OT PSU - Standing up for the right reason today.

Submitted by MGJS SuperKick Party on
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/12/penn-state-stadium-prof…

Sorry if this has already been posted, and the fact it is posted on a game day. I didn't see a Penn State thread for today. This is an article I found recently and I figured it I would share. It is kind of interesting, and not that surprising that people would respond the way that they did. Mods feel free to remove if it has already been posted.

Go blue and let's keep the red out for the next two weeks!

lilpenny1316

November 12th, 2011 at 10:30 PM ^

This article was it for me.  There are just too many idiots that want to make JoePa and the team martyrs.  The fact that the proceeds of this game is not going to charity tells me that the school is only serious about getting a new staff and president, not the victims.  That's okay I guess.  I know the families of the victims will make the school pay for their cover up.

ClearEyesFullHart

November 12th, 2011 at 10:36 PM ^

     The players bear no responsibility in all this.  In truth I feel bad for them, and for everyone who went to PSU(well, besides the ones who knew).

     This story reminds me a lot of the MSU protesters last year.  Good cause.  But unlikely to change anything, and more likely to end in more violence than actual change.

     I haven't read--is PSU giving this year's revenue to the victims?  That would be a start.  They'll likely lose that much in the lawsuits anyway.  Cant imagine what this is going to do to their recruiting.  Or their enrollment for that matter.  

        

MGlobules

November 12th, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^

were pretty perfuntory. It was like "what do we need to do to get on with our football"? Right down to the trustees who fired Paterno, likely almost everyone knew. I don't give a crap if they were legally bound to wait--someone should have been screaming bloody murder. 

Mr. Robot

November 12th, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^

Pretty sad they treated the guy that way, but I honestly don't agree with the guy. I'm sure plenty more heads will roll at PSU before this is over, but to simply forfeit the seaon would be punishing the one group that defintiely didn't know and does not deserve to be punished for this: the players. Its not fair to the current players or the extra damage such a move would do to the program for the players yet to come.

SysMark

November 12th, 2011 at 11:05 PM ^

The issue isn't whether anyone agrees or disagrees with the guy - it is whether he is entitled to make a public statement, in a reasonable, non-threatening manner, which he was doing.  The actions of these people are a sad commentary on the PSU community...you are seeing their true colors and it isn't pretty.

Mr. Robot

November 12th, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^

But I can't really say that surprises me too much either. I'm not sure we are really in a decent position to judge the mindset of PSU fans. As much as I'd like to believe we at least wouldn't throw stuff at a guy like that, I'm not sure it wouldn't happen here or anywhere else.

The situation at PSU is tragic, but this guy is really doing little more than adding salt to a very fresh wound. Can you image how it'd feel to us if we found out something like this happened under Bo? I sure know I can't, and PSU loves Joe just as much as we loved Bo. I don't think their fanbase has had enough time to absorb what has just happened yet, and having a guy insisting that they just throw the rest of the season after their 46 year coach was just fired is not exactly helping.

We can talk all day about how horrible it is that Penn State is thinking about their football program more at a time like this, but we also didn't experience the storm they went through for the last week. That doesn't excuse the behavior against the guy, but I don't expect the reaction he received would not happen at any other program that experienced something like that. We see the reality that the victims in this seem to be overlooked, but we're not seeing it with the previous view of Paterno being a legend and a hero, so that isn't nearly as hard for us to do.

Urban Warfare

November 12th, 2011 at 11:53 PM ^

game where OSU's band stays home because of PSU fans' behavior.  The fans throw urine and God only knows what else, and stadium security is either unwilling or unable to stop it. 

OSU has taken steps to eliminate our lunatic fringe, Penn State embraces theirs. 

In other words, Penn State fans are a special kind of scum. 

SysMark

November 13th, 2011 at 12:01 AM ^

I understand what you're saying and it's reasonable.  I have some PSU people in my family so have encountered the mindset up close - their veneration of Paterno and the football program, IMO, is well beyond that of where the Michigan community is, and I  think that is part of how they got into this situation.  Ann Arbor has a different dynamic - PSU is in a relatively small, insular environment and football dominates the culture more than it does at Michigan. Don't get me wrong, we are rabid, but it is more in perspective.

They went too long with Paterno and are paying the price - he became bigger than any coach should be at a major university.

Here is what I think would have been different if something like this happened at Michigan:

- the guy would have been less physically confronted

- more people would have come to his defense

 

Lordfoul

November 12th, 2011 at 11:07 PM ^

A great many Penn State fans don't get it.  I wonder though, if something like this surfaced involving Michigan coaches and administrators, how many Michigan fans wouldn't get it.  

