Monday, 11/7/11, 6 p.m. --- Penn State Football is part of my Sports DNA. Growing up in Philadelphia it was the “Big 4” (Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Sixers) and then it was Penn State Football.
In the state of Pennsylvania a trip to Happy Valley to watch PSU with 110,000 other screaming fans was the only time you’d see Eagles fans hugging Steelers fans and Penguins fans rejoicing alongside Flyers fans. It’s an institution and rooting for the throwback, blue-collar ways of Penn State football is what I did every Saturday. (In college I even snuck down to Happy Valley while attending Syracuse University just so I could passionately root on the team I really cared about on that particular Saturday.)
I take my sports allegiances very seriously; to me they are permanent and forever through good times and bad. I never thought there would be a time or reason that would justify my walking away from one of my teams.
Until now.
I’m done with Penn State football. I’m done idolizing Joe Paterno and all the values he pretends to stand for. I’m done wearing the Blue & White and I’ve thrown my hats, shirts, and jerseys into the back of my closet, and I’ll never root for the team again.
This is not simply because of Jerry Sandusky and the despicable crimes he’s accused of committing. A court of law will have its say on that and may the many victims (eight at last count) find some relief in knowing that authorities are now listening to their stories. Because it sure seems as though Joe Paterno and his colleagues at Penn State didn’t want to hear about it. And that’s what has me turning in my fan card.
“Innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply to Paterno, his athletic director, and school leaders. Not in this case, and not from fans like me. They failed to tell police!!!
Someone claims to have seen Sandusky raping a ten year-old in the showers of the football locker room and all Joe Pa can say is, “well I told my boss about it.”
