409 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Today's announcement by Senator Jake Corman (R-PA) that the NCAA has repealed the sanctions against Penn State, including restoring the 112 wins the football team achieved during the years 1998-2001, was a pleasant surprise.

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.

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.

Penn State vs. Ohio: A Tough Challenge for the First Game

Today’s football game was a first in so many ways.  It was the first game of the 2012 season.  It was the first game played after Joe Paterno passed away.  It was the first game of a new era under Coach Bill O’Brien and the first game ever in Penn State athletic history where a Penn State team is subject to onerous NCAA sanctions.  It was also the first football game since Jerry Sandusky was put behind bars.

I was apprehensive about this first game, as I imagine many fans were.  I just wasn’t sure how it would feel to be in Beaver Stadium again after the horrible events of these last nine months.   Tears welled up in me as the team entered the field at the Pep Rally on Friday night. 

Penn State Football: Welcome, Bill O'Brien, from a Fellow Bostonian

I am a born and bred Bostonian.  In fact, I was born about five miles from where Bill O'Brien, Penn State's new head football coach, was born.  Dorchester, Massachusetts was his birthplace.  Quincy was mine, the town just south of Dorchester.  For those who don't know, Dorchester is part of the City of Boston.  And so I was anxiously awaiting yesterday's press conference not only to hear what he had to say about his new job, but also to hear something I just don't hear very much around here:  the most distinctive Boston accent in Boston, that "broad A" Dorchester- or should I say Dahchestah? - accent.

I was especially attuned to Boston accents after visiting the Sixth Street Museum in Dallas, Texas last week, where a history of the Kennedy administration, including many audio tapes of his speeches, was a part of the tour.  He had one of the strongest Boston accents ever, and it made me smile realizing how much I miss hearing that.

And so I have to express a bit of disappointment.

Penn State vs. Ohio State: Discovery vs. Complacency

My husband Terry grew up in Ohio and spent every Saturday as a child listening to radio broadcasts on Ohio State football and cheering them on to wins.  He knows the words to all the Ohio State fight songs by heart, and even today he has to restrain himself from singing them when Penn State plays Ohio State.

We have been to every game Penn State has played against Ohio State since we joined the Big Ten in 1993.  At those games we, of course, cheer for Penn State.  But we also love to watch TBDBITL - the Best Damn Band In The Land.

Penn State Football: Support Lift for Life on July 8!

At a time when the media are often focused on football players who do something wrong, it’s nice to focus on football players who are doing something right. 

Such is the case with Eric Shrive, who was enrolled in one of my marketing classes this spring.  He approached me to ask for help with publicizing Lift for Life®.

Lift for Life is an annual strength and conditioning competition for Penn State football players that has become a very successful fundraiser for the Kidney Cancer Foundation through Uplifting Athletes. Last year alone, Lift for Life raised $100,000.  Since 2003, Penn State football players have raised nearly $500,000.

Coming Up for Air (Maybe...) for Penn State's Blue-White Game

Oh my.  I feel like I have really abandoned my faithful readers this winter...a season which only now (maybe) is starting to turn to spring at University Park.  Although I'm not sure.  The weather is particularly nasty for this version of the annual football scrimmage known as the Blue-White game.

I do apologize...it's just that, well, when you're teaching eighteen credits in ONE semester, it's hard to do anything else but prep for classes and grade papers. It's been a tough semester.  And the weather hasn't helped one bit!

Penn State vs. Florida at the Outback Bowl: It's Finally Here

Maybe now the focus will be on the players rather than on the two championship coaches leading the teams.  Maybe now we can concentrate on the game rather than on Joe Paterno's health.

There was nothing unhealthy about Joe Paterno's Pep Rally talk today at the Tampa Bay Convention Center in downtown Tampa.  In fact, it was classic Joe Paterno - he was funny, engaging, and enjoying his ability to rev up the crowd with jokes about Gators with funny looking jaws and "We Are..." cheers.

