 |
| Penn State logo |
I was watching the live press conference of the penalties
imposed on the Penn State football program in light of the sex crimes scandal
and the university’s decision at its highest leadership to not contact the
proper authorities in order to maintain the integrity of the program.
I find it difficult to believe I am writing a blog on this
topic. Having grown up the in Philadelphia, a few short hours from Happy Valley,
I fondly remember watching Gregg Garrity’s diving touchdown catch in the 1983
Sugar Bowl against Georgia securing Penn State’s first national title and who
could forget Pete Giftopoulos’ interception of Vinnie Testaverde in the final
seconds of the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to hold off the heavily favored Miami hurricane
to bring home its second and final national championship.
It is not easy to fathom that winning a national
Championship, even winning a bowl game may not occur for Penn State for the
duration of my lifetime. Of course, more pressing concerns include the welfare of
the children, now young adults, whose lives have been changed irreparably as a
result of this ordeal.
The penalties to the football program handed down a few days
ago ranging from the loss of scholarships to being barred from post season play
for four years are, in many cases, worse than the often talked about “death
penalty”. The death penalty results the program is shutdown from operation for
a specified period of time. The NCAA decided not to go this option after much
deliberation. Whatever the true reason for their decision the end result
whether intended or not will be everyone involved with Penn State and the world
will be able to watch the football program flounder from heights from which the
program will never return.
The parties who are being held accountable have done it to themselves,
from the deviant who perpetrated the crimes to those in power who allowed the
endangering of innocent children to continue. I just wish they had not done this
to everyone with any affiliation to Penn State football.
Now every time I see any tweet with the hashtag
#wearepennstate I think a more appropriate description the future of Penn State
football should be #wearedone.
Image Courtesy of
http://klownsportsdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/penn-state-football-schedule-college-game-day-begins1.jpg
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment