God Is Dead
by nuftw on Nov 7, 2011 11:46 PM CST
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I have always been idealistic about college sports. I would argue on the side that college sports were generally positive for everyone involved: the players received an education (as well as preparation for a professional league), while the school could improve its undergraduate experience, advertise itself to prospective students, and reconnect with alumni. While a few bad apples certainly made headlines, I believed that some schools (certainly not all, not a majority, perhaps only a handful) were honorably succeeding at the highest level.
The past few days have irrevocably shaken that belief. When cynics would ask me to name a single major program that wasn't dirty or corrupt, Penn State had been my response every time. PSU had always been the exemplar of how a football team and an athletic department could succeed without sinking to the level of other schools. They graduated an impressive percentage of players; last year they were at 84%, 2nd among BCS state schools (behind Rutgers). The Google auto-complete for "success with honor" is "PSU". Their coach had personally donated millions of dollars to the school and helped raise hundreds of millions more for a new library. And they did all of this while ranking 9th in wins over the last quarter century.
We have since learned that this impression was as least partially a facade. No matter how the public or the prosecutors apportion blame on the individuals involved (and I irrationally cling to the belief that Paterno did all that he could), no one can argue that as a program, Penn State failed in a way almost unimaginable. A scandal of the level seen at Miami or OSU would have been extremely disheartening; these revelations shatter my previous perspective.
Perhaps I am being overly dramatic, but I don't think I will be able to follow college sports in the future with the same fervor. I can no longer justify to myself or anyone else that any uncorrupted schools or individuals participate, or even that a theoretical uncorrupted school could even compete. I'll probably continue to watch my own school (Northwestern) at least until something similar escapes from there. A few other schools also appear to have clean programs (Stanford, Boston College) though all three of those schools have the advantage of immunity from open records requests, and also stretch the definition of "success": BC is horrible this year, Northwestern can most charitably be described as inconsistent, and Stanford went 1-11 not too long ago. My desire to watch Tuesday night MAC games or to spend an entire Saturday watching random teams seems unlikely to return to its previous level.
At the beginning of this season, Spencer Hall wrote an article entitled "God's Away on Business" about how even with the fraud and hypocrisy, the genuine passion of the players gave him a defense against cynicism. My defense was that at least some schools avoided most of the fraud and hypocrisy. I have lost that.
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A distinction
What happened at Penn State shouldn’t be conflated with the everyday corruption of major college football. At best, the individuals involved convinced themselves that institutional process absolved them of personal responsibility for stopping an abhorrent predator; at worst, an individual or a small group willfully ignored their moral responsibility in a reprehensible attempt to protect the image of the university and football program. From what I have read, the worst case seems closer to the truth. In either case, this is something far more serious than any recruiting or benefits scandal. No matter how much you loathe oversigning, fudging academic requirements, or slipping players extra benefits under the table, those are understandable actions in a world where college sports are big business. Protecting a man credibly accused of raping a boy entrusted to his care is not.
Ultimately, I can understand how, on top of the petty hypocrisy of college football, a spectacular case of moral rot in a place that seemed above the fray could and perhaps should lead to a reassessment of one’s appreciation for the game. But not all corruption is created equal. To class this case with all the other problems of college football is, in my view, to either trivialize the behavior of Sandusky and his enablers or to assume that individuals who seek every advantage in a competitive setting are unable to recognize and act to stop real moral outrages. While a few responses on this site have trivialized the issue, yours is not one of them.
My only response to you is this: I can understand the reasons why college football, a big money sport in its own right and practically a minor league for an even bigger money league, has had scandals involving teams looking for a competitive advantage for most of its existence. Perhaps this is naive, but in most cases I don’t think that the reasons that lead individuals down that path apply to a situation like this. The entire model of NCAA football has serious failings, but protecting sexual predators is not one of these as far as I know. So while I can understand seeing both as a sign of a fundamental moral rot, I view the Sandusky case as something entirely separate from and worse than the constant attempts to gain an advantage on the field by less than honest means. Cheating in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage is understandable; protecting a man like Sandusky is not.
by MountainTiger on Nov 8, 2011 1:02 AM CST reply actions 7 recs
I’m with nuftw.
I agree that the Sandusky case is in a class of its own. Comparing the situations at Miami and Ohio State is with this one is ludicrous. Regardless, I’m going to have a tough time watching any college football now as a result of this mess.
As a Penn State fan, suddenly the rug has been pulled out from under my feet. The man who has been a hero in my household is now someone who could have stopped these heinous acts but instead allowed them to continue. The university that has been such a huge part of my life now is run by a president who either covered this up or stuck his head in the sand. The law enforcement agency that is supposed to protect students and citizens is corrupt beyond my wildest imagination (I mean seriously? The DA from ‘98 is missing??). How am I supposed to support this university and its team now?
I was a Penn State fan first and a football fan second. I watch football because Penn State made me love football. I follow the NFL mostly to see how Penn State players are doing. I love college football in general because I assume that fans and alumni of other schools feel the same way I do. I totally bought into the "Success With Honor" mantra. Penn State was supposed to be the ONE PLACE where morality meant something. Perhaps believing that was naive, but right now I’m feeling angry, hurt, betrayed and sad.
