But I think the ribbon speaks volumes. Apparently the remaining players wanted to add it (according to Twitter)
thing to change the history and tradition a little. It will take a while to change that culture.
I wonder what the alums are saying?
I dunno, that volume is being drowned out by the sound of PSU's board of trustees.
"We care about preventing child abuse enough to wear blue ribbons, however we kinda feel like none of this is our fault and we shouldn't be punished. Also, Paterno is a good guy."
Has anyone posed the following question to PSU fans:
If you could go back in time and erase Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, all the records, championships, and child abuse, would you do it? What would the answer be?
In this life there are a lot of questions that are not worth asking.
Exactly.. like "would you like bacon on that cheeseburger?" or "should we go to a wine social or a titty bar?" or "hey State fan, why are you burning that couch?"
C'mon buddy... the answers are obviously obvious.
That depends - is it the kind of titty bar that doesn't sell booze? Because that gets old pretty quickly.
require you to keep drinking as a condition of hanging out there. Deja vu is that way, for one.
Im from PA, so naturally I have friends who are huge PSU fans. From my experience, do not bring up the PSU issues because if your co-worker has the same opinions as some of my friends, it will def shock the hell out of you and make you want to vomit.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:49 AM ^
I said something like although the program will take a hit and you may not like the sanctions; longterm it the sancitons may help people forgive the school and improve its reputation. He brought it up, so I had to think of something. Went pretty well, so if you are in the corner at the office maybe it's worth a try.
To be fair, I only posed the question. I'm sure many (hopefully most) PSU fans would gladly take the deal. As for not taking culpability, I was referring to many fans but especially the idiots on their BoT.
My impression from watching local TV, listening to local radio, observing people, and talking to people is that most PSU fans are disgusted with PSU's inaction in the face of Sandusky's crimes. There were a lot fewer protests of the NCAA sanctions (in NE PA, anyway) than I expected. I lot of people are embarassed by PSU, but you don't hear about them b/c they don't post this fact online.
It cannot be easy for people who grew up viewing JoePa as we view Bo to come to grips with Paterno's indifference to pedophilia. I know it was hard for me to comprehend his inaction and I am a Michigan fan.
Hell, Germans for years refused to believe that Hitler knew about the death camps. They were positive that the killings were being done without his knowledge. This seems like sheer lunacy to us, but if you consider how much people had emotionally invested in both men it ought not surprise us to see them express incredulity at the crimes of their heroes.
Godwin's law in record time
PSU...where shirts and sanctions are the priority.
Where did it go so wrong?
...I think the traditional plain uniforms at PSU are maybe the only thing worth keeping there.
And ribbons? On football uniforms? Good grief...
. . .and put the Nittany Lion "cat" logo on the helmets.
I'm glad they're adding names. I hate nameless jerseys. We don't all have a game program at home.
You really think I want to look up PSU's online roster while I'm watching the game? That smacks of effort, man.
But the blue ribbon should be their new helmet logo, and it should stay up there forever.
I like the names being added since it makes it much easier to know who the player is without looking it up or waiting for a commentator to say it. However, I have always enjoyed Penn State, Notre Dame, etc. not having the name on the jersey because of the uniqueness of it all.
As for the ribbon, I am on the fence. It is nice to support the victims that went through such a horrible experience, but on the other hand it would be nice to be able to somewhat move on from it.
but it's too early to move on from it.
I understand what you are saying and I agree with you. What I mean is while it is something that should always be remembered, I would hate for Penn State football to always be surrounded by that horrific event. I would not be opposed to them having the ribbon on the helmets throughout the future, but only if one day we can see PSU football in a new light that isn't shrouded by this issue.
Will it ever be? Who truly knows, but with the history of Penn State football, I just hope they are able to make a new history in the near future and not be reminded of the past.
It's a ridiculous sequence of events:
Day 1: BOT to potentially litigate NCAA sanctions.
Day 2: Introduce new uniforms with sympathy ribbon.
Does anyone, anyone in State College have any idea of optics let alone compassion?
Move on? They haven't even finished with several criminal cases, multiple civil cases being brought by victims and we are just seeing the start of four years of NCAA sanctions.
We won't be moving on for quite some time.
With all the contact that happens between football players during a game, how is a ribbon going to stay on?
I'm very interested in watching their first game of the season against Ohio U. The game comes on at noon on the 1st (great way to calm your nerves over our game with Bama later that evening.)
The Bobcats are coming off a 10 win season with, I believe, most of their starters back. I wonder if an ass kicking is inevitable by the end of the 1st quarter. I'm sure the game will be on the BTN and the announcers will probably spend more time talking about the scandal and player transfers than anything happening on the field.
Makes sense. I don't know how else they could have done it.
I hope an ass kicking is coming by the end of the 1st quarter.
I'm personally looking forward to the Temple Owls visit on the 22nd...the "blue out" for abuse victims apparently.
I'm looking forward to Temple kicking their ass also. I hope I can get out of the stadium in one piece in my cherry and white gear among those neanderthals.
One of the NCAA sanctions should have been to prevent them from playing White Stripes songs.
How can you have Psu football without Zombie Nation and The White Stripes? It's tradition!
In other news get off my lawn.
August 7th, 2012 at 10:46 PM ^
Yeah, a whole five years of tradition.
"School officials said adding the names was a way to recognize the "resolve and dedication" of the players, as the team faces a four-year bowl ban and loss of scholarships under the severe penalties handed down by the NCAA last month over the school's handling of the Sandusky scandal."
This is probably not a bad way to recognize them for sticking it out through what will be a very, very rough patch, and it will likely be the first of many progressive changes made by the program and the department perhaps meant to psychologically distance themselves from the Paterno years, I would think. Even if this is a mere prelude to redefining the program in toto, there is something to be said for loyalty to the school even in these circumstances.
is it just me, or does the ribbon seem like more of a self-imposed "Scarlet letter" than anyting else?
The need to change the helmets IMO. Maybe add the logo to the sides of them or change to blue helmets with logos.
SOMETHING. They need to start over. Besides, their uniforms were always bland anyways. I'm sure the players wouldn't mind something new.
August 7th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^
That's cold.