the end... of the beginning

According to my pattern that I’ve kept up this semester on varying the posts on this blog between freshman year and pre-freshman year memories at Penn State, this week should be something from my past.

In a way, it is. This week marks the last post that this blog will see. It is toward the end of the semester, but more importantly, it is toward the end of my first year of college. So, in a way, this post is both contemporary and “historical.”

It’s been a hell of a ride. I think that’s safe to say. If anything, it’s certainly safe to say that there is no way that I could have ever predicted what freshman year at Penn State would be like (especially this year).

I remember being absolutely terrified when my ROTC orientation started. I remember being equally terrified my first week on campus. And I remember thinking that those fears had nothing compared to the terror of trying to make new friends.

As it turns out, all of those things went incredibly well right from the start.  Not only do I enjoy ROTC, but I enjoy the people as well. As for campus, I know it incredibly well now. I have my favorite buildings, my least favorite buildings, know my shortcuts, and know the routes to take when I honestly just feel like strolling. And as for the friends, I’ve made a great deal. I love my floor, the bonds we’ve made, and the foundation that we’ve established for our next three years here.

I think the thing that is most exciting about having finished my first year here, is that I still love it. It’s a little different from the magical place that I saw it as as a kid, but it’s magical in entirely new ways now. As for those ways, I’m sure they will continue and foster – and I can honestly say that I couldn’t be more excited.

Paterno: Months Later

This week’s Penn State blog is about the politics after the passing of Joe Paterno.

My goal was to wait a while to write this post because although I love to write with emotion, and at the time there was a lot of it, I also wanted to wait and see what developed in the ensuing months.

True, a little has developed. Just a few weeks ago the Board of Trustees released yet another statement on why they fired Paterno. Even some people who aren’t huge lovers of the former coach started to realize the “shadiness” of some of the BOT’s actions. Their statement was answered with a furious reply from the family themselves – and I was glad to see it come.

Besides these small dealings of indirectly going back and forth, there hasn’t been much development since the end of January. In a way, I guess that’s a good thing, after the way everything went down, I’m glad to see his name isn’t crushed in the papers anymore. But in another sense, I was hoping that he would gain a little of his credibility back just in that short time frame. Though I suppose that that was naïve of me to wish for.

retweeted by @OnwardState

Next, I would like to comment on the few positives after everything happened. I’ll skip the vigil – we’ve had enough of those this year. But I thought that the viewing was beautifully done by the family and everyone involved. The lines outside the Pasquerilla Center were amazing and showed the dedication and pride that thousands of people had in Paterno. Also, I thought the procession was touching as well. True, the helicopters, news vans, and cameras took a little away from the magic of it, but it was incredible to see the streets lined to capacity under a few impressive hours of sunshine. 

Finally, I would like to say for anyone that was lucky enough to get to the memorial, I hope you forever remember it. I thought it was amazing and breathtaking. And I’ll never forget when Phil Knight showed that he didn’t give two shits about politics and stuck it to the University and every other nay-sayer out there.

All in all, everything that happened just further added to our crazy freshman year in Happy Valley. Looking back, nothing is more resolved now than it was then. Time passes, but I’m glad we don’t forget.

324

This week’s blog post is about one of my oldest football memories here at Penn State. Granted, I was eight – it doesn’t seem like it’s that long ago. After all, I remember games before this one. But this one is perhaps the most special Penn State memory of my childhood.

In 2001, Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions beat Ohio State 29-27.

This was no ordinary victory though. In fact, it wasn’t even an ordinary victory over rival Ohio State.

It was Paterno’s 324^th victory. With it, he passed Bear Bryant for number one on the all time wins list – a position he holds to this day with 409.

I remember the day pretty well, it was a 3:30 kickoff (not quite as awesome as an eight o’clock start, but still sweet because it gets dark by the fourth quarter) and we had just had an awesome day of tailgating. I remember thinking heading into the game that it would either be one of the greatest nights of my young life or a horribly sad one.

Ohio State does that to you.

But then Penn State did it to them.

A come from behind victory late in the fourth quarter made the Nittany Lions 29-27 victors. As the victory bell rang and the crowd was screaming 3-2-4! 3-2-4! over and over and over, a soft snow fall began to come down in the Valley.

It was nothing short of magical. It was a legendary victory, in an amazing rivalry, on an incredible night.

It was right out of a storybook. And, really, most of Paterno’s career seems that way. I only witnessed a small part of it. I saw win number 300, 323, 324, 400, and 409 – and I’m pretty lucky for that. But with the win over Ohio State, and the snow falling at the end, 324 definitely was my favorite moment of witnessing Paterno history firsthand.