oc/s1600/IMG_0278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yo6BclhuYgg/UG9885TBt5I/AAAAAAAAFCQ/snFnZjMP9Oc/s320/IMG_0278.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Wow. There are some great games and some great college football venues. Turns out that Jason works for Intel Corporation in Oregon, and every seven years, he's allowed to take a sabbatical. Sound like academia? Only if you're tenured, which I'm not.<br />
<br />
So my jealousy at being able to take several months off to follow college football was at a very high level. And my feelings toward Intel as being a very enlightened company in supporting employee growth has elevated tremendously.<br />
<br />
I asked Jason why not Beaver Stadium? That's when he told me he was a Penn State graduate so he has already been there...I needed to read his blog to get the rest of the story that he was a member of the Blue Band...Jason's blog is a good one...looks like he will be fun to follow! You can follow it yourself by clicking <a href="http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/jasonandjanell/2/tpod.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
When we arrived at our seats in Memorial Stadium, we met Chuck. I never learned his last name. He was a delight to sit next to, a Penn State alumnus who graduated in the 1960's who told me that he never changes the words to the third verse of the Penn State alma mater: "When we stood at boyhood's gate" (now it's childhood's gate). His reason? He truly believes that he arrived at Penn State as a farm boy from a small country town and graduated from Penn State as a man. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TAlyihhHdtU/UHDXA_YKK5I/AAAAAAAAFDk/8CsiMA7kmE0/s1600/DSC07337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TAlyihhHdtU/UHDXA_YKK5I/AAAAAAAAFDk/8CsiMA7kmE0/s200/DSC07337.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Chuck is a dedicated alumnus, having graduated with a secondary education degree. He has been successful enough in his chosen profession to help fund education scholarships at Penn State, and he has also been active as a college football official both at the collegiate and at the high school levels. Very knowledgeable about college football, he was a fun football fan to sit next to.<br />
<br />
Today Chuck officiates high school games near Pittsburgh on Friday nights, and after the game he drives to Altoona, to a budget motel, where he is a regular for any Penn State home game, arriving at about 2 a.m. to get ready for the Penn State game on Saturday. He also travels to many of the B1G away games, his favorite venues being Michigan State and Purdue. Such a dedicated fan!<br />
<br />
On the way to the game, we met one other group of Penn Staters: two brothers, Penn State alums, and their son/nephew. One alum, a Smeal College grad, confessed that he was a lousy student, but he had worked himself up to become a CFO at a company. The other was a trader for an oil company.<br />
<br />
They asked us how the atmosphere was back at University Park after the Sandusky scandal. Try as you might, it's a topic you can't avoid whenever Penn Staters gather. We explained as best we could our feelings about the situation.<br />
<br />
What resulted was an email from the Chicago-based trader, inviting Penn State Smeal College students to apply for a summer internship at his company. That felt good! And so typical of Penn Staters to want to take care of their own at a time of great angst.<br />
<br />
Away games are fun. You meet so many good people, all faithful Penn State fans, whose love for their university is strong even in these troubled times. All have different reasons for being at that particular game of the season, and you never know when a chance conversation can turn into an encounter of significance. It's part of the reason we keep doing this.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7140012246828551816.post-62153777781001740902012-09-29T23:16:00.001-04:002012-09-29T23:18:13.945-04:00Penn State vs. Illinois: Bursting Champaign's Bubble<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week’s Citizens Bank button declared “Burst Champaign’s
Bubble”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very clear message
when often the buttons issued at Penn State are ambiguous and can be read
either way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
In front of us a man had made his own button that said:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Crucify and Deny the Cowardly Illini.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That more aptly described our mood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t want the Penn State team to just
burst Illinois’ bubble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wanted them to
crucify the Illini!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Illinois was the only Big Ten football team that actively
descended upon State College in July to recruit Penn State players when the
NCAA sanctions were announced that allowed current Penn State players to
transfer to other schools without penalty. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While Illinois was able to recruit only one Penn State
player, hard feelings remain among Penn State fans about Illinois’ attempt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The result is that Penn State fans have now found a new Big
Ten team to despise, one that as far as I can remember was a team that most of
us felt somewhat neutral towards before this summer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I mean is this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>in the pecking order of Penn State animosity towards Big Ten teams,
Illinois in the past would have probably been behind Ohio State, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Nebraska, and probably even Michigan State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Illinois has moved up several slots and is now definitely #2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least for now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the problem with “crucifying” Illinois at Memorial
Stadium was that we didn’t know whether the Penn State team’s notable
improvements in the last two wins against Navy and Temple would stick in the
Big Ten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nor did we know how the Illinois team would react to their
disastrous 52-24 loss against Louisiana Tech last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not good to play an angry team,
especially on their home field, and that is what the Penn State team was
facing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so we made our way up seven long concrete ramps to the
nosebleed section of Memorial Stadium to sit in a very steep balcony where it
was dizzying getting down to our seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The view of the field was quite good, but our ability to
make noise to support the team was muted at best. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not for the faint of heart or for those
with a fear of heights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it is not
much different than what Penn State has done with its visitors by putting them
in the corner of the north end zone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The entire Blue Band and the cheerleaders were close to the
field below us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s always good to see
them at an away game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They make only one
away game trip each year, and this was the one they chose. Outside the Penn
State alumni association tailgate before the game, the Penn State and Illinois
band members were dueling each other musically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was clear that they were having a great time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were expecting that it would be a close game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were optimistic that Penn State might eke
out a three or four point win. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we
