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Penn State Krushed At Home

Last Saturday the Nittany Lions men's basketball team was beaten by the Fighting Illini of Illinois, but the Penn State student section was completely embarrassed.

It started out looking like any other PSU home basketball game. The fans filtered into their seats as the players went through their warmups. It looked just like this.

As the players left the court for their last pregame meeting, the fans behind the basket stood and cheered them on with chants of "Let's Go PSU". Yessir, the visiting team was in for a tough crowd this day. The players came back to another round of applause. The lights dimmed as the players were introduced. Then when the lights came back up, the scene in the Bryce Jordan Center took a sudden shift to the orange.

A group of Illini students known as the Orange Krush had duped the ticket office into giving them a block of 100 prime seats directly behind the basket. They drove all night and snuck into Happy Valley under the cloak of pretending to be PSU alumni from Chicago. When they removed their blue jackets the Nittwits were shocked. The players were shocked. The Illini players on the other hand were encouraged. They started the game on a 9-2 run and never looked back.

At one point the student section tried to regroup and save face by chanting, "Where's your mascot?" The Krush shot back, "What's your record?" Ouch. Thoroughly demoralized the Nittwits were never heard from again and the Bryce Jordan Center became a home game for Illinois.

Adding insult on top of insult on top of injury, the Orange Krush stopped on their way in town that morning and did this.

How dare they? The gauntlet has been thrown down, Nittwits. The honor of your team, your school, and its alumni are at stake. It's on you to make this right. You have one year to plan. Get them.

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It's on now
I knew of the large student section following the Illinois team here; I didn't know of them putting Illinois crap on the Paterno statue.  Two words: absolutely classless.

Well this has all the makings of a real, actual rivalry birth.  In a two year sequence, we go to Illinois and deliver an upset, and they come here lie in order to get what they want, (it didn't take long for Ron Zook's values to permeate that school, now did it?), and mock a true legend on their way out. That's fine; we'll do that. Hopefully we can win one in the Big Ten tournament in order to get revenge there (I know I'll be there).

Just a note to any Illinois fans who may be reading this: you can mock Paterno all you want; Ron Zook is still your coach, and you have to wake up each day knowing that.

by ckmneon on Feb 28, 2007 5:31 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Illinois Prank
As I am living in Miami now, my dad, who went to the game, called me immediately after it was over to inform me about this.  

I don't think it is classless.  Although it is embarassing to PSU, these kids drove the 12 hours from Illinois to State College, just to pull a prank and support their team.  They weren't jerks, they didn't ruin any property or cause any problems, they  were just pumped for their team.  Maybe, if our stadium was sold out for our games, they wouldn't even have the opportunity to buy 100 tickets together.  

But Mike is right, the gauntlet has been thrown down, the PSU kids need to do something back - besides hosing them in football every year.

by The Brewer Patriot on Mar 1, 2007 8:44 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I agree
Nothing classless in what they did. They used the system to prank the ticket office and the Nittwits. Putting an orange t-shirt on the JoePa statue isn't classless. Busting the head off and taking it back to Illinois or painting it orange would have been classless.

The Orange Krush deserves some props for originality and execution. But the Nittwits have to get them back in similar fashion.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Mar 1, 2007 8:54 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

It harkens back to the days
when the Lion Vigil actually meant something.  As a kid, I can remember going to the shrine after a Syracuse game and the Lion would still have trace orange paint around the inside of his ears and joints.  I would get so angry.  How dare those crappy little New Yorkers tarnish my beloved Lion?  But that was good old fashioned rivalry and one-upmanship - I miss that.

Those kids wish they were PSU alumni.

Personally, I'd say that the only bit that comes close to classless - is the mascot chant.  Illiniwek was a symbol, not a mascot; he only performed at home games; and, it is a huge blow to collegiate tradition that he has been forced into retirement.  

by PSUgirl on Mar 1, 2007 9:37 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

The Shrine
Thanks for dating yourself, 2theLion.

Are you sure it was Syracuse who painted the Shrine, or was it Sue Paterno?

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Mar 1, 2007 9:44 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Thank you Illinois fans
I now have someone to hate, here I was going through each Big Ten season without really
hating any particular team.  That has changed now.

by Galen on Mar 1, 2007 10:19 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Dude
I was born at Centre Community Hospital -my parents got married on Friday so they could go to an away game for their honeymoon - my whole life has been Penn State.

by PSUgirl on Mar 1, 2007 11:32 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

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