The Stages of Grief

by jesse. on Oct 15, 2008 12:15 PM EDT

With respect to our games in 1999, 2002, 2005 I have reached the level of acceptance. It's over; the games are what they are. Winning Saturday won't make us undefeated in 2005, or give me back my senior day from 1999.

Michigan fans however may just be getting started. "We still own Penn State", yea, that's denial. The Toledo loss " is UNACCEPTABLE", garden variety anger. We know where they are, we can relate. Shit, remember when we thought our dark years were going to be nothing more than a passing phase? We’ll be fine, we’re Penn State, and we can’t suck for long. Right? Please? That my friends is called bargaining.

All I want from Saturday (besides a win) is a little closure. As the dark era fades to bad memory, there remains one window that we have yet to close. Remember when we said nothing lasts forever, and we’ll have our day again (whether you believed it or not)? Well Saturday just may be our day.

I’ve seen it where some people say that last stage of grief actually is not acceptance, but rather, hope. Anybody around here feel hopeful? Yeah, I thought so.

Beat Michigan.

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hope...

is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

On the other hand, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies…

I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.

by spakajewia on Oct 15, 2008 4:59 PM EDT reply actions

Well

I think we just spent nine years in a river of shit, and I think it’s just about time to start spending the wardens money.

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 16, 2008 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions

These days leading up to the game are delicious

I have had pretty much all of my old UM friends calling me up out of the blue basically negotiating terms of surrender this week. This amuses me on many levels but perhaps the most gratifying is the fact that I have NEVER had to do that as a Penn State fan. Even during the dark ages a few years back I always believed that we are a proud football program and I held fast in the belief that our boys or the freindly confines of Beaver Stadium would at least make us competitive and if we lost we would still have some semblance of honor. Hearing the early cries for mercy is quite pathetic and yet enjoyable as it heals some of the wounds we have suffered over the last nine years.

Here’s to us taking a knee with two minutes left on their 10 while being up by four or five scores. That is about as humiliating as it can get, in my book.

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

by TheMightyErik on Oct 15, 2008 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

I think the opposite would be humiliating

Taking a knee with 2 minutes left on their 10 shows mercy and respect. Having Paul Cianciolo throw a 10 yard td pass to James McDonald would be a humiliation score. If this scenario happens, I’ll be rooting for choice B.

by blogue20 on Oct 16, 2008 9:24 AM EDT up reply actions

How about

if we started taking knees to start the 4th quarter? That would have to be quite humiliating, because not only would we have such a lead at that point to allow it (which would be embarassing) but then we’re also basically saying, “here’s the ball, see if you can maybe try to beat the spread”. Not saying I would like if that happened, but it would be humiliating, and is along the lines of what TheMightyErik was proposing

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 16, 2008 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions

And that would be pretty funny

Or, per say, punting on 2nd down. As long as we still covered the spread I would love to see that.

by blogue20 on Oct 16, 2008 10:12 AM EDT reply actions

I think you guys may be missing the point

Nothing that happens Saturday is going to fix the past. If you continue to live in the past you’ll always be pissed off, because we are never going to win the 2005 Michigan game. It’s over, unfortunately, we lost.

Since the dark era we’ve won the league, three bowl games, a BCS game, finished in the top five, and beaten every team in the conference, except Michigan. That is what’s left to do to that behind us once and for all.

I think confidence is a better word than hope. I hoped we would win in 2005 and 2007. I am confident we’ll win Saturday. That is a nice feeling.

That being said, we need to avoid acting like a Pitt fan that has their bank PIN number set as 1200 and considers the score of that game to be the final overall determination as the net worth of their program. Because that guy is an asshole, trust me, I know him.

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 16, 2008 10:29 AM EDT reply actions

2 things

1, I don’t want us to actually humiliate Michigan in an unsportsmanlike way, I was just pointing out a way that it could happen. I still would like to see us play our backups and still win 117-0 (somewhat like the Rutgers game where McQueary passed a TD because the guy was wide open and he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity).

2) What is that guy’s name, address, banking institution, mothers maiden name, and SSN?

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 16, 2008 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I think we're with you

Having UM guys kowtow to me midweek before the game is what I am talking about. That has nothing to do with humiliation on the field as it is days beforehand and they Maize and Blue nation has effectively surrendered without the first shot being fired. That is confidence being delivered to me in a Costco sized container…

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

by TheMightyErik on Oct 16, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions