Penn State Football: Twelve Prayers for the Year 2012

Last year I created a little ditty based on the Twelve Days of Christmas about going to the Outback Bowl.  This holiday season, I’m in a less frivolous and much more serious mood.   

In fact, I would just as soon pray for Penn State University and its football team.  I guess I’ve been inspired a bit by the last home game against Nebraska on November 12th, when both the Penn State and Nebraska teams prayed on the field before the game. 

I look to prayers in this context primarily as a healing mechanism.  It doesn’t matter the religion you profess. If you prefer to substitute the word “hope” for “prayer” then that works as well.

Either way, there is a lot of healing needed right now when it comes to Penn State University and the situation we are confronted with given the allegations by up to twelve reported accusers who claim that they are victims of child sexual abuse by former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. 

Except for perhaps Prayer #1, there is no order to these prayers.  They are all important, and I don’t want any reader to think that somehow one has priority over the other.    And so I will mix it up a bit.  Please don’t read anything into how I have ordered the thoughts.

Be forewarned, this is a very long blog post.  But there is a lot to pray for. 

Penn State at Wisconsin: Ugh!

Apologies to all who have been wondering what happened to me.  People have been wondering why I didn't post my usual Sunday night blog.  Basically, I had decided to leave my computer home when we traveled to Wisconsin on Thanksgiving weekend. 

Instead I brought with me 67 papers to grade, and on that weekend and the next couple of days after we finally returned home, that took priority.  It is, after all, the end of the semester.  I have usually used Thanksgiving week to catch up on grading.

But with an away game at Ohio State the weekend before, and then another away game at Wisconsin, I didn't get as much done in-between as I had hoped.

Penn State at Ohio State: A Huge Win By A Very Determined Team

It's always tough playing at Ohio Stadium, aka the "Horseshoe", in Columbus, Ohio.  Since Penn State's first season in the Big Ten conference in 1993, we had won there only once, in 2008.  As of yesterday, make that twice! 

A 20-14 win against Ohio State Saturday night was characterized by more offense than anyone expected in the first half, and then by a complete defensive shutdown by both teams in the second half.  The six-point difference in the game made it possible for either team to win until the final seconds of the game. 

Penn State Football: The Lion's Pride Asserts Itself

We weren't certain what to expect when we entered Beaver Stadium yesterday for the Penn State-Nebraska game.  It seemed an eternity since that miserably snowy Illinois game two weeks earlier, when Penn State eked out a win with the help of an innovative student section that distracted the Illinois kicker at the end of the game, causing the ball to fall harmlessly off the upright, and achieving Coach Joe Paterno's 409th win, the most wins in Division I history.

In just a week's time, Penn State's entire world had collapsed as we knew it.  It was a distressing week for anyone who associates themselves with Penn State:  students, faculty, staff, alumni, sports fans.  We were shocked, disgusted, ashamed, angry, afraid, confused, determined to know the truth. 

Penn State Football: JoePa's 409th Win Delights; Fan Behavior Disappoints

The Pre-Game Warm-Up

When it comes to weather, yesterday's game forecast was about as bad as it could be.   So bad, in fact, that my husband Terry threatened to stay home.  Really?  End a 265-game attendance streak at Penn State football games because of a little snow and inconvenience in October?  At a home game?

He actually thought about watching Joe Paterno's record-breaking 409th win on TV? Assuming, of course, we won?

Penn State at Northwestern: It's Time to Believe!

It would have been an okay trip without the win because the game was in Chicago and Chicago is always fun, a favorite big city that we could visit often and never tire of its offerings.   

But it became a fantastic trip with a win over a team that is better than its record, one that we were very worried about.  That gave Penn State all it could handle last year in Joe Paterno's 400th win.  This year it was tying the late Eddie Robinson of Grambling State for the all-time Division I-A lead in wins that was at stake.

Last night's game against the Northwestern Wildcats was reminiscent of yet another adventurous trip to Evanston, at the beginning of the 2005 Big Ten season, when for the first time in a long time I felt that a Penn State team had a chance to be something really special.

Penn State Football: Purdue is Undone; Lions Find a Way to Win

"Undo Purdue" was the Citizens Bank button this week.  And the Nittany Lions obliged.  In a game that had as many twists and turns as a Tom Clancy novel, and was, in many respects, just as unnerving, the Penn State special teams finally exerted their influence in making big plays.

This game was also entertaining, in a weird sort of way, with its back and forth, anything can happen, nature.  Nick Sukay's first of two interceptions occurred at the end of the first half and put 7-6 Penn State on Purdue's 24-yard line with 14 seconds left in the half.

Penn State Football: Impressive Win Over Iowa, Newfound Hope for Season

What a game, what a day, what an atmosphere. 

A 3:30 game on a fall day with sunny mild weather creates bar none the best tailgating atmosphere in the country.

A student section that was in their seats at the beginning of the game and loud enough to make a difference in the game.

A running game that has found its tempo behind the blocking and tackling of an offensive line.

An offense that didn't quit, even though it still had troubles in the red zone.