Anyone else starting to feel “apathetic” towards PSU Football?

[PSUJam]

I never draft players that I don't like (e.g., Stefon Diggs) or those on rival teams for that very reason. My teams don't excel but I'm happy to root for my players.

I'm in the championship against my daughter in our extended family league and I took a shot and grabbed AB and started him on Sunday when one of my players went down with Covid. WTF was I thinking?

 

[Midnighter]

I have friends who know my PSU fandom and were surprised when I said I wasn't making the hour trip to Tampa for the game, especially after having gone all the way to Madison for the first game of the year. There's a big difference between the hope springs eternal feeling of the first game of the season and the lack of desire of watching a 7-5 team with 6 of their best players absent in a meaningless game. I still watched the game as I do with every PSU football game and even though I had a pretty good feeling that they were going to lose, that didn't change my rooting level when things went right and my complaint level when the same stupid things happened over and over again. I certainly don't think I've reached the apathetic level by any stretch. I also think that I've adjusted to the times in college athletics more than I thought I would. Do I like the opt-outs in the sense of not finishing out the season? No. But do I understand why they're doing it? Definitely. They've got a finite amount of time to make their earnings in their chosen field. The vast majority of these opt-outs will probably be out of football before they're 27. And why should there be a double standard when you have coaches like Riley and Cristobal and Kelly chasing their millions and bailing out on their teams? I wish there was a way that there could be legislation (except the NCAA is toothless when it comes to football) that coaches have a negotiating period similar to NBA/NFL free agency and that window doesn't begin until after the CFP championship game. The coaches can have their careers until they're in their 70s if they choose so their earning period is a hell of a lot longer than the players who have to get theirs ASAP.

I think if you're going to essentially allow salaries and free agency, you need to have better/more rules concerning player and coaching movement. There is already a very successful model to use - the NFL. There are tampering penalties, contracts for players, rules and regulations concerning contact, non-guaranteed contracts, etc. Right now, colleges have almost zero protections - their coaches and players can leave at any time without penalty. I'm fine with players and coaches doing what is in their best interest, but the absolute lack of any kind of rule structure to allow for some kind of standard operating procedure for coaching and player changes across the board is just not sustainable.

 

[delcoLion]

I had 7 years to enjoy State football while my sons attended. The best football times were blue white games tailgating with the club lax bros and girls. Once my boys graduated I became yeah whatever. I’m sure it’s untrue but the football program is giving off a vibe of ZFG. Too buttoned up, too resigned to their station in life (east division)
Harry and I were at school for the two championships. Carried goalposts up college Avenue, felt truly badass. Sad it is over.

I don’t think it’s over. Last couple of years have been tough and there are some growing pains next year so expectations are down.
Franklin is a good, not great, coach. Improvements in just a couple of areas could jump PSU into the thick of things again. We’ll see.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

I don’t think it’s over. Last couple of years have been tough and there are some growing pains next year so expectations are down.
Franklin is a good, not great, coach. Improvements in just a couple of areas could jump PSU into the thick of things again. We’ll see.

I honestly believe we need a GREAT coach to win 2 big ten crowns a decade. Not asking for much.

 

[EddyS]

Mediocrity breeds contempt.
And we are looking at mediocrity square in the face.
( and please take the Villanova win out of our record for this year).

 

[EddyS]

I don’t think it’s over. Last couple of years have been tough and there are some growing pains next year so expectations are down.
Franklin is a good, not great, coach. Improvements in just a couple of areas could jump PSU into the thick of things again. We’ll see.

He can recruit and not much else. His time management continues to baffle.

 

[Midnighter]

Mediocrity breeds contempt.
And we are looking at mediocrity square in the face.
( and please take the Villanova win out of our record for this year).

People like to clown on Harbaugh but he’s never lost six games in a year at Michigan. He lost five games once.

 

[dcf4psu]

For me it was the Illinois game.

 

[Nits74]

Dan Jenkins. I think he was a TCU grad, huge SWC guy. But he certainly did not respect Joe Paterno/Penn State. His daughter didn't fall far from that tree.

Following the 1970 loss to Colorado out in Boulder, Jenkins wrote a scathing article in SI claiming that Penn State's winning streak was a fraud, that because of the easy Eastern opponents, the streak was really only about 8 games. He mocked the 1969 controversy with Texas, as well.

I remember that episode because I was at Ft. Sill, OK in the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course prepping for a tour in VN. Fellow 2nd Lts. in my section hailed from such schools as Iowa, Rutgers, Ohio State, Kansas, LSU, Purdue, Missouri, and Colorado. We often talked about CFB, and I surely annoyed them often with my Nittany Lion fervor following btb 11-0 seasons. We even persuaded the training instructor to end his session early that Saturday so we could watch the game on TV.

Well, I certainly deserved the gift of 4 or 5 issues of SI when it came out that week as well as the of mock that accompanied it. Only the Rutgers guy and a West Pointer (a fellow Italian from Brooklyn who loved JoePa) were somewhat sympathetic. It was brutal (albeit in a friendly manner).

But, in true Sicilian style, I have not forgotten nor forgiven Dan Jenkins for writing that article.

Bob, I remember that article as well, but forgot it was Jenkins. I wrote a letter to SI after that and cancelled my subscription. Based on many of your prior posts, man could we ever have a time discussing those and even the earlier days of PSU football. There will never be a repeat of that era.

