Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE 2* Sandusky Arrested Again

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

100%.

And, we'll have to see what kind of coach/salesman they bring in, and what kind of program/narrative/story he has to sell.

When I worked at Continental Airlines, our sales people were thrilled. After years of being a shitty airline, with a bad product, we were actually a good airline, with new planes. The past sucked, but they had something to sell now.

When I went to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the sales environment sucked. Ownership had run off the business community and we had no new story to tell/sell.

I specifically asked the VP, "what's the new story? What do we have, to tell folks how we're going to do things differently now?"

But, they were unable to admit any previous failings, so they couldn't devise a new plan, a new narrative.

If Penn State has one thing going for it, it's that it's all -- hopefully (and, if it's not, this could still really hurt them) -- out there.

They have an opportunity to put this behind them. They'll have to turn the page, wipe the entire slate clean, and start all over.

There will be no vestige of the old program when they start recruiting again.

It'll take a hell of a coach/salesman, but it can be done.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

I'd be very careful about reading too much into those blue-chip decommits ... of course blue chippers (and others) are going to back off on commitments. You have no clue as to what is coming down the pike. Once a new regime is in place -- and I am assuming it will be a TOTAL switch-out* -- Penn State's going to sign some talent. The talent may not be at quite the level it was before, but there's such a high degree of uncertainty about talent I don't see Penn State necessarily being put out to pasture for years.

*All bets are off if this isn't the case.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

Yep. If only the big, bad media would stop reporting on all that horrible news of kids being molested and how a vice-presidential candidate cannot say what newspapers she reads. There's Rose Bowl bids to win, and the dwindling rest of the middle class to pillage!

That guy has the mind of an engineer alright. An engineer of a toy train set.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

I'm going to say something that can be misconstrued very easily, so I should be careful. But I've had my coffee and I feel frisky, so here goes:

I understand why the Penn State fans are acting the way they are.

I don't advocate it, and I wouldn't join in, but I'm also not a fan. And it's easy for those of us to be detached, because it's part and parcel with what we do or did for a living. Our personalities are hardwired that way. But if you're a fan of anything -- a person, a group, a concept -- it's hard to throw the brakes and do a 180 on something you've loved for a long time. Parents don't believe their kids are capable of murder, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Activists still advocate for their candidate or beliefs, even if they've been debunked and marginalized to the point of fringe lunacy.

So you take a guy who, for better or worse, has been beloved and lionized by a community for decades. Early in the week, it starts to come out that this guy had a hand in enabling someone who appears to have committed one of the indisputably horrific crimes against fellow man. For us who have no connection with the place, it's easy to say "they're all scum, shut down the program, college sports is hell on earth." For those in the moment, who spent countless years following that program and the man who led them, it's not as easy to flip the switch.

Look, the man deserved to be fired. There's little rational argument otherwise. The program deserves the intense scrutiny and ridicule it's receiving and will continue to receive for the forseeable future. And yeah, the JoePa supporters aren't acting especially rationally right now. But let's not fool ourselves: We all have our blind spots. Most of ours aren't out for display on ESPN.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

I am against that kind of blind emotional investment to begin with. Particularly in a football program. Or a celebrity.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

Easy to say from a distance. But are you trying to say you are completely free of blind investment? That's a rhetorical question, because obviously nobody's going to cop to having a blind investment to anyone or anything. It's like asking someone if they're a racist. They may drop n-bombs like ball bearings from an overflowing wheelbarrow and actively discriminate at their place of business, but they'll swear up and down that they're not. Still, I'd be willing to wager that everyone has that blind spot where their devotion is deeper and more resilient to challenge than usual.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

This is true. It's a fact.

People rush to the defense of people and institutions that are in the wrong all the time because they are unprepared to deal with the truth, and what it means to them.

And, that's why it was up to the Board and the Interim President to think hard about what was the right course of action.

This is why canceling yesterday's game should have at leat been given serious consideration -- and there's no evidence that was ever considered.

The outpouring of support for the program and for Paterno yesterday was wholly predictable.

Is that the message they wanted conveyed?

The lesson needs to be that no man, no program, no football game, is above the law. They are not bigger than the University.

That message was not sent yesterday. Not at all.

And, if every University is not discussing just this kind of thing at their next Board of Trustees meeting, then they are doing a disservice to their own school.

Something like this -- maybe not just like this, but an scandal nonetheless -- will happen again, involving a big time program, and it will have been avoidable.

Every University is now on notice that they need to reign in these programs. They will have no excuse after witnessing what happened at Penn State.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

Won't happen.

In fact, what will happen is that each university will comfortably assure themselves that this is something that could never happen here at State U. This will reinforce their piety, if anything. If change is to come, it will have to come from a higher power. The NCAA. Or - I can't even say this with a straight face, considering the lineup of sycophants and constituent ass-kissers that walk the halls of the Capitol - Congress.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

If I'm a Penn State alum and we lose every game for the next 10 years, but our house gets cleaned up, I'm great with that.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

Holy fuck that is priceless.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

But again, cancelling a football game isn't like not letting the naughty kids play with their Xbox for a week. There's a contract and considerations that reach far past Happy Valley. I know it's "just a game," but failing to fulfill obligations isn't a very good lesson to teach either.

If it makes everyone feel better, I doubt you'll see a lot of pro-Paterno signs in the crowds of their next two games.

 

Re: Penn State AD charged with perjury -- *UPDATE* Paterno Fired

In the business world, contracts are broken all the time. For much more mundane reasons than this.

Life goes on.