This is an exciting era for Penn State football now that sanctions have passed, but.................
- Thread starter Jerademan74
- Start date
No way! O'Brien did a fine job but nothing extraordinary IMO. PSU could have spent that same $4m a year and found somebody who would have also done a good job leading us through the sanctions. 15 wins in two seasons was not extraordinary give the talent that remained after Joe's firing. In fact, it's the 2014 & 2015 teams that were/are most deeply impacted by recruiting classes ranked in the 40s/50s.
The thing that held PSU football together was an incredibly loyal fan base. What other school would average more than 100,000 fans to watch a sanctioned team that can't compete in the post season and is unlikely to crack the top 25?
That and a couple of kids who believed in Paterno's ideals; the most noteworthy being Mauti. I actually credit the kids more than the fan base but that's "Nitt" picking!
People give the players a lot of credit for sticking with PSU but I don't think it was easy for some the upperclassmen to transfer. New team, new system, and only a few months to get acclimated and crack a new starting lineup. I don't think that would have worked out particularly well for kids like McGloin, Zordich, Mauit, Hodges, etc. It was a lot easier for the underclassmen. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of respect for these kids and how they handled a difficult situation.
PSU fans did have a choice. Why spend a small fortune to attend games to watch heavily sanctioned teams, especially when you've lost respect for the University's administration? One reason recruits come to PSU is because they want to play in front of 100,000+ fans in one of the best atmospheres in college football. That's why I say the fans saved PSU football.
That said, I think PSU would have easily won 10 games in 2012 if they had Fortt, Redd, Brown, & Fera.
Fair comments bdgan. What would their record have been if they lost Mauti, McGloim, Hodges and Zordich and how many less fans would have turned out? Or, would they still have won 10 in 2012 if Fortt, Redd, Brown and Fera stayed but 20,000 less fans stayed? Like I said, it is Nittpicking but if all the players left, a LOT less fans would have attended. It is kind of a "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" kind of deal. We all deserve some credit (at least those of us who continued to support the kids who stayed).
Of course, I would have gone to every game because I made a 5 year commitment to Mount Nittany Club seats about a month before the sanctions were announced
. I was truly pissed,felt misled and considered legal action to back out of my commitment. That 2012 season was quite special and BOTH the kids and the fans deserve the credit! I am glad that I was in the stadium for those games!
Of course, I would have gone to every game because I made a 5 year commitment to Mount Nittany Club seats about a month before the sanctions were announced
. I was truly pissed,felt misled and considered legal action to back out of my commitment. That 2012 season was quite special and BOTH the kids and the fans deserve the credit! I am glad that I was in the stadium for those games!
I still maintain that the Ath. Dept knew this shitnado was coming when they offered the bonus points if you re-upped your tickets by Nov 1, 2011. In light of everything else that happened, and this is just cynical ol me talking, but the timing of that was very telling...with the benefit of hindsight, of course.
