Penn State Goings-On

[Caliga]

It's fun to tell people I hate college basketball down here.  It's like I called their granny a whore or something.

I am sensing you find the team or sport the most people love in your area of residence and then relish telling everybody how much you hate it.

I'm a rebel, Dottie... a loner.

[grumbler]

That's just it: up here, the sheer level of prominance and adulation given to these figures is considered bizzare and excessive

Not just up there...

[The Brain]

I feel funny down there.

[jimmy olsen]

neil's point is well taken; college football is a huge rural america phenomenon and pre-exists pro football

doak campbell stadium in tallahassee holds about 86,000 people; the city has a population of 181,000

the swamp in gainesville holds about 88,000 people; the city has a population of about 124,000

compare this with jacksonville florida, the largest city in north florida; we have a population of about 1,000,000 (metro area); we have an nfl team whose stadium holds about 73,000 and we struggle to fill it for the nfl

outside of the northeast, in most of america, college football is king and has no rival

it is the opening discourse in any polite conversation in the fall and wishing someone's team good luck on saturday is as gracious a closing to correspondence or a conversation as any other

it is in that arena that joe pa had become a living legend; while still alive he and bobby had statues made in their image and placed outside of their respective stadiums; it is quite simply a prominent fall from grace and disillusioning experience on an epic scale

That's just it: up here, the sheer level of prominance and adulation given to these figures is considered bizzare and excessive - and nothing brings that to attention more than this scandal.

I can't think of any Canadian equivalent, off the top of my head. I mean, statues in their image? Rioting when they are fired? It's ... odd.

Imagine if Scotty Bowman spent his whole career with the Winnipeg Jets or the Quebec Nordiques from 1967-2002 and won nine Stanley Cups. Don't you think in a small city like Winnipeg or Quebec he'd be a dominating figure?

[Berkut]

neil's point is well taken; college football is a huge rural america phenomenon and pre-exists pro football

doak campbell stadium in tallahassee holds about 86,000 people; the city has a population of 181,000

the swamp in gainesville holds about 88,000 people; the city has a population of about 124,000

compare this with jacksonville florida, the largest city in north florida; we have a population of about 1,000,000 (metro area); we have an nfl team whose stadium holds about 73,000 and we struggle to fill it for the nfl

outside of the northeast, in most of america, college football is king and has no rival

it is the opening discourse in any polite conversation in the fall and wishing someone's team good luck on saturday is as gracious a closing to correspondence or a conversation as any other

it is in that arena that joe pa had become a living legend; while still alive he and bobby had statues made in their image and placed outside of their respective stadiums; it is quite simply a prominent fall from grace and disillusioning experience on an epic scale

That's just it: up here, the sheer level of prominance and adulation given to these figures is considered bizzare and excessive - and nothing brings that to attention more than this scandal.

I can't think of any Canadian equivalent, off the top of my head. I mean, statues in their image? Rioting when they are fired? It's ... odd. 

Well, plenty of people down here think that the level of attention lavished on sports is excessive.

The reason this stings is that Penn State was always an example of supposedly how even the most extreme passion can be positive - the passion of their fan base was not devoted to a bunch of thugs, criminals, and sleezeballs. Penn State did it right...or at least everyone thought they did.

[Valmy]

I'm a rebel, Dottie... a loner.

It is kind of a pitty because I was looking forward to the crazy stories of 'ewe-kay' basketball nuttiness.

[Neil]

If we didn't riot when Gretzky left town, we're not going to riot.

[alfred russel]

That's just it: up here, the sheer level of prominance and adulation given to these figures is considered bizzare and excessive - and nothing brings that to attention more than this scandal.

I can't think of any Canadian equivalent, off the top of my head. I mean, statues in their image? Rioting when they are fired? It's ... odd.

Taking sports so seriously you would build statues to heros or riot over them is messed up. Glad to hear that stuff doesn't happen in Canada.   

[FunkMonk]

To be fair to the PSU rioters, they have nothing on Vancouver. http://cdnmo.coveritlive.com/media/image/201106/phpNG25fEriot1.jpg

[Malthus]

To be fair to the PSU rioters, they have nothing on Vancouver. http://cdnmo.coveritlive.com/media/image/201106/phpNG25fEriot1.jpg

I prefer this pic:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/17/vancouver-riot-kiss-photograph-mystery#zoomed-picture

Hott!

Anyway, drunken-hooligan fans rioting when their team loses is one thing; rioting in support of a guy fired because he allegedly covered up for a child rapist is quit another ... 

[alfred russel]

Anyway, drunken-hooligan fans rioting when their team loses is one thing; rioting in support of a guy fired because he allegedly covered up for a child rapist is quit another ...

I'm guessing that the sense of the "rioters" was that they don't believe the allegations, and an unjust termination of a respected figure certainly seems to be a better reason to riot than the outcome of a hockey game.

[Darth Wagtaros]

To be fair to the PSU rioters, they have nothing on Vancouver. http://cdnmo.coveritlive.com/media/image/201106/phpNG25fEriot1.jpg

I prefer this pic:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/17/vancouver-riot-kiss-photograph-mystery#zoomed-picture

Hott!

Anyway, drunken-hooligan fans rioting when their team loses is one thing; rioting in support of a guy fired because he allegedly covered up for a child rapist is quit another ... 

He did a good job as coach.

[grumbler]

Anyway, drunken-hooligan fans rioting when their team loses is one thing; rioting in support of a guy fired because he allegedly covered up for a child rapist is quit another ... 

Are there allegations that Paterno covered up for a child rapist?  The Board of Regents said they fired him because they wanted the university to begin to move forward from the charges alleged against other officials, and Paterno was part of the situation they wanted to leave behind (because he clearly had the power and duty to report what he knew to the police).  If they were lying, and really fired him because someone was alleging that he engaged in a coverup, how do you know, when no one else seems to?

Mind you, I don't get the rioting myself, but I certainly don't think the rioters were aware (any more than I am) that there were actual allegations that Paterno covered up for a rapist.  Their anger appeared to be directed at the board that fired him and the reasons the board claims motivated them to do so.  Paterno was retiring after this season, the protestors argued, and to fire him three games from retirement seemed unjust to them (and motivated by some weird media conspiracy thingy, but that's another issue).

[grumbler]

I'm guessing that the sense of the "rioters" was that they don't believe the allegations, and an unjust termination of a respected figure certainly seems to be a better reason to riot than the outcome of a hockey game. 

Trying to tell a Canadian that injustice is a more valid reason to riot than hockey is pretty obviously doomed from the start, eh?

[Malthus]

I'm guessing that the sense of the "rioters" was that they don't believe the allegations, and an unjust termination of a respected figure certainly seems to be a better reason to riot than the outcome of a hockey game.

That does not appear to be the tone of the complaints. So far, most of what is written isn't 'the Grand Jury was wrong' but 'our guy may have made a mistake but he's really a great guy'.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/football/joepa_love_fueled_riot_fires_vxT8UYmQ4yxPDyyiiO6SaJ?utm_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha

No one denies Paterno could have done more dealing with the horrible tragedy that occurred under his watch. But students were mostly annoyed with how the administration handled Paterno's firing.

It's the equivalent of, instead of the little boy plaintively stating "say in ain't so, Joe" over the "Black Sox' scandal, he torched a cop car in anger over Joe being fired. It's an express toleration of criminal behaviour if someone is prominent enough.