With nebraska and Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, I'm reminded...

[BobPSU92]

...of that highly emotional game in 2011. The bomb had just been dropped on Joe and the program. The teams met at mid-field prior to kickoff for a moment of prayer. I remember a shot on TV of a kid in a Penn State jersey crying. A surreal moment, yet there was a game to be played.

Despite the distractions, Penn State made a game of it. They fell short of course. Just a tough day. One of many to come.

The one thing that still disgusts me about that game and other home games in the next few years was the "Blue Out". Penn State wanted to show their sensitivity to victims of child sexual abuse, but they further linked the school and the football program to the issue, which of course, they really weren't, save for the false narrative. Just one more huge mistake by our university's "leadership".

When the Blue Out was announced for the nebraska game, there was of course, INTENSE. OUTRAGE. swirling nationally towards Penn State. I remember a know-nothing on another message board trying to lecture me that Penn State wasn't really expressing sensitivity with the Blue Out since blue was Penn State's primary color. "Oh, they wear blue to games anyway." I shut him up by telling him not to blame Penn State that blue is the official color of the cause in the way that pink is the color for breast cancer awareness. There was much stupidity around the Penn State issue back then, as there still is today.

As I look back to November 2011, I still am thankful for Joe Paterno for the great things he did for the university and for the rock-solid foundation he created. The program survived under the toughest and most unusual of conditions, and I don't think many other programs could have survived them. Most of the players stayed. Penn State was bowl-eligible during the unfair sanction period and has flourished since then. Success With Honor never left. A hearty thanks to Tom Bradley, Larry Johnson, Sr., Bill O'Brien, James Franklin, and all of the players for holding the program together and for giving us so many reasons to cheer.

WE ARE...PENN STATE!

Speaking of Tom Bradley, I still well up when I watch this (go the 5:00 mark):



For the glory.

 

[NittPicker]

I also recall that prior to that game there were some Nebraska douches who felt the game should have been cancelled essentially because it was beneath them to play Penn State. It didn't matter to them or anyone else that nobody on the Penn State sideline that day (including Joe who wasn't there) had anything to do with Sandusky and something which happened 10 years earlier. The outrage train was full and facts didn't matter.

 

[mn78psu83]

I also recall that prior to that game there were some Nebraska douches who felt the game should have been cancelled essentially because it was beneath them to play Penn State. It didn't matter to them or anyone else that nobody on the Penn State sideline that day (including Joe who wasn't there) had anything to do with Sandusky and something which happened 10 years earlier. The outrage train was full and facts didn't matter.

Bo Pelini was the conductor on the Outrage Train.

 

[BobPSU92]

Bo Pelini was the conductor on the Outrage Train.

Where is he now?

 

[JosephNit]

...of that highly emotional game in 2011. The bomb had just been dropped on Joe and the program. The teams met at mid-field prior to kickoff for a moment of prayer. I remember a shot on TV of a kid in a Penn State jersey crying. A surreal moment, yet there was a game to be played.

Despite the distractions, Penn State made a game of it. They fell short of course. Just a tough day. One of many to come.

The one thing that still disgusts me about that game and other home games in the next few years was the "Blue Out". Penn State wanted to show their sensitivity to victims of child sexual abuse, but they further linked the school and the football program to the issue, which of course, they really weren't, save for the false narrative. Just one more huge mistake by our university's "leadership".

When the Blue Out was announced for the nebraska game, there was of course, INTENSE. OUTRAGE. swirling nationally towards Penn State. I remember a know-nothing on another message board trying to lecture me that Penn State wasn't really expressing sensitivity with the Blue Out since blue was Penn State's primary color. "Oh, they wear blue to games anyway." I shut him up by telling him not to blame Penn State that blue is the official color of the cause in the way that pink is the color for breast cancer awareness. There was much stupidity around the Penn State issue back then, as there still is today.

As I look back to November 2011, I still am thankful for Joe Paterno for the great things he did for the university and for the rock-solid foundation he created. The program survived under the toughest and most unusual of conditions, and I don't think many other programs could have survived them. Most of the players stayed. Penn State was bowl-eligible during the unfair sanction period and has flourished since then. Success With Honor never left. A hearty thanks to Tom Bradley, Larry Johnson, Sr., Bill O'Brien, James Franklin, and all of the players for holding the program together and for giving us so many reasons to cheer.

WE ARE...PENN STATE!

Speaking of Tom Bradley, I still well up when I watch this (go the 5:00 mark):

View embedded media

For the glory.

I remember the day well. My wife and I were on a weekend get-away on Maryland's Eastern Shore. She went shopping on Saturday afternoon, and I found a bar in town with a bunch of televisions.