Penn State-Indiana Football: Great Plays Absolutely Positively Make the Difference

Penn Staters, take note.  This is what football looks like when you're a program that is desperate for money to support competitiveness in Big Ten play.  Where a $3 million guarantee from an NFL field hundreds of miles away from your primary fan base will be enough of an incentive for you to schedule a "home" game closer to your opponents' fans than to your own fans.

Penn State-Michigan: An Unexpected Penn State Win Makes Game Even More Fun

It's one thing to win a game.  It's quite another thing to win a game that nobody expects you to win.  Not even yourself.  It's just a great deal more fun when Penn State surprises and delights.  Which they did last night against Michigan when they achieved a solid 41-31 win.

Yes, that's right.  I confess that I held only slight hope that the Nittany Lions would come out on top over Michigan.  I wasn't even that excited about a game under the lights.   About the only thing I was really excited about was that we had a family member - my husband's daughter Terri Lynn -  visiting us from out of town,  and we were tailgating with friends - Charlie and Lindley - from Memphis Tennessee who would make it to Beaver Stadium only once this year.  We were anxious to see them and catch up.

I was also quite curious about whether or not the Project 7 initiative by students would fill up the stands by kickoff.   And I was glad that the weather was decent, albeit predicted to be a bit cold by game time.

Congratulations Terry on 250 Consecutive Games of Penn State Football

From today's Centre Daily Times PSU Memories column.

Fan celebrating 250th consecutive game

Carolyn Todd

Saturday, Oct. 09, 2010

Access this at: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/10/09/2261288/fan-celebrating-250th-consecutive.html#ixzz11rGoVw50

Today, my husband, Terry Todd, will achieve 250 Penn State football games in a row. That includes all home, away and bowl games.

That’s two decades of perfect attendance at Penn State games, accomplished at Terry’s own expense and on his own time.

But Terry’s response to this attendance streak is, “Do you mind if I don’t care?”

Divisions Okay With Me...Robert Bolden Surprises

In my view it was important to preserve Ohio State as an annual border rivalry and the closest B10 rival geographically.  Wisconsin is also a good opponent and always a fun atmosphere to visit - my favorite Big Ten away game venue - but Thanksgiving weekend every other year in Madison?  Sounds cold.

Penn State Football: Anticipation and Apprehension Characterize September

For several weeks now, my husband Terry has been counting the days until the first Penn State football game.  He has learned, though, not to share his daily, and sometimes hourly, count with me. 

I dread his count because the beginning of the football season also means the end of summer. 

That means that I have fewer days before my teaching job starts again. 

It's not that I don't love my job.  It's just that I love my summers as well.

With Nebraska Added, Will Penn State Fans Finally Embrace the Big Ten?

It’s been two decades since Penn State joined the Big Ten.  Yet there are times when I have a sense that many Penn State fans long for the days when we weren’t so completely tied to Big Ten conference opponents and dynamics.  I have the impression at times that many Penn State football fans haven’t yet totally embraced the entire Big Ten.   Or they believe that Penn State should have joined the Big East or possibly the ACC. 

This instinct comes through especially as I read people argue about which division Penn State belongs to in the future Big Ten. Some of the comments, for example, on Bleacher Report discussions about Penn State are vehement about Penn State being an Eastern team.  Some people can’t imagine Penn State in a different division than Michigan or Ohio State, as if they are the only competition that matters. 

I am hoping that with Nebraska joining the Big Ten, Penn State fans, especially if they wind up in the same division as Nebraska, will finally come around to embracing the Big Ten in its entirety.

Penn State Ladies' Football Camp: A True Immersion Experience

Note:  This is a long article.  An in-depth description of my experience at this camp.  My goal is to take you there with me as I describe my day.  Enjoy!

Coach Joe Paterno was proven wrong.  When he first heard of the idea of a Ladies’ X's and O’s football camp at Beaver Stadium, his initial reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding.  You’ll have three women show up.”

As he made a surprise visit yesterday to observe practice drills and wish all of us well he quipped, “I didn’t realize we had that many kooks around.”  For a brief clip of Joe Paterno’s remarks, and some video of the game, click here.


