Shut Out
It’s not every day we get to shut out a Big Ten team 39-0. The last Beaver Stadium Halloween game was in 1998 and we shut out the Illini that day too.
Nearly everything was clicking for us on Saturday. You just can’t beat a trick-and-treat catch by our quarterback for a touchdown, an unforgettable Saquon Soar into the end zone, and an impenetrable Linebacker U defense. Think that win was pretty enough for everybody? I thoroughly enjoyed it.
All of that from a young team not quite up to a full roster. A glimpse of former and future glory rolled up into a near perfect game in present time. We’ve been waiting for a game like this and our patience certainly paid off.
Rumor has it that a certain former coach’s photo was displayed on the big screen. Did you get to see it? Onward State reported it was up there for “more than a minute.” More than a minute? Well, golly! How underwhelming! Hope you didn’t pick that minute to use the restroom. Of course, those of us watching at home didn’t have a prayer for any media coverage of the honor.
Here’s something that isn’t a rumor. It’s straight from one of our alumni trustees: the powers that be didn’t even want to mention Joe Paterno’s induction into the PA Hall of Fame. It took one of our alumni-elected trustees to really push for it. That’s right. The majority of the Penn State Board of Trustees still wants to shut out JoePa. Why?
It’s clearly not a question for us-- at the mere sight of his photo on the jumbotron the stadium lept to its feet in applause. I don’t think we could be more clear about our desire for Penn State to validate the contributions of the coach who built our university from library to stadium. The time for formal recognition is so far past its pathetic. PSU leadership remains so completely lame, and that’s putting it nicely.
I can already hear the move-on-already-ers grumbling that I’ve brought this up yet again. It’s okay. I know you are just part of the plan-- the plan that would have all of this forgotten by 2014. The further removed we are from 2011, the fewer people this is important to, and that is the goal. Shut out by phase out.
Joe Paterno is only part of it. The same powerful people along with the NCAA wanted to ensure that our entire football program was shut out of competition. Through refusing to defend our great university, buying the faulty Freeh report, and agreeing to outrageous, egregious sanctions, Penn State Football was supposed to be dead for at least the next ten years or more.
I’d seriously love to move on, but that’s not going to happen with an administration that insists on standing firm to protect their own personal liabilities with a fabricated narrative. Never underestimate the loyalty of our alumni, the courage of our students, the pride of our Nittany Lions. We will not be shut out from the truth.
Barely and convincingly, with ugly wins and gorgeous ones, we’ve already advanced to 7-2. No matter what happens from here on out, we have ourselves a winning season. Not only that but our record over these last three years will also be above fifty percent. Not too shabby for a program that was supposed to roll over and die, that was supposed to be completely shut out of relevance.
One thing is clear. We’ll do the shutting out around here.
Nearly everything was clicking for us on Saturday. You just can’t beat a trick-and-treat catch by our quarterback for a touchdown, an unforgettable Saquon Soar into the end zone, and an impenetrable Linebacker U defense. Think that win was pretty enough for everybody? I thoroughly enjoyed it.
All of that from a young team not quite up to a full roster. A glimpse of former and future glory rolled up into a near perfect game in present time. We’ve been waiting for a game like this and our patience certainly paid off.
Rumor has it that a certain former coach’s photo was displayed on the big screen. Did you get to see it? Onward State reported it was up there for “more than a minute.” More than a minute? Well, golly! How underwhelming! Hope you didn’t pick that minute to use the restroom. Of course, those of us watching at home didn’t have a prayer for any media coverage of the honor.
Here’s something that isn’t a rumor. It’s straight from one of our alumni trustees: the powers that be didn’t even want to mention Joe Paterno’s induction into the PA Hall of Fame. It took one of our alumni-elected trustees to really push for it. That’s right. The majority of the Penn State Board of Trustees still wants to shut out JoePa. Why?
It’s clearly not a question for us-- at the mere sight of his photo on the jumbotron the stadium lept to its feet in applause. I don’t think we could be more clear about our desire for Penn State to validate the contributions of the coach who built our university from library to stadium. The time for formal recognition is so far past its pathetic. PSU leadership remains so completely lame, and that’s putting it nicely.
I can already hear the move-on-already-ers grumbling that I’ve brought this up yet again. It’s okay. I know you are just part of the plan-- the plan that would have all of this forgotten by 2014. The further removed we are from 2011, the fewer people this is important to, and that is the goal. Shut out by phase out.
Joe Paterno is only part of it. The same powerful people along with the NCAA wanted to ensure that our entire football program was shut out of competition. Through refusing to defend our great university, buying the faulty Freeh report, and agreeing to outrageous, egregious sanctions, Penn State Football was supposed to be dead for at least the next ten years or more.
I’d seriously love to move on, but that’s not going to happen with an administration that insists on standing firm to protect their own personal liabilities with a fabricated narrative. Never underestimate the loyalty of our alumni, the courage of our students, the pride of our Nittany Lions. We will not be shut out from the truth.
Barely and convincingly, with ugly wins and gorgeous ones, we’ve already advanced to 7-2. No matter what happens from here on out, we have ourselves a winning season. Not only that but our record over these last three years will also be above fifty percent. Not too shabby for a program that was supposed to roll over and die, that was supposed to be completely shut out of relevance.
One thing is clear. We’ll do the shutting out around here.
