Unhappy Valley!

[llandz]

Absolutely nuts and then they turn around and say they won't make any changes to USC's sanctions because "there is no comparison between USC and Penn State." Yeah...One school enabled terrible crimes against innocent children and another allowed a player to take money from an agent..

Yes, thank you for bringing that up. That was really awful. Even the NCAA does not totally get what went on at Ped State. Any school can end up with a player on the take unbeknownst to them. And that coach is long gone. Not right, but not PEd State bad.

 

[tep624]

I still think the death penalty should have happened. The fact that it didn't is the reason why that broken culture is still pervasive.

The death penalty sucks for the kids that are juniors and seniors, but let's face it - you have to drop the hammer and send a clear, concise message, that's the only way you're going to get a culture that is so ingrained in a community to change. You're not going to do it by empty threats and luke warm punishments that are subsequently reduced.

And if the end wasn't getting the culture to permanently change, then the NCAA should have just done nothing and not waste everyone's time.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

PSU

Can I get an amen?

 

[baggerbob]

Did you read the article by the former Penn State captain, we need someone like Joe who put the welfare of the student athlete, ahead of personal ambition. That is the mentality of people morally bankrupt, if Joe was at all concerned about his players, he would have prevented Sandusky from being anywhere near campus after the first report.

 

[rrlbees]

Makes me happy to see so many posters feel the way I did when this first broke and all you has to do was use common sense to know things were very very wrong.

 

[Orangepace]

Reporter: How can you insure that your staff will not have any transgressions since you seemed to not notice it when you were assistant defensive coach with Sandusky? Schiano: :noidea: Next. Reporter: How can you insure the players don't contract a staph infection under your supervision? Schiano: :noidea: Next Reporter: Your record at Rutgers was 68-67 (28-48 conference) in a weaker conference. At PSU, they are expecting more than a 50% record. How will your game day coaching change to insure to be competitive in the Big10? Schiano: We play Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, and Illinois each year so that gives us 4 wins plus expected wins against Temple and 3 other non-BCS teams. That gives us a winning record (8-4) each year and we can get to a bowl. Reporter: The question was about being competitive in Big10 which means wins against tOSU, Michigan, Northwestern and Michigan St. The smoke screen that happened at Rutgers will not be acceptable here! Schiano: :bang: Next!

this post made me fall into a laughing fit. Tough part is I was sitting next to a PSU grad and couldn't explain why I was laughing. He's disillusioned about Schiano.

 

[Cusefan95]

I still think the death penalty should have happened. The fact that it didn't is the reason why that broken culture is still pervasive.

The death penalty sucks for the kids that are juniors and seniors, but let's face it - you have to drop the hammer and send a clear, concise message, that's the only way you're going to get a culture that is so ingrained in a community to change. You're not going to do it by empty threats and luke warm punishments that are subsequently reduced.

And if the end wasn't getting the culture to permanently change, then the NCAA should have just done nothing and not waste everyone's time.

Realistically, the chance of death penalty getting carried out was 0% - the costs of a death penalty are enormous, lots of private businesses depend on the revenues generated from football weekends in State College, the economy has been generally lousy for five plus years...from a political perspective it just had no chance of happening. Theres too many other people that would end up as collateral damage. As much as some folks on here feel it's a travesty Penn State didn't get the death penalty, it just wasn't going to happen.

Having recently married a Penn State grad, and living a twenty minute drive from Beaver Stadium I'm more qualified than the average poster to discuss the Penn State fan base. I'd say the majority of their fans "get it", and want to move forward in a positive direction. The issue is the fans that worship at the altar of JoePa are extremely vocal and insist on putting up billboards on the way to the stadium that say '409', posting on message boards endlessly, taking pictures where the JoePa statue used to be, etc. It doesn't help that some of these folks are big donors that have political clout as a result...so while they are small in numbers from an outside perspective they appear to be representative of the Penn State fanbase as a whole.

At this point the only way for the situation to be resolved is for the university to distance themselves from those fans...and accept that they are going to lose some portion of their fan base and donations as a result. Right now the administration is trying to split the baby and cater to both the fans that want to move forward and the ones that want to live in the past. They are going to need to tell the vocal JoePa apologists that with their behavior they aren't friends of the program and it's time to move on, and deal with the consequences. If they can't or won't do that, I expect Penn State will continue to be a political mess that periodically looks horrible to outsiders since the denialists have been allowed too much leeway by the university.

 

[Orangezoo]

Its a cult there not family. Honestly some of my best friends from HS went there(quite a few actually) and they changed after they graduated from psu. They go back all the time as if its a requirement vs something they truly want. The JoePa stuff is just nuts. Spent plenty of time partying their and even then their school spirit is more like obsession to the point its creepy.

 

[rosconey]

cults always talk about how they are families -you might be on to something

 

[tep624]

Realistically, the chance of death penalty getting carried out was 0% - the costs of a death penalty are enormous, lots of private businesses depend on the revenues generated from football weekends in State College, the economy has been generally lousy for five plus years...from a political perspective it just had no chance of happening. Theres too many other people that would end up as collateral damage. As much as some folks on here feel it's a travesty Penn State didn't get the death penalty, it just wasn't going to happen.

