The Night College Football Went to Hell

by KatManDuww on Nov 5, 2008 1:55 PM EST Comment 19 comments

I do not know if any of you have ever read this article, but it is an amazing read. It gives an understanding where BCS games might have originated with the start of corporate sponsors, and how classy our school is, while "The U" is trash. I will save this and someday give it to my kids to read. Gives me chills just thinking about it. WE ARE, Penn State

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=fiesta87

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I've read this eticket story about 3 or 4 times

and it never gets old.

Speaking of which (and not to hijack your thread), but what books would you guys say are the best ones out there about JoePa and/or Penn State football?

by The JuggerNitt on Nov 5, 2008 2:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The Lion In Autumn

here it is for $0.75

http://product.half.ebay.com/The-Lion-in-Autumn_W0QQprZ46583947QQtgZinfo

"We are Penn State. We are not normal. We are Legends." - Deon Butler

by Stately NOVA Lion on Nov 5, 2008 4:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I have 2 copies of that one ;-)

One I bought to give as a gift to someone, but they already had it, and one that was given as a gift to me

by The JuggerNitt on Nov 5, 2008 4:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

awesome book

and it really gives perspective to what was going on behind the scenes during the dark years….

by PSU Jen on Nov 5, 2008 8:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I read that article

about every 2 weeks, and still get the cardiac tremors remembering that last Miami drive.

Thank you, Jimmy Johnson, for about the worst coached series I’ve ever seen to end a game. Not that it really mattered, I guess. If it wasn’t yet another Testeverde INT, it would have been a Highsmith fumble. Our guys were simply not going to lose.

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Nov 5, 2008 5:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If you want more on the 1986 season and 1987 Fiesta Bowl, read

The Perfect Season: How Penn State Came to Stop a Hurricane and Win a National Football Championship.

In-depth look at the season’s games, the players, and every play of the big game. Also gives some in-sight into the JoePa mystique. Excellent read.

After reading this book, I really get P-O’d when media says our 13-6 win at OSU wasn’t impressive enough.
14-10 is all it took to win a NC!!

by NJ lion on Nov 5, 2008 3:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I love that article

What a boring game. What horrible offenses. Almost as bad as PSU-OSU this year.

Oh, perhaps not everyone agrees:

"25.1 percent of households with televisions (more than 70 million viewers) were tuned to NBC that night; no college football game has gotten that kind of ratings share, before or since. "

(I’m joking of course)

by confirmy on Nov 5, 2008 3:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

TV ratings

Of course, using TV ratings, wasn’t PSU-tOSU 2008 the second highest rated game this year so far after tOSU-USC?

by Laaaaazzz on Nov 5, 2008 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And to think

NBC was hesitant to preempt ‘Miami Vice’ for (as the article states), “of all things, a college football game”.

Obviously it worked out great for them, but God only knows how much money they left on the table. They could have charged triple for ad time, and gotten it easily.

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Nov 5, 2008 5:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Boring game

Anyone who watched that fourth quarter of the PSU-OSU game two weeks ago and thought it was boring doesn’t have a pulse.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Nov 5, 2008 3:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Defense wins championships!

Pat Devlin in '08, er, '09

by Nick7 on Nov 5, 2008 4:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

apparently by boring the other team to death

or at least that must be what the rest of the nation thinks. I’ll admit, I do like watching high powered offenses, but I appreciate watching a good defensive battle more (read: not just inept offenses, but good offenses getting stopped by great defenses).

Seeing how precious field position becomes. Actually appreciating a punter’s skills. Crossing midfield. Just makes everything so tense, and you literally sit on the edge of your seat the whole game.

by The JuggerNitt on Nov 5, 2008 4:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You must also like watching soccer!

by NJ lion on Nov 5, 2008 9:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

to be honest

whenever I actually decide to watch a game (between good teams) I actually do enjoy watching it. Of course I very rarely decide to watch it. A lot of it has to do with having a vested interest in the game. Pretty much any football game has at least some effect on one of my teams (Penn State or the Eagles), and those that don’t I don’t get into as much. Soccer, I don’t have a “team”, so it is just that much harder to get into, plus there’s only so much time I can dedicate to watching sports, and they’re pretty much taken up by other sports.

I’m also the kinda guy that appreciates 1-0 games in baseball, just for the tension it brings (but I’ll never turn down a good old 10-8 type game with a bunch of homers)

by The JuggerNitt on Nov 6, 2008 7:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

2005

You look at the Ohio State 2005 game – that was another epic defensive game. Hell, between Poz, Connor, Shaw, Carpnter, Hawk, and Schleigel – it was a LB clinic. Watching Poz and Hawk just trade off plays was unreal. The play where Poz ran down Smith was unbelievable, but I also recall Hawk scraping to the hole to drop MRob for no gain when it look like an easy 1st down. The defense that was played in that game was epic.

by Spats on Nov 6, 2008 1:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

but most Americans are too ADD to watch a good defensive football game, a pitcher’s duel in baseball, or your standard soccer game. If there’s not enough action, they change the channels. That’s why curling is only broadcast in Canada.

by NJ lion on Nov 6, 2008 2:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i've had this article saved for over 2 years

and like most of the folks here, go back and read it quite often. GO STATE!

by PSU Jen on Nov 5, 2008 8:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Article

Yeah, I printed that article. Interesting story. The most poignant memory of that time was Miami and the Army Fatigues and them getting up and not eating with the PSU players. One of them said that “The Japanese didn’t eat with America before they bombed Pearl Harbor”, and P John Bruno said something like “Didn’t the Japs lose that war?” What is interesting about that is, say the next year, Miami and Oklahoma play in the regular season again, and Miami wins, or if Oklahoma would have lost to anyone else but Nebraska, then Miami would have been back at the Fiesta Bowl again, this time against 11-0 Syracuse. I think they would have beaten them, though.

by PABroncofan on Nov 5, 2008 10:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm not making the connection

about why Bruno’s comment is more interesting because Miami had a chance to go back to the Fiesta Bowl the next year and beat Syracuse…am I missing some subplot? Or just stating how good Miami actually was during that time?

by The JuggerNitt on Nov 6, 2008 7:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs