OT: OpEd from Tribune Review this Sunday.

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

Penn State is a football team with a school rather than a school with a football team.

Editorial: Does Penn State worship too much at its football altar?

Penn State is a football school. There’s no denying that. The university may excel in other sports and other areas, but football is the foundation upon which its national brand is built. That can be a good thing. Plenty of schools have leaned into it. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio

triblive.com

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Penn State is a football team with a school rather than a school with a football team.

Editorial: Does Penn State worship too much at its football altar?

Penn State is a football school. There’s no denying that. The university may excel in other sports and other areas, but football is the foundation upon which its national brand is built. That can be a good thing. Plenty of schools have leaned into it. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio

triblive.com

Excellent Editorial!

 

[DruidTM]

Been that way for a long time now

PSU is a classic example of of “Don’t listen to what they say ….watch what they do”

They talk academics yet come in dead last in the Big 10 last year … finance 700 M in renovations… while doing big cuts in branch campuses due to declining enrollment

It’s all a mirage

Watch not what they say… watch what they do

 

[OH Pete]

Only 10 years late.

 

[WillyDavis33]

Only 10 years late.

Maybe 20 years! Football program with a diploma mill around back!

 

[ratking17]

Success with honor

 

[plcp]

Funny how there is no name associated who wrote this. Is it there and i missed it? Is the author afraid of repercussions?

 

[PittMan 72]

Maybe 20 years! Football program with a diploma mill around back!

Actually way more than 20 years. JVP started this prioritization of his FB program receiving top priority and special treatment from the administration there, not long after he ascended to become HFC in 1966.

He established several facades: “The Grand Experiment”; “The Paterno Way”; “Success With Honor”. Those were some of the 🐴💩 slogans he invented and that the media and their lemming-like fans lapped up.

Before the Internet, smart devices and social media, it was much easier to keep things under wraps and away from the prying eyes of the objective public.

But seeing some of what takes place behind the curtain has been quite revealing as to how they actually operate.

It’s another awareness issue for anyone interested.

 

[pittdan77]

Funny how there is no name associated who wrote this. Is it there and i missed it? Is the author afraid of repercussions?

Editorial board. Pretty common practice. Speaking for the paper as a whole. I would expect a rebuttal that slams Pitt for not being more like PSU via one of the many mouthpieces that reside locally.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Funny how there is no name associated who wrote this. Is it there and i missed it? Is the author afraid of repercussions?

It’s the ghost of Ray Gricar.

 

[Pitt79]

Maybe 20 years! Football program with a diploma mill around back!

That's like the entire SEC, football teams that offer classes as a side gig.

 

[Pitt79]

Editorial board. Pretty common practice. Speaking for the paper as a whole. I would expect a rebuttal that slams Pitt for not being more like PSU via one of the many mouthpieces that reside locally.

You know everyone on this board complains that Pitt might not make it if there's a super league, being like that, football worship above all else, is how the teams that will make it will have made it.

 

[ratking17]

You know everyone on this board complains that Pitt might not make it if there's a super league, being like that, football worship above all else, is how the teams that will make it will have made it.

It's hard when some "fans" don't go to games or donate to the university or the collective

 

[pittdan77]

You know everyone on this board complains that Pitt might not make it if there's a super league, being like that, football worship above all else, is how the teams that will make it will have made it.

Yeah, it's always the Pitt fan's fault but I don't see a mass consensus saying Pitt should just go all in on a football and damn everything else.

 

[Pitt79]

It's hard when some "fans" don't go to games or donate to the university or the collective

That's a personal choice, none of that is mandatory to be a fan.

 

[Pitt79]

Yeah, it's always the Pitt fan's fault but I don't see a mass consensus saying Pitt should just go all in on a football and damn everything else.

Exactly, I'd be willing to bet that 90% of Bama fans don't donate to NIL or attend games, just wear red shirts and yell 'roll tide', and yeah, they are still fans.

 

[bobfree]

it always baffled me why the local media essentially gives them a pass while taking limitless shots at Pitt for attendance woes or losses on the field.

 

[ratking17]

That's a personal choice, none of that is mandatory to be a fan.

Is someone a fan if all they do is bitch but don't do anything to help the team, even if it's a small measure in the grand scheme of things?

 

[bobfree]

It's hard when some "fans" don't go to games or donate to the university or the collective

Whose fault is it when a company can't sell washers and dryers? The companies or the consumers?

This is a product and Pitt does itself no favors when selling itself.

 

[ratking17]

it always baffled me why the local media essentially gives them a pass while taking limitless shots at Pitt for attendance woes or losses on the field.

Because the local media has either been alumni of psu or paterno sycophants that bought into his bullshite

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Everybody forgets that they tried to cover up the gang bang/extortion and bought the silence (presumably) of the drunk girl who was raped.

 

[ratking17]

Whose fault is it when a company can't sell washers and dryers? The companies or the consumers?

This is a product and Pitt does itself no favors when selling itself.

I agree that pitt has shot itself in the foot on many occasions...and my interest of pitt only extends to the time I was a student from the late 90s. I don't have the even more painful history some of the older ones do.

That said as little impact as my couple of hundred of dollars per years goes, I try to do my part with what is financially sensible for me. I have a personal problem with fans that just bitch and moan and then do nothing to attempt to help the program. No different than the drunk at the end of the bar yelling at the president but can't take the 5 mins to vote every four years.