could also see Penn State losing by three or four points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We certainly didn’t expect domination.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Especially when the first possession was a
three-and-out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then luck came Penn State’s way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A punt by Alex Butterworth to the Illinois 27
was fumbled, and Penn State’s special teams recovered on the Illinois 26. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After making one first down on three running plays, Penn
State’s drive stalled at the Illinois seven-yard line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when kicker Sam Ficken’s field goal was
good for three points, Illinois was called for roughing the kicker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That gave Penn State an automatic first down
on the four-yard line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is where we saw a critical difference between coach Bill
O’Brien and former coach Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno would have likely declined the penalty and
let the three points stand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My husband Terry turned to me, and exclaimed, “You never
take points off the board!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Bill O’Brien did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rushers Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak made the short yardage runs
necessary to score the first touchdown of the game.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So Penn State’s first touchdown basically capitalized on
Illinois mistakes to keep the drive alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The defense stopped Illinois on its first drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the offense drove 60 yards down the
field in eight plays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>McGloin mixed up his receivers
and Bill Belton carried the ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
6:29 left in the first quarter, the score was Penn State 14-0.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was beginning to feel like it was going to be a fun
afternoon, and the Penn State fans in the nosebleed section were getting very
boisterous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it wasn’t necessarily pretty in the second quarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Illinois and Penn State had drives that
wound up in field goal attempts, and both kickers missed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam Ficken’s missed kick was a 47-yard
attempt, something that wasn’t exactly in his range. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Relying on the rushing strength of Zach Zwinak, Penn State
kept moving the chains and then McGloin threw a 21-yard pass to Matt Lehman for
a touchdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then something occurred
that I have never witnessed before:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an
Illinois defender was called for a helmut-to-helmut personal foul and EJECTED
from the game.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The score was Penn State 21-0 with 3:10 left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The penalty, assessed on the kickoff, didn’t
help Penn State much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But perhaps the
ejection did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will never know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Illinois started gaining momentum towards the end of the second
half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under the precise passing attack
of Nathan Scheelhasse, the Illini drove to the Penn State four-yard line with
19 seconds left on the clock.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is where we started getting worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The momentum seemed to be shifting and it
looked like the score would be 21-7 at the half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had been at Memorial Stadium in 1994 when
Illinois was up by three touchdowns and Penn State came back to win the game. We
were worried that the reverse could happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Michael Mauti saved the half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He intercepted Scheelhasse’s pass and ran it
back 99 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very entertaining run, indeed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up in the nosebleed section, we were all going nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it wasn’t a touchdown. Mauti’s knee was
down at the 1-yard line with one second left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next play with one second left on the clock befuddled
Terry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt for certain that Matt McGloin
would make the quarterback sneak for a touchdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead Bill O’Brien chose to have Sam Ficken
kick a field goal, which Illinois blocked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so it was a strange ending to the first half. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, the defense had made a big play to
stop Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the half we were up
21-0. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could have been 28-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or we could also have been 21-7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was satisfied with 21-0.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my mind, there was plenty to celebrate and two stellar
college football bands to enjoy at half time on a glorious September afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, the score was 35-7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were moments in the second half that we
thought momentum might shift back to Illinois, especially after they scored
their first touchdown but it never really did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Michael Mauti made sure of that. He intercepted another pass
in the middle of the third quarter, and at the end of the third quarter, the
Memorial Stadium stands emptied out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seems
the Illini fans have less patience than the Penn State fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually Penn State fans wait until about 8
minutes left in the game.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, of course, there was the band of die hard
Penn Staters whooping it up in the nosebleed gallery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stayed to the very end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Champaign’s bubble was burst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach Bill O’Brien even found Illinois coach Tim
Beckman and shook his hand quickly in what my friend Greg who observed it on TV
called a “drive by” handshake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was wondering if he would even do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But O’Brien also didn’t run up the
score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He chose to use a lot of second
string players in the fourth quarter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for my feelings about the season, at this point, I’m a
bit more optimistic about Penn State’s chances to win some games in the Big
Ten, despite the loss of seventeen scholarship players due to NCAA sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The offense has become quite diverse and balanced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The defense is making big plays. If they can
continue that, and also get better as they develop new talent, we should see
some more wins.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the meantime, this team has become fun to watch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a homecoming crowd expected at Beaver Stadium
for a game against Northwestern next , we should know even more about this Penn
State team next week.</span>
Carolyn Toddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03618998313704070525noreply@blogger.com0