12:00 arrives, and they put various games on -- but not Penn State. So I asked the bartender to please put it on, and he starts on this tirade about how Penn State should not even be playing, and if they are playing then nobody should watch, and blah blah blah.

Holy crap! I'm like, uh, whatever you think happened there, whoever you think is responsible, whatever your opinion of Paterno, why do you take it out on the players and coaches who did nothing wrong and are not guilty of anything? And since you're doing the guilt-by-association thing, I said, then hell, close down every road into the state of Pennsylvania, since everyone who lives there must be guilty too, right?

The guy then put the game on, muttering the whole time. He was not convinced and was not interested in a respectful conversation about the issue. In fact, when the kids knelt together to pray in that unforgettable scene before the game, the guy only sneered.

Later another patron, probably a visitor to town like myself, sat down at a table near the bar and, totally unaware of the above exchange, asked the bartender to put the Penn State game on a second television that would be easier to view. More muttering and sneers, but the game was put on the second television.

I mean, it was a pretty depressing thing and drove home the irrationality of the hatred whipped up against Penn State during that first week after everything blew up.

 

[mn78psu83]

Where is he now?

Leading the YSU squad that almost upset Penn State's "rival" earlier this season.

 

[nits74]

Leading the YSU squad that almost upset Penn State's "rival" earlier this season.

I thought Pitt upset them.

 

[nits74]

Good post, Bob. I remember it well. It was the last game I attended. I also remember the prior snow storm game against Illinois. Didn't know at the time it would be Joe's last game as coach. Almost didn't make the drive from Pittsburgh, but decided we'd give it a go. So glad we did, because the silver lining in it for me was that I can say I attended both Joe's first and last games as a head coach. I've often wondered how many others there are out there that did that.

 

[DonP74]

Good post, Bob. I remember it well. It was the last game I attended. I also remember the prior snow storm game against Illinois. Didn't know at the time it would be Joe's last game as coach. Almost didn't make the drive from Pittsburgh, but decided we'd give it a go. So glad we did, because the silver lining in it for me was that I can say I attended both Joe's first and last games as a head coach. I've often wondered how many others there are out there that did that.

Congrats for that. Those ticket stubs are worth a lot of money.

 

[BobPSU92]

Leading the YSU squad that almost upset Penn State's "rival" earlier this season.

Thanks. I guess things haven’t turned out so well for him. Such a shame.

I wonder if he still wears a sweatshirt and looks slovenly at ysu. He looked like a crusty, old gym teacher at nebraska.

 

[DonP74]

No, you guys have it wrong. It was the AD, Tom Osborne, that stirred the pot about Nebraska not feeling safe. I swear the jerk wanted to win by forfeit. I want to pound them on Saturday by 50.

 

[nits74]

Congrats for that. Those ticket stubs are worth a lot of money.

Unfortunately, like my baseball cards, I never saved ticket stubs.

 

[DonP74]

Unfortunately, like my baseball cards, I never saved ticket stubs.

I do have "409" and I treasure it.

 

[BobPSU92]

I do have "409" and I treasure it.

Please take this opportunity to remember that the ultimate objective of college football is to win and that the winningest coach in the history of Division 1 College Football coached every game at Penn State.

 

[valleyforgebob]

Good post, Bob. I remember it well. It was the last game I attended. I also remember the prior snow storm game against Illinois. Didn't know at the time it would be Joe's last game as coach. Almost didn't make the drive from Pittsburgh, but decided we'd give it a go. So glad we did, because the silver lining in it for me was that I can say I attended both Joe's first and last games as a head coach. I've often wondered how many others there are out there that did that.

I also attended Joe's first game, as a senior at PSU, and his last game. I thought I might have been unique.

 

[nits74]

I also attended Joe's first game, as a senior at PSU, and his last game. I thought I might have been unique.

Good to hear that, valleyforge. I'm sure there are but a few of us out there. I was fortunate as a 14 year old to have had a sister at Penn State who got me a ticket for that Maryland game. I had been to several games prior to that when Rip was coach,as my dad was an alumnus and we had made a few trips to State College in the early 60's. We did see many Pitt games in Pittsburgh, which at that time was almost every year.

 

[ApexLion]

Bo Pelini was the conductor on the Outrage Train.

Bo Pelini is a mentally deficient high school gym teacher from a family of mentally deficient gym teachers.

The whole scene that day was asinine. We didn't need some moron leading a sermon at midfield. Our administration (yes, you Uncle Fester) were and remain morons.

 

[PSUoh90]

Been too long since we beat the Huskers. I hope we beat the piss out of them Saturday.