– Chris Giannini
The first story up on what the hell was that Wednesday is a story that I can’t believe is even an issue. At the level of college football and the NFL it is incredibly difficult to score a touchdown. That’s why they are worth so many points! For some reason it has become cool to drop the ball immediately after you cross the goal line. Not sure why, but I have spent most of my life trying to understand what is cool and why it is cool. Like wearing your hat crooked on your head or leaning the car seat back all the way and still trying to drive. I will admit I tried them both growing up. I didn’t feel comfortable doing either of them but dammit I needed to be cool. Not sure that helped though.
Due to guys trying to look cool dropping the ball so quickly some are dropping it just before they cross the goal line. Now I know men have a problem with “dropping” things prematurely when they get too excited but this is ridiculous.
At the end of the Cal vs. Texas game a player for Cal, Vic Enwere, is running into the end zone for a score that will seal the victory and put the game out of reach for Texas. Just before he crosses the goal line he gets a case of the premature-drops. After that there is confusion on if the Texas player “recovered the fumble” or just picked up the ball and handed it to the ref. I’m not sure the difference in those two things but that’s not the point here. Vic, what the hell were you thinking? You’ve seen this story before! It happens every year and trust me, this won’t be the last time we see it. From a coaches perspective I have no clue what to do to a player for something so dumb. Like every other time I’ve seen this happen I ask myself the same question. What the hell was that?
This next part is something I have struggled with rather I want to bring it up or not, but it is something I feel strongly about so here it is. Penn St, what the hell was that this past Saturday? The trial for this monster is still going on. There has been very little time to let something like this heal and during the trial it has come out in testimony from multiple people, one former player and assistant coach, that Joe Pa was told of the situation with Sandusky. It is clear he knew as early as the 1970’s and he did nothing. Now I’m not saying the man who turns a blind eye is worse than the man committing the act, but Joe had a responsibility to get this man off campus and he didn’t. I’m not telling Penn St. to wipe the records clean of his name or take him off the library he built. But this story for the most part had died. It was Penn St’s decision to bring it back up by trying to “honor” Joe this Saturday. Why? What purpose did it serve but to stir up awkward feelings and provide an uncomfortable situation for so many. Let this story rest and move on. I appreciate history as much as the next guy, but the only thing that will free Penn St from this is if they move on and move as far away from this as possible. That means stop throwing celebrations for people who aren’t here anymore. There was no good that came from that ceremony to honor Joe on Saturday. And if nothing good can come from it then there is no reason to do it.
I was asked this weekend as the Penn St game was happening, “if that happened at LSU how would you feel?” “What would you want them to do to move on?” My response was “change everything.” I clean break. No offense to any coaches on that staff or the tradition or history of the school but I was want everything changed and a new era to begin. All admin that could have possibly known must be change. But I wouldn’t stop there. I would change the school colors. Change the fight song. Start all new traditions in hopes that with time my school will be remembered for something great again and not something terrifying. Now this is just my opinion but as a fan I would be perfectly satisfied with removing all the traditions that remind me of the time when a monster roamed the campus and try to move on.
I know things got real just then. It’s a subject I wanted to stay away from talking about, and felt more comfortable writing instead.
Next week we will get back to the pleasures of making fun of teams, players, and coaches that frustrated us. Until then, try and avoid making people ask, “what the hell was that?”