 

[JVP_Yahweh]

I feel depressed because of how the season ended and now to hear that all these guys are leaving for the NFL... tough

 

[PAgeologist]

For me it was the Illinois game.

Especially coming off a bye week.

 

[1995PSUGrad]

I hate the season ended the way it did, but I am excited for the new guys who are coming in and can't wait for kickoff!

 

[OptionBob]

Bob, I remember that article as well, but forgot it was Jenkins. I wrote a letter to SI after that and cancelled my subscription. Based on many of your prior posts, man could we ever have a time discussing those and even the earlier days of PSU football. There will never be a repeat of that era.

I would enjoy the chance to talk "old time" {Penn State football with you, Nits74. Those years were a mix of joy and anxiety personally, but thanks to JoePa and the Nittany Lions (and family, of course), I had something to take my mind off the bad and focus on the good.

Agree with you that we are not likely to see years of 11-0, 11-0, 7-3, 11-1, 10-2, 12-0, 10-2 again.

 

[MacNit]

For me it was the Illinois game.

Indians last year…infuriating!

 

[Indian rocks rich]

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.

Awesome post. Glad penn state fans like you are around The negative posts getting old for me

 

[Nits74]

I would enjoy the chance to talk "old time" {Penn State football with you, Nits74. Those years were a mix of joy and anxiety personally, but thanks to JoePa and the Nittany Lions (and family, of course), I had something to take my mind off the bad and focus on the good.

Agree with you that we are not likely to see years of 11-0, 11-0, 7-3, 11-1, 10-2, 12-0, 10-2 again.

That and the fact that college football is not really college football any more. Add to that, Penn State football was truly different than much of the country back then.
And it's good to hear it helped you through some turbulent times, which by the way most of us can say we've been through at one time or another.

 

[Steve B]

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?

Nope … still bleeding blue and white! How easy it is to forget we had one of the best four year stretches of football (2016 - 2019) just before the COVID year.

 

[Steve B]

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.

If you had opted out you would have flunked and that would have jeopardized your future!

 

[Psu00]

I feel depressed because of how the season ended and now to hear that all these guys are leaving for the NFL... tough

The draft will be interesting. Either PSU had a lot of NFL talent this year and seriously underperformed, or there’s a real problem of PSU players overvaluing their talent level. Time will tell.

 

[Keyser Soze 16802]

Funny how it turned out quite the opposite. Kids these days root for the individual players rather than their teams.

Fantasy football folks do for sure

 

[JVP_Yahweh]

The draft will be interesting. Either PSU had a lot of NFL talent this year and seriously underperformed, or there’s a real problem of PSU players overvaluing their talent level. Time will tell.

I hope these guys got that degree.

 

[Roar More]

I started at Penn State in '67. Last year was the first time I didn't go to an away game, for obvious reasons. This year was the second. I have missed fewer than 10 home games in that time, excluding last year, but including the time I served overseas in the Army. I do not like what the college game has evolved into over the last few years. I think I am going to opt out of a lot of games and become a true fair weather fan.

So far wrestling, as a sport, has been constant enough over the decades that I will continue to make the trek from Pittsburgh for home matches.

 

[ODShowtime]

I started at Penn State in '67. Last year was the first time I didn't go to an away game, for obvious reasons. This year was the second. I have missed fewer than 10 home games in that time, excluding last year, but including the time I served overseas in the Army. I do not like what the college game has evolved into over the last few years. I think I am going to opt out of a lot of games and become a true fair weather fan.

So far wrestling, as a sport, has been constant enough over the decades that I will continue to make the trek from Pittsburgh for home matches.

So you've probably been to every game I've ever been to. That's cool.

I remember when every win I ever saw was erased.

 

[WSTLion87]

Well... Let's see... Joe had a streak from the final bowl game of '87 through the first two games of '90 where the overall team record was 12-12-1. Then, he went on a tear from the third game of '90 until the sixth game of 92 where the overall team record was 25-3! James is currently 11-11 in the past two seasons. Is it possible that James can catch fire this season (Just like Joe did for that stretch) or am I comparing apples and oranges, here?

 

[anon1712773474]

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.

Yep, 106,500 fans per home game. Pretty apathetic.

 

[Midnighter]

Well... Let's see... Joe had a streak from the final bowl game of '87 through the first two games of '90 where the overall team record was 12-12-1. Then, he went on a tear from the third game of '90 until the sixth game of 92 where the overall team record was 25-3! James is currently 11-11 in the past two seasons. Is it possible that James can catch fire this season (Just like Joe did for that stretch) or am I comparing apples and oranges, here?

No B1G East back then and more scholarships available. What were the schedules from 90-92?

 

[WSTLion87]

Midnighter, You are absolutely right. There was no B1G East and yes there were also more scholies. Ho hum...

 

[anon1712773474]

 

[MacNit]

Well... Let's see... Joe had a streak from the final bowl game of '87 through the first two games of '90 where the overall team record was 12-12-1. Then, he went on a tear from the third game of '90 until the sixth game of 92 where the overall team record was 25-3! James is currently 11-11 in the past two seasons. Is it possible that James can catch fire this season (Just like Joe did for that stretch) or am I comparing apples and oranges, here?

Good lord willing!