 

[ratking17]

Everybody forgets that they tried to cover up the gang bang/extortion and bought the silence (presumably) of the drunk girl who was raped.

Come on...that's just locker room guy stuff. Plus franklin probably called the girl afterwards because he was a friend of the family and he would never tell the players to delete their phones. It isn't like he has done that before

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

Whose fault is it when a company can't sell washers and dryers? The companies or the consumers?

This is a product and Pitt does itself no favors when selling itself.

No. But everyone of these big football programs have a more engaged fanbase than Pitt's. Remember, when the Golden Panthers decided to make Pitt a big time program, the Steelers were just in their infancy in becoming a dynasty. The local population was much younger, much more homegrown. The difference between so many of these programs and a Pitt, is you have multiple "whales" carrying the load. Alot of them. It means so much because either they are alumni, or they live there and there is no pro football teams close by.

State College's economy depends on those 7-8 football weekends a year and all that goes with it. If Pitt stopped playing football, it would be minimal impact here. Same with Miami or Ga Tech or SMU etc....

But it has become over the top. As they are loving being in the Big 10 and the expansion, they are now seeing the flip side as games they expected to be played in primetime are now at noon.

People forget at the end of the day, this is all really just programming for networks to sell advertising.

 

[WillyDavis33]

That's like the entire SEC, football teams that offer classes as a side gig

uh yes the esteemed SEC

 

[Macchiato]

The football team is not self-funded, and this renovation will push the athletic department's debt to over $800 million, leading to yearly deficits. The university, along with students and taxpayers, underwrites this debt. Transparency is needed; the university must open its books and meetings.

The University and Coach Franklin face a serious SafeSport violation that has been in the news. Although Franklin was dropped from the lawsuit due to a filing technicality, the medical doctor involved still received millions. Franklin pressured the medical staff to clear players who were not fit to play, and when the medical staff complained, the school, as mandatory reporters, should have taken action. When will this institution be held accountable? The op-ed you read is only the beginning; real accountability will come when financial interests are threatened.

 

[pittdan77]

The football team is not self funded. This renovation will put the athletic department over 800 million on debt. They are now running yearly debt. The university, hence the students and taxpayers, underwrite that debt. This University needs to open its books and neeting for transparency

The University and Coach Franklin have a very serious safesport violation thats been in the news. Franklin was dropped from lawsuit due to it not being filed on time. The medical doctor still received millions. Franklin abused his athletes when he pressured the medical staff to lay players. When the medical staff complained, the school became mandatory reporters. When is this place going to be held sccountable

You read the op-ed. That's about as accountable as it gets until you put the money train at risk.

 

[Pitt79]

Is someone a fan if all they do is bitch but don't do anything to help the team, even if it's a small measure in the grand scheme of things?

Yes, absolutely, a fan is anyone that declares, "this is my team" and roots for them to win, PERIOD, that's all a fan is, there's no other requirements or obligations.

 

[ratking17]

Yes, absolutely, a fan is anyone that declares, "this is my team" and roots for them to win, PERIOD, that's all a fan is, there's no other requirements or obligations.

Glad to have fans like you. 😒

 

[bobfree]

I agree that pitt has shot itself in the foot on many occasions...and my interest of pitt only extends to the time I was a student from the late 90s. I don't have the even more painful history some of the older ones do.

That said as little impact as my couple of hundred of dollars per years goes, I try to do my part with what is financially sensible for me. I have a personal problem with fans that just bitch and moan and then do nothing to attempt to help the program. No different than the drunk at the end of the bar yelling at the president but can't take the 5 mins to vote every four years.

I think people on this site contribute, at least a large portion of us.

 

[ratking17]

Brady bunch guy makes an appearance

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

No. But everyone of these big football programs have a more engaged fanbase than Pitt's. Remember, when the Golden Panthers decided to make Pitt a big time program, the Steelers were just in their infancy in becoming a dynasty. The local population was much younger, much more homegrown. The difference between so many of these programs and a Pitt, is you have multiple "whales" carrying the load. Alot of them. It means so much because either they are alumni, or they live there and there is no pro football teams close by.

State College's economy depends on those 7-8 football weekends a year and all that goes with it. If Pitt stopped playing football, it would be minimal impact here. Same with Miami or Ga Tech or SMU etc....

But it has become over the top. As they are loving being in the Big 10 and the expansion, they are now seeing the flip side as games they expected to be played in primetime are now at noon.

People forget at the end of the day, this is all really just programming for networks to sell advertising.

PSU, too big to fail. As you said the local economy is so reliant on that 7-8 weekend. But not just football actually. I was trying to book a hotel room for a close relative who is graduating from grad school there and you could do a week in NYC cheaper than what every hotel is charging.

And also your thought on the Steelers. I've posted many times what would have happened if the Rooney's settled in Columbus and not Pittsburgh. Would the status of Pitt & O$U been reversed, especially if the incompetence of the 80's Pitt admin hadn't come to fruition?

 

[wbrpanther]

Penn State is a football team with a school rather than a school with a football team.

Editorial: Does Penn State worship too much at its football altar?

Penn State is a football school. There’s no denying that. The university may excel in other sports and other areas, but football is the foundation upon which its national brand is built. That can be a good thing. Plenty of schools have leaned into it. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio

triblive.com

Someone tell this guy that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.