In my experience most people need the tragedy of a situation to directly affect them to get upset about it.  For Penn State fans, the part of this situation that most directly affects them is losing Joe Pa, as they don't know the victims personally.  They don't know Joe personally either, but they feel like they do.  

The smarter Penn St fans understand the depth of the situation.  They read the report of what allegedly happened and can imagine their own kin in the victims' shoes.  Unfortunately they are in the minority.

umumum

November 13th, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^

who's trying too too hard to act morally superior.  This is not--and the article is not--a pedophile issue, but rather the  questionable/inappropriate reaction of a community to an horrific event.

I don't know whether anything in the article is true--and neither do you-- but just like any article in the National Enquirer, I can--and you should--consider the source.  And when comparing the Washington Times and the National Enquirer, it is the Enquirer that is insulted.

Similarly, whenever I see anything referenced from Michael Rosenberg, I consider the source.

M-Wolverine

November 13th, 2011 at 12:00 AM ^

In the Open Thread I was accused of not bring sympathetic to the fans and community suffering; because they did nothing wrong. Seems like "they" don't get it.
<br>
<br>They deserved to lose today.

briandog_1001

November 13th, 2011 at 3:11 AM ^

Doesn't it seem like Paterno just missed another golden opportunity to speak on behalf of the victims. Instead though, as students are embarrasing  the school, he is thanking them for support. I don't want to believe he is enjoying this sympathy, but he sure isn't doing much to communicate what is really important right now.(assuming he even knows what is)

Victors21

November 13th, 2011 at 12:07 AM ^

Interview after interview every PSU student, player, coach described how sad things are and then go on to describe how much they missed Joe Pa. The mood was as if he had died a tragic death when in fact he most likely ignored a pedophile in his program.  Sickening the "sadness" focused on Joe Pa.

AMazinBlue

November 13th, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^

with college football.  They, like Ohio take fanatical to a new low.  The situation in State College proves that no coach should stay in the same place for more than about 15 years.  That program, that fanbase, that town, and that school have become a cult and Paterno is its leader.  They have no idea how to think without him.  Once he was fired, they all acted like he had been murdered, or he had died.  He had way to much power and influence over the program, fans and the school itself.  He is a shining example of the old adage: Absolute Power, Corrupts Aboslutely.

The BoT at PSU seem to have seen the light and hopefully will clean house and keep the reigns on the program better from now on.  I don't what you do with a fanbase like that though, many years of losing 5-7 games or more might be the only cure.  I just hope they prove the coverup and how much Paterno did to hide things before he passes away, because his death will force the ESPN's of the world walk on eggshels about anything having to do with Paterno after he passes.

I think if enough effort is put into the investigation off that program, we'll see that it was as corrupt as any out there and Paterno will truly be the head of the snake.

kyeblue

November 13th, 2011 at 12:56 AM ^

In Columbus and Madison. I am so sick of listening to jay paterno. There is no remorse, no shame, for what they, those who are related to the football program long enough, collectively failed to protect the children. They deserve to be trashed in Columbus and Madison.

AMazinBlue

November 13th, 2011 at 1:18 AM ^

OSU will struggle against the Penn State D, but Wisconsin and Bielema will run them out of town.  I will struggle with the PSU-OSU game next week as I now absolutley hate both instutions.  OSU is a corrup[t hole, but PSU takes it to another level.  That Blue and White Cult needs to be brought back to reality.   Penn  State will be claiming the rest of the season that they would have won every game if they hadn't fired their mob boss Paterno.  I hope they find so much evidence of his corruption of that program that he ends up in Bolivian.  I think he's very dirty, but no one wanted to say it until the scandal broke.

brandanomano

November 13th, 2011 at 2:17 AM ^

That's disgraceful. I wish we played them today and slaughtered them. Then again, I couldn't even stand the 15 minutes I had to watch at the very end of the game (thanks ESPN!).

LSAClassOf2000

November 13th, 2011 at 5:38 AM ^

Apparently, all the healing was for show, or the candlelight vigil was composed largely of people who could geta sh*t about sports, The behavior described in this article is disgusting, to put it midly.

*puts on sarcasm hat* Yeah, it's such sh*t when someone actually tries to give the whole inicident some voice and remind others of who the victims are, but when you fire Joe Paterno, it's unfair - terribly unfair - to can someone who likely knew others were being victimized by a former  employee. Stay classy,  State College.