I consider myself a diehard. I don’t like any other sports. Other than my family, following Penn State football and College Football are my only hobbies/interests. I’m 46 years old so I’ve lived through the horror of the early 2000’s. After the past couple of seasons, the stubbornness of Franklin, the 10 year contract, the inability to get thing’s fixed in the trenches, among other thing’s I’m worried that I’m finding myself not caring that much after losses or wins for that matter. That’s a good thing for my wife and kids but for me I don’t know any other way. Anyone else starting to get this feeling towards PSU Football?
Anyone else starting to feel “apathetic” towards PSU Football?
- Thread starter grinagrin
- Start date
I think you mean ‘apathetic’.
Somewhat for me, but I love watching the games and rooting for them. Totally off the CJF hype train too. Just want to get better.
Wins still feel good, especially the big ones but losses don’t sting as much anymore. I guess that means I’ve lowered my standards. I just feel like 9-3 is generally our high water mark for a season. More than that is ‘special’. Less than 7 wins is a disappointment. I truly feel resigned to the fact we will not regularly compete with Bama, Georgia, LSU, OSU, etc. Hoping to be in Tier 2 with the ability to sneak into the playoffs once in a while.
Yeah, sadly I’m there with you. I get back into it at the start of every season but I don’t expect big things anymore and I’ve become pretty indifferent to college football in general. I watched the islanders instead of the second half of the Penn State game yesterday because I knew there was no way they were winning. I didn’t even know the Alabama/Cincinnati game had started. Caught it late in the second quarter.
Maybe a bit for me. The combination of bowl opt-outs and non-competitiveness of the playoff did it for me this year (sidebar: don't disagree with the players' ability to opt out per se and I understand that they have a lot on the line for a non-playoff game, but it takes the luster off the game for me when almost half the defense ends up opting out).
I actually took my kids to a matinee showing of the new Spiderman movie on Saturday, missing all but the end of the Outback Bowl (caught the last few minutes on the radio). In my 20 years as a season-ticket holder and years before that since being a student, I don't know that I've ever *not* planned to watch the team's bowl game. This is someone who typically sits in the stands until the final zeros are on the clock, especially if the team is down.
Don't get me wrong... I still support the program and plan to maintain my season tickets, but some of the changes to the sport have changed my own perception towards it (and that's fine - no begrudgement on my part). I still love PSU and Nittany Lion athletics (and maybe I'll convince my wife that we can retire in State College), but maybe it doesn't need to command as much of my time nowadays. Don't know if it makes a difference, but I follow the hockey team about as closely as the football team (season tickets, listen to most games on the radio if I am attending in person) and also try to get to at least one volleyball and basketball game per year as well.
Go State!
I actually took my kids to a matinee showing of the new Spiderman movie on Saturday, missing all but the end of the Outback Bowl (caught the last few minutes on the radio). In my 20 years as a season-ticket holder and years before that since being a student, I don't know that I've ever *not* planned to watch the team's bowl game. This is someone who typically sits in the stands until the final zeros are on the clock, especially if the team is down.
Don't get me wrong... I still support the program and plan to maintain my season tickets, but some of the changes to the sport have changed my own perception towards it (and that's fine - no begrudgement on my part). I still love PSU and Nittany Lion athletics (and maybe I'll convince my wife that we can retire in State College), but maybe it doesn't need to command as much of my time nowadays. Don't know if it makes a difference, but I follow the hockey team about as closely as the football team (season tickets, listen to most games on the radio if I am attending in person) and also try to get to at least one volleyball and basketball game per year as well.
Go State!
This year it seems to have hit especially hard. Have not watched any of the bowl games, except for ours and the ending of the PU/TN game, which was great. I grew up in the "golden" years of PSU football in the 1970's and 80's and admit that as a fan, I got spoiled with the success. Now, if we have a 10 win season, it is extra special instead of being what is expected of PSU year in and year out. The game has changed, the dynamics of college football has changed, even when we joined the BIg 10, it started to change from what we were used to.
I was never upset during the Bowl game. Why? Because I gave up. I knew we were going to lose. I am in a Bowl Pick Em. Gave Arkansas the most points I had left, to win. I HATE that feeling. Hopefully that good feeling of hope will come back by September.
When Bill Obrien came in and started talking about the importance of getting players into the NFL it made me uncomfortable because that was such a 180 from what we were used to for so many years. It's now what the college game has become and I'm ok with it. There's no going back now so might as well enjoy it or quit watching.
