I was also back at this game and have gone back to at least one game a year since I graduated in '14. And every time I go back, I regret it more and more. The college town feeling and ideals that I loved growing up going to games and as a student there have slipped away for me personally. Partially because of my exposure to a wide plethora of opportunities and diversity living Brooklyn for a near decade now. So every time I go back it just feels smaller and smaller and these people and this place aren't the same as I recall.
Part of that is generational difference for sure, but a larger part of that is that the inherent racial divides and tensions that have always been present in a predominately white small college town have just blossomed since 2016. The flags and hats and shirts of people who are so openly happy to praise a dude who just loves being racist and predatory is flabbergasting to me. It's hard to convince me that this is a good place to be and you think that with the microscope that Penn State has been under since 2011, people wouldn't be as openly SEC about their political preferences for a place above the Mason-Dixon.
It's hard because I know it's not the entire fan base - but that's always such a lame deflection. This prejudiced behavior in 2024 should be and is unacceptable, yet it has been brought back like it's a George Wallace convention - and sadly, you know which types of Penn State fans seem to fall into both categories (ones we have deemed 409ers). Franklin is arguably the most important coach in Penn State's history, not because of "pulling us out of the dark times" but because he is a non-white coach for a very white university in a very white place that's hard to attract young, important recruits to who also traditionally happen to be not white. I get the frustration, too, I go through it every season, but the ones who are so fervent to openly call for his head in the middle of the game claiming the days of JoePa were better seem very ideologically inclined with another dude who claims things used to be better as well.
To be fair it's not just State College, it's also my home town located in Chester County; but while that place is definitely more diverse than Happy Valley, I've noticed the same homogeneous dominance, making me feel very out of place compared to the exposures of New York. I know I'm not the only person who has come to question how they were raised or if we really know the people we thought we did when as they have flashed their colors like the have for the past eight years, but it all just sucks. It feels like I'm walking on eggshells every time I re-enter one of these environments, and I'm literally the safest demographic in these situations! If I feel this way, I can't even fathom what other students have been feeling like in this situation.
I guess I'm just rambling in agreement at this point because I too, have a certain love for a place that has brought me joy and is so important to me, but being so far removed in a place that is more than just football Saturdays and monotonous suburban life has broken the glass for me in terms of the ugly id of of Penn State that has been dormant. I don't know. I'll probably keep going to games, because that's what addiction is, but every time I go I am reminded why sitting on your couch and watching is far superior.
Thank you for this, and I think a little ramble from both of us this week is acceptable. Surrendering this place we love (or this country we love) to those kinds of attitudes is not acceptable.
It’s like America owns the Cleveland Browns. And a few years back, the Owners were totally on board with mortgaging the team’s future by trading four years’ worth of first round draft picks for a quarterback who had been credibly accused of sexual assault by several dozen women. We, the Owners, knew all about those incidents, were totally cool with them, and said, “Yep! That’s the guy we want to lead our team!” And we made the trade.
In 2024, the Owners were given that chance again. We saw how he performed as our QB since we got him. He was accused of yet another sexual assault. We’d have to give up another four years of first round picks to keep him. And we could literally pick anyone else besides him to be our QB. But we doubled down and said, “Yep! That’s our guy!”
I did not understand it with the Browns and I don’t understand it with America, either. But on we go.
I remember being with you in your (eventual) fraternity house for the Super Bowl during rush in early '91. You ended up going Greek, and I did not—one of those random forks in the road that didn’t even seem like a choice to me at the time.
Here’s something to ponder: Grab your 1990 State College Area High School yearbook and read the blurb on page 63 about what people wanted to do with their lives after graduation. Two of our classmates said they wanted to be, and I’m quoting directly, “Donald Trump.” What did that even mean in 1990? It probably meant those fellas didn't know who they were, and just wanted to be cool, throw parties, break rules, and meet girls. You can relate. I can relate.