This was typical Joe Paterno: down to earth, speaks his mind.  But you could tell from the broad grin on his face that he was delighted with the successful turnout.  His appearance was unanticipated, but it was not a total surprise.  How could he resist?

We were making history as the first group of females to ever play on his beloved and well-protected field at Beaver Stadium—a venue that is known more informally as “the house that Joe built.”

Penn State vs. Alabama Memories: Gracious Hospitality by Tide Fans Overcomes Miserable 1988 Loss

Somewhere, in the deep recesses of some file folder in our basement, or perhaps it was just thrown out when we moved, is a business card from an Alabama fan we met in 1988. 

He resided in Dothan, Alabama, a retired ophthalmologist.  He and his wife were sitting next to us at breakfast at the Courtyard by Marriott south of Birmingham, Alabama.  They were clad in crimson and white.  We were clad in blue and white. 

We started chatting about the Alabama-Penn State game that was to occur that afternoon at Legion Field.  Neither they nor we could predict who would win.  We cordially wished each other the best, knowing very well that neither of us really meant it.  It was typical cordial college football fan banter before a big game among opposing team fans. 

Terry and I had been wondering what the best way was to get to the game.  So we figured this couple might know and asked them if they knew of a shuttle bus that would get us to Legion Field.

They told us they weren’t sure.  Then they left the table to go to the breakfast buffet.  When they returned, they said, “Why don’t you come with us?”  We’re going by ourselves and the entire backseat is empty.”

The Halo Effect of Coach Joe Paterno: Respect

I hung up the phone stunned. I had just asked the Rev. Charles MacEachern (Charlie) to officiate at our wedding. He was the retired pastor of my family church in Massachusetts, a friend. The year was 1987.

Charlie asked about Terry. I started with, “Terry is an avid Penn State football fan.” His response was, “Carolyn, that’s all I need to know. Anybody who’s a fan of Joe Paterno will make a great husband.” He immediately agreed to marry us.

“Joe Paterno is my hero,” Charlie explained. “He doesn’t compromise academics to win. He does college football the right way.”

Marketers would call this reaction the “halo effect.” Because Paterno had this halo surrounding him, the halo was transferred to Terry. I could describe Terry in a lot of ways, but “angel” wasn’t exactly on the tip of my tongue.

Loyalty at Penn State is Very Clear Cut: Money Talks

If you read the Centre Daily Times online and follow Penn State football religiously, you know that there has been a rather heated discussion about the Beaver Stadium Seat Transfer and Equity Plan. This plan, scheduled to be implemented in 2011, essentially will re-assign seats based on the seats’ “worth”. That is, chair-back seats on the 50-yard line will require an annual donation of $2000 per seat (there are very few of these). Seats between the 25-yard lines will require $600 per seat. Seats between the 10-25 yard lines will require $400 per seat. All other seats – other than the student section, the visitor section, and the club seats – will require a $100 donation per seat. That's just for the right to buy tickets.

Part of the plan also is the relocation of the student section. Right now the student section starts in the middle of the end zone and extends to the 40-yard line in the East stands. Students work their way up – freshmen sit in the end zone, sophomores in the corner of the end zone, juniors between the 0-20 yard lines, and seniors have the best seats. In the new configuration, students will be in the entire bottom level of the south end zone, and have some sections between the goal line and the 10-yard line in both the east and west stands. 

The visitors will be moved from the northeast end zone corner of the stadium to the very last rows in the Lion’s Den in the end zone – up in the “nose bleed” section. People sitting in those last rows will have to be relocated.

Okay, that’s hard to visualize, so look at the picture to the left. It’s a bit small, but it’s the best I can do. The blue seats are $100 seats. The red seats are $400 seats. Black are $600 seats. Green are $2000 seats. White are student section, and pink are visitors. The purple first tier in the south end zone are club seats, under separate contract, so not subject to this plan.