I mean no disrespect but I really don't understand your feeling (or that of so many others on this board). I am a Penn State grad and a Penn State fan. I am 49, so I have experienced everything that you have in terms of Penn State football. I supported Joe Paterno when so many were calling for him to be fired. (I wonder how many posters on this board who long for the days of JoePa where calling for his firing during the lean years--but that's a whole other thread, I guess.) I supported Bill O'Brien until he left for the NFL. I supported Christian Hackenberg when he looked like a superstar and when he didn't. I now support James Franklin. Do I wish we won every game? Of course I do. Do I think he should be fired because he isn't Nick Saban and he hasn't made us into Alabama? Of course not. Is Franklin the greatest coach ever? It sure doesn't look like it. (Please remember that Nick Saban was very average at Michigan state; I think his best season was 9-2.) Could we find a better coach? Maybe we could, but then again maybe we go through 3 - 4 worse ones until we find a better one. The point is that no one really knows. Regardless of all of that I go back to the fact that I am a Penn State fan. I will continue to be a fan and be excited to watch them play whether they win every game or not, whether James Franklin is the coach or not. I don't understand how people can just not be a fan anymore because they aren't satisfied with the outcome of the season or the decisions of the coaches. It wasn't too long ago when it looked like we might not get to play football at Penn State, so I am a fan, will continue to be a fan and I am already excited for kickoff next fall.
Apathy is found across the college football landscape, not just at Penn State. I spoke over Christmas with an old friend and long time WVU season ticket holder. He said "college football just isn't fun anymore". I heard a similar remark from a BC grad not long ago. I agree.
The game has changed in ways I never could have imagined. When I was at Penn State it was a big deal to be on TV. There were far fewer bowls and getting to one meant you had a special season. There was a purity about the game (real or imagined) and we had a coach who stood for all that was good about the sport. Maybe it was all smoke and mirrors but I loved it. Now I watch the game dispassionately and find little joy in any of it. It saddens me but those golden days are gone forever.
The game has changed in ways I never could have imagined. When I was at Penn State it was a big deal to be on TV. There were far fewer bowls and getting to one meant you had a special season. There was a purity about the game (real or imagined) and we had a coach who stood for all that was good about the sport. Maybe it was all smoke and mirrors but I loved it. Now I watch the game dispassionately and find little joy in any of it. It saddens me but those golden days are gone forever.
Yeah I’m there too. College football has changed for the worse. Penn State has changed for the worse. Penn State football has changed for the worse.
You make good points. But I don’t think becoming apathetic means you've become “not a fan”. It’s just kind of the reality of it. Coaches leave to their teams to get more money from another school before their team plays in a bowl game. Players sit out the bowl game to protect their potential future earnings. I don’t necessarily blame some the people for doing it, but it definitely takes some of the joy out of for me.
It's not that the team isn't winning, it's that it's not different anymore. Kids opting out, whole team opting out last year. When the going gets tough, quit, I guess. Would have never happened years ago. This program now indistinguishable from others that recruit football players, and not true student athletes. Meh.
I’m as die hard a PSU & college football fan as you’ll find, and while I’m definitely distraught about the direction the college game is headed (portal madness, coaching carousel, NIL, opt outs, etc), I’m still hooked. I probably have 25-30 hours of bowl watching since this past Tuesday, which of course included the Outback Bowl.
Re: PSU, I’m a 20 year season ticket holder, and win or lose, I have too much fun on football Saturdays in Happy Valley to give that up. While not easy, I’ve simply learned to temper my expectations. As others on this thread have suggested, I’ve conditioned myself to believe 8-4 or 9-3 kinda seasons will become the norm, but certainly with some outliers on the low and high side (last 2 seasons obviously low side outliers). The losses still sting, but nowhere close to how much they stung when my expectation every year going in was a minimum 10 win season, and competing for a Big 10 title every 2-3 years.
Re: PSU, I’m a 20 year season ticket holder, and win or lose, I have too much fun on football Saturdays in Happy Valley to give that up. While not easy, I’ve simply learned to temper my expectations. As others on this thread have suggested, I’ve conditioned myself to believe 8-4 or 9-3 kinda seasons will become the norm, but certainly with some outliers on the low and high side (last 2 seasons obviously low side outliers). The losses still sting, but nowhere close to how much they stung when my expectation every year going in was a minimum 10 win season, and competing for a Big 10 title every 2-3 years.
I am still a fan of all things Penn State. But college sports is not the same. The transfers, the portal, and the NIL, have changed the sports - even women's volleyball players are transferring now. College sports is now just a bunch of hired guns. I’ll root for whomever who chooses to play for Penn State and I love it when a kid like Harrar makes a real commitment to the team, and his school. But those kids are growing more scarce, and as a result I’m just less emotionally invested in their programs although I’ll continue to support them.
Take a step back in history to November, 1968. Penn State football as it entered its golden era. (At the link, scroll down just a bit to the article.)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/vault....a-is-to-have-some-funand-who-needs-to-be-no-1
https://www.google.com/amp/s/vault....a-is-to-have-some-funand-who-needs-to-be-no-1
So the players are using college to get a job in the NFL and it bothers you? I used PSU to get a job and my family was proud of me. Seems odd that you've been posting about this for 2 weeks in every thread like they stole your lunch money.
“Anyone else starting to feel “apathetic” towards PSU Football?”
James Franklin?
James Franklin?