I never knew those two guys. I’d like to think the random forks in their roads took them to a point where they’d say, “Donald Trump never grew up. I’m glad I did.” But I also wanted to believe JoePa was a model of good leadership, not simply another bureaucrat who held on too long, shielding his empire from the fallout of covering up child molestation. And until 15 minutes ago, when I learned that Ye Olde College Diner had closed, I wanted to believe it was still there, serving grilled stickies at 3:00 a.m. to a new generation of drunken college idiots :-).
I remember going into Trump Tower during high school on one of those NYC field trips (maybe you were there?), spending some ungodly amount of money on a terrible lunch, and realizing, even then, that this place was a grift. And here we are. (Good to hear from you regardless.)
Ha. Junior in '90. Checked out page 63. Knew one of the guys. My neighbor. Good guy. I think he's a professor now and doubt he turned into Trump. Maybe it was the money or owning a USFL team.
Also the Happy Valley where enough white teammates and coaches, who happened to be white, possessed enough moral character and stood up for their black teammates in the face of 1940s segregation. We are ... Penn State, thick and thin, warts and all.
Oh, ignorant PSU fans also booed JoePa, same as the ignorant ones booing Franklin. Has nothing to do with the color of their skin and everything to do with the OSU futility you mentioned.
It's a great story, and Wally Triplett's teammates really did stand up for him in an era when many others wouldn't. But it was also Wally Triplett who told me about how he and his teammates couldn't get a haircut at a barbershop in State College, and participated in a boycott. https://centrehistory.org/article/barbershop-boycott/
These things are messy and ugly and they very much still exist.
It was the era, not just in Happy Valley, no question, but even despite the bozos who can't/won't move forward, there's also no denying how much better off we are now.
Content of character, always. Color of skin, never.
I was also back at this game and have gone back to at least one game a year since I graduated in '14. And every time I go back, I regret it more and more. The college town feeling and ideals that I loved growing up going to games and as a student there have slipped away for me personally. Partially because of my exposure to a wide plethora of opportunities and diversity living Brooklyn for a near decade now. So every time I go back it just feels smaller and smaller and these people and this place aren't the same as I recall.
Part of that is generational difference for sure, but a larger part of that is that the inherent racial divides and tensions that have always been present in a predominately white small college town have just blossomed since 2016. The flags and hats and shirts of people who are so openly happy to praise a dude who just loves being racist and predatory is flabbergasting to me. It's hard to convince me that this is a good place to be and you think that with the microscope that Penn State has been under since 2011, people wouldn't be as openly SEC about their political preferences for a place above the Mason-Dixon.
It's hard because I know it's not the entire fan base - but that's always such a lame deflection. This prejudiced behavior in 2024 should be and is unacceptable, yet it has been brought back like it's a George Wallace convention - and sadly, you know which types of Penn State fans seem to fall into both categories (ones we have deemed 409ers). Franklin is arguably the most important coach in Penn State's history, not because of "pulling us out of the dark times" but because he is a non-white coach for a very white university in a very white place that's hard to attract young, important recruits to who also traditionally happen to be not white. I get the frustration, too, I go through it every season, but the ones who are so fervent to openly call for his head in the middle of the game claiming the days of JoePa were better seem very ideologically inclined with another dude who claims things used to be better as well.
To be fair it's not just State College, it's also my home town located in Chester County; but while that place is definitely more diverse than Happy Valley, I've noticed the same homogeneous dominance, making me feel very out of place compared to the exposures of New York. I know I'm not the only person who has come to question how they were raised or if we really know the people we thought we did when as they have flashed their colors like the have for the past eight years, but it all just sucks. It feels like I'm walking on eggshells every time I re-enter one of these environments, and I'm literally the safest demographic in these situations! If I feel this way, I can't even fathom what other students have been feeling like in this situation.
I guess I'm just rambling in agreement at this point because I too, have a certain love for a place that has brought me joy and is so important to me, but being so far removed in a place that is more than just football Saturdays and monotonous suburban life has broken the glass for me in terms of the ugly id of of Penn State that has been dormant. I don't know. I'll probably keep going to games, because that's what addiction is, but every time I go I am reminded why sitting on your couch and watching is far superior.
