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Friday Night Musings (Or What I Love About Penn State)

I've spent the last few hours riding the high of last week's win. This has included watching highlights of the win, watching reactions to the win and following life of the players after the win. In addition to riding that wave of euphoria I've gotten caught up in the impending wrestling season where we'll once again see Cael Sanderson present some of the best wrestlers in the country wrestling a style that is undoubtedly the best approach to the sport that fans will have the privilege of watching. And throughout it all, there is a commonality.

Every season we go into it thinking about what our expectations for the season are. What Franklin has been able to accomplish with changes to the coaching staff, with off season training, with maturation. We're focused on the potential that new wrestlers like Suriano possess and how Nolf and Nickal and even potentially Mouse will build on last year. But what I've found is that quickly gets washed to the wayside.

It takes a minute of looking at Saquon Barkley's Twitter feed to recognize what we all take for granted: that these are young men and women that are not only exceeding at sports, but they're exceeding at being the people we want our future to be comprised of. We're standing at the precipice of a 10-2 football season, a record that would surpass any remotely reasonable expectation out there. And yet I've already realized that the true appreciation of this season is in the kids actually playing the game on the field. We'll likely always remember the 2016 upset win over Ohio State at home, but to the kids on that team, that win is now part of their identity. It's an accomplishment that they'll have for the rest of their lives. And that's really what it's all about.

There's a commonality at this university, whether it's football, basketball, wrestling, hockey, volleyball or the rest of the sports. It's an appreciation for the best people and it fosters those characteristics. We're half way through the football season and I already consider it a success and it has nothing to do with the results on the football field. It has everything to do with the quality of individuals that are on display for this program. And year in and year out, regardless of how caught up in the preseason hype and hopes, I always find myself back to this position. Whether it's a football team exceeding expectations, whether it's a wrestling team coming up short, more than anything I'm proud to be associated with what this program puts on display. From someone who reaps the benefits far more than the meager contributions they've made, thank you to everyone that makes Penn State what it is today, because it's damn special.

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