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Pastimes : College Football: Nits, Gators, Bruins, Vols - Whoever! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nittany Lion who wrote (6530)	9/3/2002 8:16:18 PM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11146

you mean that shirt with a package on it? aka Johnson is about to score? -g-

To: Nittany Lion who wrote (6530)	9/3/2002 8:45:14 PM
From: shadowman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11146

The link to this was posted on the SU fan Board...we suffer some of the same criticisms. We're lucky if we sell out the Dome once a year for football. Lot's of questioning why. Edit...note..this was posted by a VT student posing as an SU fan. Caused a bit of a stir on the board. nittanyfootball.fantalk.org How I Spent My (Labor Day) Vacation J.C. Corrigan Going to the LSU-Virginia Tech game gave me time to reflect on the health of the Penn State program The mail arrives at 2:00 p.m. Friday. Still no Penn State parking passes. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The coupled effect of the threat of rain, DC traffic, and no parking passes was enough to make me stay home. The rain and the traffic I can deal with. Failing in service delivery I can’t tolerate. This is just one of the many symptoms I’m noticing within the Penn State program and the root cause in all instances is complacency — in our athletic offices, on the field, and most embarrassingly in the stands. Yes, I shouldn’t point fingers without looking in the mirror, seeing that my seats sat empty for the season opener, but the sad part is that my empty seats are louder than most of the ones that were filled. Sunday morning I departed for Blacksburg, Virginia, to see the Louisiana State-Virginia Tech game. The expansion at Virginia Tech looks nearly identical to Penn State’s (Scott Radecic was the designer for both, ironically enough). That is where the similarities end, which may explain why the balance of power in eastern football is sinking southward. Not only is Virginia Tech stealing our architects, they are stealing our football players. Nowhere is this more evident that in the recruiting success of Virginia and Virginia Tech in recruiting against Penn State. Tailgaters arrive later. There’s pretty much one road to the stadium. With 65-thousand fans it’s a problem that was not considered when they added the seats. The game started with the retiring of Michael Vick’s number. This I found to be the "hype sauce" that Penn State has refused to embrace. While I think Penn State Sports Marketing could do more, this is one activity that I refuse to endorse. Michael Vick didn’t graduate and didn’t win a single national award. Meanwhile, Corey Moore won the Nagurski Award as well as others. He also graduated with a Bachelor’s and Masters’ Degree. While a lot of people dislike Coach K and/or Duke, he at least sets standards for having numbers retired. On the field, the defense is fast and doesn’t play the passive zone that prevents are athletes from making athletic plays. Their well-known special teams continues to impress. Their offense didn’t attempt a pass over 12 yards and they establish a sound running game. The biggest difference between Penn State and Virginia Tech is in the stands. While stadium design and acoustical physics plays a bit of role in the equation, Penn State fans simply are there to be entertained and not to actively support the team. If they want to be entertained, they should get the schedule of performing arts at Eisenhower Auditorium. Virginia Tech is the second loudest place I’ve been (next to Florida). Simply said, the number of seats you have doesn’t get recruits. It’s the atmosphere that is created by those IN the seats. Cameron Indoor Stadium has about 9,000 seats. The Schottenstein Center at Ohio State seats over 15,000. I don’t see Ohio State beating Duke in basketball recruiting. The Cameron Crazies make a big difference when a recruit comes in. The fans create the atmosphere. Likewise, Virginia Tech seats 65-thousand and Penn State has a capacity of 107,282. Virginia Tech’s 65-thousand make 400% more noise than Penn State with nearly 40% less fans. The fans are loud on every play where they need to be. 80-year old men and women were standing up before me, not yelling "down in front". The student section was filled when I got there, 20 minutes before kickoff. The fans bring their turkey calls and collectively rattle their keys when their defense makes a third down stop as if to say, "warm up the bus". Penn State is not the only storied program with fans issues. On www.warchant.com , you’ll see some of the following quotes from Florida State fans: "I am sick and tired to see these little spoiled rotten brats leaving at halftime. I wonder if there is any way we can take away some of the student seats and give them to good loyal fans." The average age of the Penn State fan may be older than the average Virginia Tech fan. Virginia Tech may be capitalizing on their recent success, but there is absolutely no reason for Penn State fans to take a passive stance (or should I say sit) on the issue of vocally supporting those young men that really are Penn State. Virginia Tech has fresh blood on the field and in the stands and they are building tradition. Meanwhile, our fans and not having a true rival are destroying ours. The bottom line is that if you’re not going to cheer, sell your tickets to someone that will. Come to the game with life and energy. Don't come to take it out of the stadium, the players, and the program.