Having recently married a Penn State grad, and living a twenty minute drive from Beaver Stadium I'm more qualified than the average poster to discuss the Penn State fan base. I'd say the majority of their fans "get it", and want to move forward in a positive direction. The issue is the fans that worship at the altar of JoePa are extremely vocal and insist on putting up billboards on the way to the stadium that say '409', posting on message boards endlessly, taking pictures where the JoePa statue used to be, etc. It doesn't help that some of these folks are big donors that have political clout as a result...so while they are small in numbers from an outside perspective they appear to be representative of the Penn State fanbase as a whole.

At this point the only way for the situation to be resolved is for the university to distance themselves from those fans...and accept that they are going to lose some portion of their fan base and donations as a result. Right now the administration is trying to split the baby and cater to both the fans that want to move forward and the ones that want to live in the past. They are going to need to tell the vocal JoePa apologists that with their behavior they aren't friends of the program and it's time to move on, and deal with the consequences. If they can't or won't do that, I expect Penn State will continue to be a political mess that periodically looks horrible to outsiders since the denialists have been allowed too much leeway by the university.

To your point - look at politics. Who are generally recognized as the voices of the right or the left? It's always the fringe idiots on both sides. And the silent majority allows that. PSU is no different. If the majority of that fanbase does get it - then they need to start throwing their weight around and let those that don't, vocal or not, stop being the mouthpieces and representatives of their fanbase. Until that happens, the perception outside State College is not going to change.

The community needed to be and should have been held responsible. Some things are more important than money.

 

[Delmar]

I'd say the majority of their fans "get it", and want to move forward in a positive direction.

Excellent post. I would add that the PSU fans I know have a profound sadness, and moving forward in a positive direction also means providing support and ensuring some justice for victimized individuals and families.

 

[Cusefan95]

To your point - look at politics. Who are generally recognized as the voices of the right or the left? It's always the fringe idiots on both sides. And the silent majority allows that. PSU is no different. If the majority of that fanbase does get it - then they need to start throwing their weight around and let those that don't, vocal or not, stop being the mouthpieces and representatives of their fanbase. Until that happens, the perception outside State College is not going to change.

The community needed to be and should have been held responsible. Some things are more important than money.

Agreed to some degree, at this point the majority are going to need to start backing away from donating/going to games/etc. There's been no downside to the University for trying to cater to two groups that hold mutually exclusive views (since looking like a PR disaster to those outside of Happy Valley isn't a disincentive any longer)...that's pretty much the only option.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on holding "the community at large" responsible for the actions of a few...although my final statement on the subject is that your logic there sounds terrifying to me since it is remarkably similar to the logic used by political leaders in the 20th century to justify acts of genocide. We should be trying to punish those responsible while minimizing the collateral damage.

 

[bevosu]

If they hire Schiano that would be a signal that the Paterno loyalists are alive and well..in my opinion.

 

[Crusty]

The best thing they could do is to hire Golden, regardless of the cost. He is a PSU guy and that is what they want.

 

[tep624]

Agreed to some degree, at this point the majority are going to need to start backing away from donating/going to games/etc. There's been no downside to the University for trying to cater to two groups that hold mutually exclusive views (since looking like a PR disaster to those outside of Happy Valley isn't a disincentive any longer)...that's pretty much the only option.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on holding "the community at large" responsible for the actions of a few...although my final statement on the subject is that your logic there sounds terrifying to me since it is remarkably similar to the logic used by political leaders in the 20th century to justify acts of genocide. We should be trying to punish those responsible while minimizing the collateral damage.

My logic about the community is very simple - they were participants in the program, whether it be as a fan, a business owner, an alumni, employee, etc. We're talking about allowing despicable felonious acts to occur, not slipping someone a grand to commit to your school. This transcends all that. They were participants in a program, whether it be on the fringe or otherwise, that had a culture that it was more important to keep the program intact then to stop children from being assaulted. The culture is instilled from the top down, not the bottom up, in a program like that.

My point is very simple - putting football above all else was the culture there, it was reflected in the administration, the AD, the football program and the community at large, and it does not look like that has changed. And from O'Brien's comments, from someone who is much closer to this than any of us, it still looks like it hasn't changed.

 

[All4SU]

My logic about the community is very simple - they were participants in the program, whether it be as a fan, a business owner, an alumni, employee, etc. We're talking about allowing despicable felonious acts to occur, not slipping someone a grand to commit to your school. This transcends all that. They were participants in a program, whether it be on the fringe or otherwise, that had a culture that it was more important to keep the program intact then to stop children from being assaulted. The culture is instilled from the top down, not the bottom up, in a program like that.

My point is very simple - putting football above all else was the culture there, it was reflected in the administration, the AD, the football program and the community at large, and it does not look like that has changed. And from O'Brien's comments, from someone who is much closer to this than any of us, it still looks like it hasn't changed.

That's exactly it. That and the fact that there seems to be a majority of PSU fans, who fail to recognize what Paterno did (turning a blind eye to it at the very least) was wrong.

 

[FAL]

That's exactly it. That and the fact that there seems to be a majority of PSU fans, who fail to recognize what Paterno did (turning a blind eye to it at the very least) was wrong.

Tell that to Franco Harris and his cardboard resurrection of JoPa. What?????

 

[rosconey]

when the bernie stuff broke i got mad as heck at jb and the university-

i was pissed when i thought they put hoops above children and wasnt going to have anything to do with su -

i was so glad it was just a ghey relationship thing - i just cant fathom the thinking by the ped state fans- this idea the school and ole joe did nothing wrong