Does this plan make sense? According to most of the comments posted on the Centre Daily Times website, Penn State is being accused of all sorts of greed and other nasty intentions. People are claiming that they are not being recognized for their years of loyalty.

A Decent Travel Schedule For A Change

Spent the day today making reservations for fall away games. It's nice to think that we will connect through Detroit Airport only four times: twice for the Iowa game and twice again for Minnesota. For Alabama, we will be on a charter out of Harrisburg. The rest of the games - Ohio State and Indiana (at FedEx field near Washington D.C.) will be road trips. I didn't even get a call from the credit card company! Usually when I book all our trips for the fall in one day I get a notice asking me to confirm if the charges are legitimate. But I guess just two round-trip flights are under their radar for illegitimate purchases.

Makes me even more excited about the possibility of Big Ten Expansion. The more games within driving distance, the happier we will be. There's nothing fun about airline travel these days.

Speaking of Big Ten expansion, Pete Fiutak of CollegeFootballNews.com (http://cfn.scout.com/2/968955.html) makes the following predictions for Big Ten expansion:

Future Potential Highlighted at Blue White Game

We didn’t learn much from the Blue White Game that we didn’t already know. Penn State basically has a quarterback problem. There was nothing in the game today that suggests that we will have an offense that is ready to play Alabama at Tuscaloosa on September 11. Instead, the game merely highlighted the work that will need to be done to get Penn State’s offense into shape.

There’s clearly at least a two-way race, possibly even a three-way race, for quarterback. Joe Paterno and the rest of the coaching staff will have a difficult decision to make, and the stakes are higher than usual. It’s not just Alabama that looms early in the season. It’s also Iowa – our Big Ten opener – at Iowa City on October 2. Our non-conference schedule in September – Youngstown State, Kent State, and Temple – does not look like the kind of schedule that will help the team improve dramatically for these two big tests.

The best performance at quarterback was Paul Jones, a freshman who started at Penn State in January. However, as good as he looked with his two touchdown passes, he wasn’t playing against Penn State’s first-string defense. So it’s hard to evaluate his success. And we also know that Joe Paterno is not known for playing true freshmen, even if they start a little early at college. My guess is that Paul Jones will be the most popular quarterback at Penn State in the fall. He will be the one that everyone will call for from the stands when the starting quarterback – Newsome or McGloin - stumbles.

Blue-White Confession

This week the hallway conversation at Smeal College is all about the Blue-White game. My students keep asking, “Mrs. Todd, aren’t you excited? The Blue-White game is coming up!” My usual response? “Of course!” But alas, it’s a bit of a white lie.

So I have a confession to make: we don’t always go to the Blue-White game. As the game has become more popular, it has become more of a hassle to attend. And there is an alternative: last year, watching it on the Big Ten Network, this year, watching it on ESPN2. One of the attractive aspects of staying home is listening to Joe Paterno’s comments on the radio while we watch the TV visuals. In a sense, we learn more that way about the current state of the team.

A large part of the problem is parking. The carnival and proliferation of food stands that set up behind the West stands eliminated a lot of spaces, and the popularity of the game has skyrocketed. What used to be 30,000-40,000 people attending the game has swelled to 70,000+.

The parking and game are free, but it’s a free-for-all – no reserved parking - and you don’t know where you will find a space – you have to get there early – REAL early - at 7 or 8 a.m. to get a decent space near the stadium. If you go to the Blue-White game, it’s an all-day affair. You’re competing with 70,000 people for some place to park, with little method to the madness. It’s a great family event and tailgating scene, and a wonderful way for families and students who do not have regular access to season tickets to experience the atmosphere of Penn State football. Another big attraction for kids is the autograph session at the stadium and the carnival.

Two years ago, we arrived about 3 hours before the game started, and there was little parking to be found. We were directed into a field off University Drive. We couldn’t find a space, and there were tents blocking the lanes to get to more parking on an adjacent field. We had to back up, and with all the kids around, it was pretty tense. We settled on a tight parking space– one that we had rejected earlier for being too small – but it was the only one available.