Thank you for this, and I think a little ramble from both of us this week is acceptable. Surrendering this place we love (or this country we love) to those kinds of attitudes is not acceptable.
It’s like America owns the Cleveland Browns. And a few years back, the Owners were totally on board with mortgaging the team’s future by trading four years’ worth of first round draft picks for a quarterback who had been credibly accused of sexual assault by several dozen women. We, the Owners, knew all about those incidents, were totally cool with them, and said, “Yep! That’s the guy we want to lead our team!” And we made the trade.
In 2024, the Owners were given that chance again. We saw how he performed as our QB since we got him. He was accused of yet another sexual assault. We’d have to give up another four years of first round picks to keep him. And we could literally pick anyone else besides him to be our QB. But we doubled down and said, “Yep! That’s our guy!”
I did not understand it with the Browns and I don’t understand it with America, either. But on we go.
I remember being with you in your (eventual) fraternity house for the Super Bowl during rush in early '91. You ended up going Greek, and I did not—one of those random forks in the road that didn’t even seem like a choice to me at the time.
Here’s something to ponder: Grab your 1990 State College Area High School yearbook and read the blurb on page 63 about what people wanted to do with their lives after graduation. Two of our classmates said they wanted to be, and I’m quoting directly, “Donald Trump.” What did that even mean in 1990? It probably meant those fellas didn't know who they were, and just wanted to be cool, throw parties, break rules, and meet girls. You can relate. I can relate.
I never knew those two guys. I’d like to think the random forks in their roads took them to a point where they’d say, “Donald Trump never grew up. I’m glad I did.” But I also wanted to believe JoePa was a model of good leadership, not simply another bureaucrat who held on too long, shielding his empire from the fallout of covering up child molestation. And until 15 minutes ago, when I learned that Ye Olde College Diner had closed, I wanted to believe it was still there, serving grilled stickies at 3:00 a.m. to a new generation of drunken college idiots :-).
I remember going into Trump Tower during high school on one of those NYC field trips (maybe you were there?), spending some ungodly amount of money on a terrible lunch, and realizing, even then, that this place was a grift. And here we are. (Good to hear from you regardless.)
Ha. Junior in '90. Checked out page 63. Knew one of the guys. My neighbor. Good guy. I think he's a professor now and doubt he turned into Trump. Maybe it was the money or owning a USFL team.
Thanks for this.
I also moved away from PA and see a lot of parallels to my own PSU/frat brother experience. Heading back for Game Saturday night
Right on, brother
Also the Happy Valley where enough white teammates and coaches, who happened to be white, possessed enough moral character and stood up for their black teammates in the face of 1940s segregation. We are ... Penn State, thick and thin, warts and all.
Oh, ignorant PSU fans also booed JoePa, same as the ignorant ones booing Franklin. Has nothing to do with the color of their skin and everything to do with the OSU futility you mentioned.
Eric, I interviewed Wally Triplett for a Penn Stater story that inadvertently propagated the myth of the origin of the "We Are...Penn State" chant. https://www.statecollege.com/articles/local-news/lou-prato-we-are-cheer-was-years-in-the-making/
It's a great story, and Wally Triplett's teammates really did stand up for him in an era when many others wouldn't. But it was also Wally Triplett who told me about how he and his teammates couldn't get a haircut at a barbershop in State College, and participated in a boycott. https://centrehistory.org/article/barbershop-boycott/
These things are messy and ugly and they very much still exist.
https://www.statecollegemagazine.com/articles/black-in-happy-valley/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27800247/penn-state-football-coach-james-franklin-defends-jonathan-sutherland-db-gets-letter-criticizing-dreadlocks
It was the era, not just in Happy Valley, no question, but even despite the bozos who can't/won't move forward, there's also no denying how much better off we are now.
Content of character, always. Color of skin, never.