I majored in chemistry at PSU. I didn’t opt out of a chemistry lab course due to the risk of injury that could have jeopardized my future.
It has always been about $ and control. But now that the kids, the real source of the $, are getting in on it and have some limited control over their fate, some are finding it objectionable. It must be nice to live in a dream world of purity.
That is because there is no risk, and if there was, you would have every legal and moral right to opt out. In any event, you could also opt to not participate in labs without giving a reason.I majored in chemistry at PSU. I didn’t opt out of a chemistry lab course due to the risk of injury that could have jeopardized my future.
Did your scientific education ever teach you about false analogies?
The real source of all the $ are the fans and they are the ones who control the future of the game. Even before COVID, attendance at FBS schools had declined for 6 consecutive years. If enough fans walk away the sport will have to change. That aside, I have reason to believe the model for the game will be far different in 10 years. We'll see.
I was a freshman in 1997. To this day, the Ohio State game that season is one of my favorite memories. I'm still cold and wet from that miserable Michigan loss. Does anyone else remember someone in the north upper deck having a sign that read "A big Enis is better than a small Pepe?"
I stayed up to watch the finish of the 2006 Orange bowl. Work was rough the next day.
Now? College football in general is losing me. It doesn't really have anything to do with the product on the field at Penn State. A stupid invitational system to decide a champion, opt-outs, and easy transfers really sour me on the game as a fan. As an adult, I see the opt-outs and transfers for what they are, business decisions, but it doesn't fit my needs as a fan.
I'll still make my annual trip up to State College for a September game. I'll still have the games on TV or radio every Saturday. I'll still complain about poor gameday coaching decisions. I'm not apathetic, I'm just not as invested as I once was.
I stayed up to watch the finish of the 2006 Orange bowl. Work was rough the next day.
Now? College football in general is losing me. It doesn't really have anything to do with the product on the field at Penn State. A stupid invitational system to decide a champion, opt-outs, and easy transfers really sour me on the game as a fan. As an adult, I see the opt-outs and transfers for what they are, business decisions, but it doesn't fit my needs as a fan.
I'll still make my annual trip up to State College for a September game. I'll still have the games on TV or radio every Saturday. I'll still complain about poor gameday coaching decisions. I'm not apathetic, I'm just not as invested as I once was.
The first and second losses of a season still sting. Especially in a year like this where we were up to #4. Beyond that, unless we are going below .500 or getting blown out by an inferior opponent then I can't get too upset. I wasn't too upset yesterday since we were down so many starters.
I love watching the games, went to the bowl game yesterday and i still get a thrill seeing the blue band take the field and the drum major do the flip. But i do not expect us the compete for a big ten title, let alone a CFP Spot anytime soon. As long as CJF is on that sideline, we’ll live and die by the explosive plays and struggle like hell to run the ball and pick up first downs. And bringing Clifford back is just the CJF stamp of approval for more of the same next season
Ha! Probably true. No one would be on this board if they were apathetic. I suppose it is all about perspective.
I think one can be utterly apathetic towards the current construct of the program, and those involved with it, but be very concerned and interested and supportive of what the program could/should be.
In other words, to not care much at all - or to be unable to be invested in - the current iteration, because it is so selfish and inert as to be "unsupportable". But to still have a strong interest in wanting the program to be reformed into something that, once again, is worthy of the investment.
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I don’t object to it. I didn’t say that. They have every right to benefit. But the result of all these changes has caused me to be less attached and interested.
Great point.
Even better example is, obviously, James "Lets Renegotiate My Contract Every Other Year" Franklin.
The "leader" who, rather than doing the ****ing job that he was being paid $7 million per year to do (a job that he also "didn't do" in 2020, despite being paid $7 million), spent more time trying to leverage an existing long-term contract into one that guaranteed him another $85 million. Obviously. I get it. Fair question.
Obviously you have seen a Franklin press conference. Obviously.
Franklin's actions every two years is the root of what is wrong with college football. I hope the AD calls his bluff when he pulls this tired act again in two years.
And why wouldn't he? Obviously, the fact the no other program would even entertain paying him what he makes at Penn State is not a hindrance, obviously. I get it. No one wanted him this year, and he took Barbour - and Penn State - for $85 million solely because Barbour was afraid she might have to spend a week or two doing her job, obviously. Fair question.
Isn't that his agents job? I mean, his agent is supposed to be the best in the business.
A trained seal could have done the job, obviously. But I do expect Franklin spent five minutes or more on the process - about 4 and 1/2 more minutes than he spends preparing his team. I get it. (If people really knew how that whole thing went down, it would make them puke, obviously.)
Obviously Sandy asked a fair question, and Franklin answered with the obvious answer when he said "obviously I need 10 years and $85 million to stick around."
Sandy wouldn't even have to do any work to find a new coach. Obviously this board would vet several candidates and present her with a short list. Obviously, we would offer to do the interviews and make the right choice. Obviously we would let Sandy negotiate the contract. She obviously laughs at $110 million. For four years.
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