2010 Schedule Wallpaper - The Eyes Have It - Game 8 Penn State
Update: I've designed Halloween special edition version of the Penn State game wallpaper. Get the Halloween 2010 JoePa Costume wallpaper.
My road to Michigan fandom was long and twisty. Some of you would refer to my children as Mudbloods (my wife is from Ann Arbor and has claim to "pure blood" status where I do not) and to me as a Muggle (my lack of magical powers kept me from attending Hogwarts the University of Michigan). Actually, after reading what I just wrote I'm pretty sure that you're more likely to refer to me as a "huge nerd" but whatever.
Anyway...
When I was little my grandmother lived in Pennsylvania so she showered me and my brother with Penn State gear every Christmas. We wore this gear. We rooted for Penn State on the rare occasions when their games were televised out West. We loved Coach Paterno and his crazy thick glasses. Like the rings of a tree, the edges of his lenses marched outward with each advancing year. My friend and I used to joke that the glasses were so thick, and the lenses so curved, that his eyebrows actually appeared below his eyes thanks to extreme refraction.
Although my allegiance was shifted to the boys in the winged helmets once I reached the age of accountability, I still have a deep respect for Joe Paterno and can't imagine college football without him. I was pained to learn last year that he had surgery to correct his vision. Beyond being totally freaked out at how small and beady (and upright) his eyes looked, it felt wrong for the signature glasses to be benched. I'm relieved that he has continued to wear glasses on the sideline, however thin and superficial.
This week's wallpaper is a nod to the stark simplicity of Penn State's uniforms and the throwback style of their legendary coach. I tried to imagine what JoePa's vision was like before his surgery and blurred the text accordingly. The glasses frames were inspired by the style he wore in 1969. You can see the reference photo below.
The image below is a preview only. You can get this week's widescreen, 4:3, iPad and mobile wallpapers at The Art. The Art. The Art!.
Bonus: Does JoePa have a twin brother and is he a Michigan Fan?
The guy on the bottom was sitting next to me and my wife at the 2004 Iowa game. This is not a Photoshop job. I didn't notice him until the second quarter and I had to pretend to take a photo of my wife like 5 times to get this shot but it was totally worth it.
All of the 2010 Schedule Wallpapers
Season Wallpaper - Denard Robinson Action Figure
Game 1 Connecticut Wallpaper - Husky Puppy Piddles in Fear
Game 2 Notre Dame Wallpaper - Touchdown Jesus Says "No Good"
Game 3 Massachusetts Wallpaper - The $550,000 Cupcake
Game 4 Bowling Green Wallpaper - Wolverine vs. Falcon
Game 5 Indiana Wallpaper - Good at Basketball
Game 6 Michigan State Wallpaper - Sibling Rivalry
Game 7 Iowa Wallpaper - Maize is Blue
Game 8 Penn State Wallpaper - The Eyes Have It
Game 8 Penn State Wallpaper - JoePa Halloween Costume
Game 9 Illinois Wallpaper - We Be Illin'
October 25th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
as usual!
October 25th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
I love these. I set them as my background on my computer here at work every time a new one comes out. Keep them coming!
October 25th, 2010 at 10:46 AM ^
Just amazing. Great stuff!
October 25th, 2010 at 10:52 AM ^
Haha that twin is a conspiracy. Thanks once again monuMental for sharing your art with us.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
THANK YOU. I have been eagerly refreshing my screen since I got to work this morning. :)
Time to bid farewell to the Iowa one, which was pure brilliance btw. Good work, sir.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:30 PM ^
I love that you're refreshing your page for the update. Awesome to hear that people look forward to the wallpapers that much.
I have my personal blog set to auto-publish the wallpapers at 6am Eastern time every Monday...so if you use an RSS reader like Google Reader you will be able to get them a little earlier. My process for release is:
- My blog at http://www.theartthearttheart.com around 6am
- Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/thearttheart around 9am
- Mgoblog around 9am
October 27th, 2010 at 1:02 AM ^
Wow, thanks!
These have such cool symbolism. The :01 on the MSU one was classic, even if it made me a little sick to my stomach. I can still hear Frank Beckmann's call on that one like it was yesterday.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
Maybe it was realy JoePa doing some advanced scouting....
Nicely done!
October 25th, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
I no offense to JoPa, but I'd like to think these glasses have to be a bit more stylish
All kidding aside, fantastic job! You have some great artistic talent showcased in these wallpapers.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:25 PM ^
If the game comes down to who looks better in those frames, it's gotta be a Michigan win.
October 25th, 2010 at 1:24 PM ^
These are awesome. Could you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do one for Six Zero's match-up with his wife?
October 25th, 2010 at 3:45 PM ^
Will you not do one, Monumental?
BTW, loved the Iowa wallpaper, if not the game itself. Glad to hear the you've gotten things figured out with the University.
(For the record, it wasn't about me vs. my wife, man... yeesh)
October 26th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^
Not to worry. No Six Zero wife themed wallpapers in the works.
I've got my hands full with the regular weekly wallpapers and a few special editions (that I might finish someday), not to mention one Mrs. and several Ms. monuMentals demanding my attention.
Glad you liked the Iowa wallpaper even though the game was a bummer. Tate almost earned himself a cease and desist-worthy action figure wallpaper of his own.
October 25th, 2010 at 4:10 PM ^
Gotta respect the legends, especially the living legends. Great work as always. My desktop is happy once again.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
I'm happy that you (and everyone else seems to) appreciate the JoePa respect. Thanks for commenting.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:12 PM ^
another great job.
I dig the blur on the schedule, I didn't want to see the L next to Iowa anyway.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
I'm not gonna lie...even though I had decided on the "glasses with blurred schedule" concept several weeks ago, it feels even "righter" now that there are 2 L's on the record. Maybe I should leave them blurred until we see another W up there.
October 25th, 2010 at 6:22 PM ^
Bravo!
October 25th, 2010 at 6:59 PM ^
You don't get enough positive votes in my opinion, this is good work!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:18 PM ^
Thanks. The points are nice but the real reward is that lots of people enjoy getting new wallpapers every week. I appreciate you taking time to comment.
October 25th, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^
The only thing that matters is in focus.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:16 PM ^
Exactly right about the focus.
October 25th, 2010 at 9:03 PM ^
Thanks again, monuMental. These are simply awesome.
October 25th, 2010 at 11:17 PM ^
great read, thanks again MonuMental!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:33 PM ^
Nice. I was wondering if anyone actually bothered to read my diary fillers. Turns out that I enjoy sharing the back story as much as the wallpaper itself.
October 26th, 2010 at 2:28 AM ^
I hadn't updated my wallpaper since the Indiana game. I'm pretty sure that's why we haven't won since. Problem fixed. 10-2, here we come!
Kidding aside, you are very skilled. Has there been an mgoprofile on monuMental yet?
October 26th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^
I like your optimism. I find myself expecting 7 but hoping for 9 wins. No mgoprofile on me yet...might be a little premature considering I've only been a contributing member for a few weeks but if anyone is interested in my completely regular and uninteresting life I'd be happy to oblige.
October 26th, 2010 at 11:16 PM ^
Love it.
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