Asmussen: Trip loses some luster
Fri, 10/30/2015 - 9:17pm | Bob Asmussen (@BobAsmussen)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — I used to love coming here. Of all the places to visit in the Big Ten, it was my favorite. By far.
And I didn’t even mind the drive, albeit a very, very long one. When Penn State accepted an invitation to join Jim Delany’s conference, I knew a trip to Beaver Stadium was in my future.
The first time was in 1998. Stopped in Cleveland to see former News-Gazette staffer Dave Campbell.
Loren Tate made the trip with me. When we passed Columbus, Ohio, Loren said, “This is the longest I have ever been in a car.” Wasn’t sure whether to cry or congratulate him.
I made later trips to Penn State with Brian Dietz, Jeff Huth, Marcus Jackson and now, Matt Daniels.
For years, late Penn State coach Joe Paterno hosted a Friday night gathering for visiting media. It was old-school and cool.
I skipped the first one, but when I traveled with Dietz in 2000, we knew there wouldn’t be many more chances, so we came to the Nittany Lion Inn.
Paterno was great. Telling stories. He talked about how the school moved Beaver Stadium to its current location, and he said to then-head coach Rip Engle, “This will be the death of Penn State football.” Not so much.
I couldn’t stop asking him questions. Finally, he told me to chill. In a nice way. It was a night I will always remember.
Smile for the camera
There were other encounters with Paterno. Like the year we dedicated our season preview to “Why I love college football.”
At the Big Ten media kickoff, against the league’s wishes, we set up posed photos of all the conference coaches. John L. Smith raised a Michigan State foam finger, Jim Tressel put a Buckeyes sticker on a helmet and late Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner wore a T-shirt that read, “I ‘heart’ College Football.”
We had a genius idea for Paterno: kiss a football. He politely refused, saying “I don’t do cornball.” So he held a football instead. Pretty sure that section won a national prize.
In 2011, I made my last trip to State College until this one. For what turned out to be Paterno’s last game as coach.
In a snowstorm, the Nittany Lions edged Illinois 10-7. Snowballs were flying at Derek Dimke’s feet as he tried a tying field goal late in the game.
Paterno picked up his 409th win, the most in Division I history.
Saying goodbye
Jackson and I stayed at Beaver Stadium long after Paterno celebrated the victory. In the snow and cold, I did a video near the Paterno statue. Not sure what I said, but it was all moot a day or two later, when news of the Jerry Sandusky sexual-abuse scandal broke.
Soon, Paterno was out as coach. On Jan. 22, 2012, at age 85, Paterno died in State College.
The school has tried to move past the scandal. Paterno was three coaches ago, replaced at first by Bill O’Brien and then current head coach James Franklin.
The initial four-year postseason ban was cut in half, and the scholarship limits were wiped out early, too.
This week, I made my first trip back to State College since the scandal.
There wasn’t the same anticipatory joy as in the past. There are places I like to visit at Penn State. Like the Creamery. The ice cream cone was huge as usual. And melted as usual. But it wasn’t quite the same.
The drive by Paterno’s old house at 830 McKee St. was sad. There is somebody living there, but we know it isn’t the coach. His willingness to have his phone number listed always seemed like a very Paterno-y thing to do. Try to find Urban Meyer’s phone number in the Columbus phone book. Or Nick Saban’s in Tuscaloosa.
Paterno is gone, and his legacy outside of State College is murky at best. I have no desire to buy a JoePa bobblehead. Or wear white socks and black shoes. It was quaint before the scandal.
Even the Lion statue lacks its usual aura.
There was a line of students waiting to take their pictures at the shrine.
“May its beauty and power be a constant inspiration to all of us to be ever loyal to the highest ideals of Penn State,” said Penn State President Ralph Hetzel when the shrine was dedicated in 1942.
No way Hetzel knew what was coming 70 years later.
It blindsided all of us. Innocence was lost. And we can’t get it back. Unfortunate, but reality.
Illinois doesn’t have another game at Penn State on the schedule. Earliest the Illini can play again here is 2020. Wonder if the feelings will change in five years. Or ever.
Bob Asmussen is in his 27th year covering college football for The News-Gazette. http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/...15-10-30/asmussen-trip-loses-some-luster.html @BobAsmussen