Hot Topics

While I fully understand that we have another game this week, I'm going to take a moment to look at a couple of HOT topics in Nittany Nation this week.

First, do we root for Ohio State against USC?

From NittanyFootball.com:

We'll start with Terrelle Pryor...He goes out and wears black eye stickers with "Mike Vick" on them during the Navy game. In the postgame, he says that he has always looked up to Vick.That should have been it. However, and this is where it gets good, he follows it up with this gem... and I quote:"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world,” Pryor said of Vick. “Everyone does — kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance."

Actually while I hate doing it, and in the unlikely event they win I'm really going to hate that OSU fans are happy- I have a hard time not rooting for them on Saturday. Someone has to do something to make this conference not lame.

How does it do PSU any good for the Buckeyes to get whipped by USC? It might make you feel good, but I guess I'm thinking about what puts us in a better position to have a shot at the national championship game.I know Whitey's theory is that an undefeated team will not be kept out of the BCS championship game. Really? Tell that to Auburn. So if there is a choice among three undefeated teams, or among multiple one loss teams, isn't it better for us to have beaten an OSU team that beat USC? And for that matter, the better the record our opponents have as a whole the better for us as long as we beat them all.

Don't get me wrong - I don't root for other Big 10 teams. I don't have a second favorite Big 10 team. I just recognize the practicality of what it means to PSU when thinking about who beats who.

It kills me to say it, but I hope OSU takes out the Trojans this weekend. I'll need to douse myself in gasoline after I pull for them but I hope they win.USC has zero class. At least an OSU win helps the conference.

On the FightonState Messageboard:

If you're not a Buckeye's fan come Saturday night... Then you are crazy and are not thinking straight. OSU needs to be undefeated when they come to Happy Valley. Our schedule this year requires every team we play to be as highly ranked as possible. I have never been this big of a Big Ten fan as I am this year. You want to see PSU in the BCS Championship game? Then root hard for the Bucks on Saturday night.

No they don't. Penn State has to be undefeated come Nov. 7th.

As much as it pains me, I will be cheering for the Buckeyes come Saturday night. Although if TP keeps up with his nonsense I may have to rethink my position

Now there's the one that I'm torn over. Man, I just cannot root for Michigan. But against ND???

To illustrate the importance of this point... we probably would have won the MNC in 1994 if Michigan had defeated Colorado that season. [Not so sure of that!]

Penn State would have won the National Championship in 1994 if the Big Ten was loyal.Not one state in the Big Ten voted for us. Penn State does not need any team in the Big Ten to be anything. Penn State just needs to be undefeated. Penn State undefeated not playing in the BCS championship game with JoePa as coach will kill the BCS. [Didn't I predict that?]

undefeated Florida, undefeated USC, undefeated PSU.. who plays for the title?

the lame system in place now forces us to go against our natural instincts and root for our conference "brethren."

Screw it, I'm rooting for USC.

sorry,i can't root for TP in anything.....

OK--you get the idea. No one really wants to root for THE OSU, but we don't want to look weak because of our conference. And both USC and ND are worthy of our hatred anyway, so it's really just the lesser of two evils. But there is another way to look at it, as noted on the BWI Messageboard:

No way. The worse they are the better we do in recruiting...and eventually we get better and better, our opponents get worse and worse and we become FSU of the 90's.

That's actually a very good point, although Ohio State's recent losses to USC and Florida don't seem to be hurting their recruiting much.

As for me, I don't like to see the Buckeyes win, but I don't like seeing USC win. Either way, there will be some joy and some tears. I usually root against Notre Dame as well--it's too bad it just can't end in a tie.

And just like 1994, it doesn't do any good to beat them, if the voters and coaches don't rank us #1. All you can do is take each game at a time. The worst scenario in my mind is OSU beating USC and then going undefeated, beating us along the way and making it to the title game. I'd need a ledge to leap off of. Plus, I really believe these teams--especially OSU and THEM--play better when they're cocky and confident. I'd rather have them roughed up with bruised egos, rather than thinking the game was already won.

A second HOT topic is the piped-in music at Beaver Stadium--an entire thread of 110 replies . . .STOP Sweet Caroline!

Can they please stop with the Sweet Caroline at the stadium? First, its not original. The Red Sox have played it for years. Can't we be more creative than that?Second, it stinks as a sports song. Its a chick song. "Hands touching hands..." Yeah, thats exactly what I want to hear 100,000 people sing at a football game.

One of several that I wish they would stop playing. If I hear "Don't stop believing" or "living on a prayer" one more time I might jump off old main.

I actually left at halftime and the music was part of the reason. I couldn't stand it anymore. [Really? I mean, really????]

Before Guido came along, the atmosphere was too bland and boring. All the blue hairs were sitting on their hands all game. Too much marching band. Etc, etc, etc.Now Guido has ruined the atmosphere the we used to have. Too much canned music. Too many cheesy gimmicky types of things.Sheesh. [AMEN]

Best songs for football are ones that increase aggression and anger. I have some studies that show strength increased when listening to heavy metal in the gym as opposed to classical/pop. With that said, may I make a few suggestions? Metallica, Mobb Deep, Scarface, Korn. [Lord help us]

Sorry, but stuff like Mobb Deep, Korn, and Scarface is garbage and has no place where there are young kids. Keep that garbage in the gym on your mp3 player. There's plenty of stuff out there that can be used that's not inappropriate.

Well the worst part is, I think we are in the vast minority. I think most people there (many of them the non-hardcore fans) don't mind. [I know I don't. I like to move it move it.]

And on and on.

Really. This is what we complain about. I have been going to PSU games since the 70's and the stadium atmosphere since Guido took over is light years ahead of those past times. I see people complaining that we're trying to be like the NFL. So we have to act like it's a high school game from the '50s instead? I, for one, think Guido is doing a great job. Imagine trying to make 110,000 people happy at the same time.