I am debating whether or not to watch the game on Saturday. I have two kids in my household, ages 4 and 7. My family has been looking forward to this game since the day they announced Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten. Will they be discussing the news during the game? What am I supposed to tell my kids about their hero, Joe Paterno…the hero I introduced them to? The man that does the right thing and strives for "Success With Honor"?
Yeah, this thing really has soured me on college football. Maybe we’ll be able to move forward with our love of Penn State and the Nittany Lions after they start fresh with a new administration and a new coaching staff, but I think it’s going to be a long, slow healing process. And I don’t think I’ll ever recover completely.
by lmrlion on Nov 8, 2011 7:56 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs
I have no intention of comparing the magnitude of the situation at Penn State to the problems at any other institution. As I say in the article, having the leaders at Penn State act in the manner of OSU or Miami (or Alabama) would have been very disappointing. Having them act as they did in this much more important and serious (and clear cut) situation strikes much deeper.
I don't mean to say that you did compare them
All I want to say is that the Penn State situation is horrific, but it is a situation specific to a small group of people at one university that doesn’t change my perception of the rest of college sports/football. I can understand and respect your point of view; I think that we agree on the most important things here.
by MountainTiger on Nov 8, 2011 12:22 PM CST up reply actions
I’m not really in a mood to disagree with anyone on anything about this topic, and I almost wish I had your confidence. For me, every time something bad happened in college sports (and there have been a lot recently) I would point to Penn State and Joe Paterno as the best example of the right way to act. I’ve lost that both that example and any confidence I had in any other example.
by nuftw on Nov 8, 2011 12:31 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
It was "God's Away on Business", after the Tom Waits' song.
"Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
Many of us share your feelings
This transcends sports and when one gets past the human element of the children affected, the shock of the institution that bears some responsibility is a shock.
BTW, I do think your write up is quite good.
The “STFU” comment on EDSBS was for the religious war that was about to break out in the comments.
I think that Paterno is still a good person that made a bad decision. Sometimes knowing what is the right thing to do it hard. I am not so sure I wouldn’t have defaulted to the rule book myself. I know nothing about the law, so I am going to defer to the lawyers who wrote the rules because I would have thought that the reason the rules are written this way for they are the best thing to do in this case.
Hell, I dunno, I just feel horrible for those affected.
Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.
If those Southerners actually read
They would realize that the statement “God is dead” is a reflection on morality, not a directly religious question.
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
A lot of serious harm has come over the last century +
from snatching some Nietzsche out of context and then running with it.
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" -- Ludwig Wittgenstein
by SubLime on Nov 8, 2011 7:21 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Remind yourself its a game your watching
…full of flawed human beings like the rest of the human population (perhaps more flawed?). We all too often think of atheletes and coaches as super humans and our beloved programs as being above the fray. Turns out there nobody’s an angel.
I remember absolutely loving Clem Haskins (MN Gophers Bball) as a kid — went to all of his basketball camps. He preached discipline and respect for your parents/elders. At camp one year, an assistant coach had a kid stand up in front of camp who was wearing a jersey from a college team that had been dealing with scandal. The coach told the kid to take the jersey off and proceeded to lecture us about the importance of honor and self-respect, and of supporting teams that run a clean programs and not supporting those that cheated.
I was heart-broken when the scandal broke. I still love my Gophers and college sports in general, but I now know better to think that any program is above the fray. I still rally against cheaters but I will no longer assume that one school or another is any holier than the next.
In the end, we’re watching a game, for entertainment value. Remind yourself that. Wins are more entertaining than losses for certain. But all too often the “super human” atheletes and coaches encounter super human temptations that they cannot overcome when the lead to more W’s and less losses.
this is nothing compared to haskins at Minny or anywhere.
we are at the crux of trusting adults and saving our children. That trust was violated and children were abused. This is a crime.
by spartynation on Nov 8, 2011 11:28 AM CST up reply actions
I readily accept that many if not most of the leaders of college sports are flawed, often terribly so. But if every coach and every institution don’t care about living up to a higher ideal, then college sports are distinguishable from the pros only by the poorer level of play.
I’m not saying what Clem did and what happened at PSU are equal. I’m saying that we have to stop thinking that atheletes/coaches/programs are super humans. This PSU situation is really f-ed up, for sure, but in the end we have to remember that (unfortunately) the teams we love are no more made up of angels than the rest of the population. This too shall pass and PSU will rebuild.
Posted by Penn State today
"Bama Hawkeye, you know, the Iowa blogger who actually uses reason and analysis." - Patrick Vint
http://www.offtackleempire.com
oh penn state
um, maybe playing on game on Saturday isn’t the best of ideas.
Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.
unbelievable
Always check the words with the red squiggly line. They mean you probably screwed up.
Author @ Off Tackle Empire
by KennardHusker on Nov 8, 2011 11:28 AM CST up reply actions
ESPN: NYT reports PSU planning on Joe Pa's exit.
PSU officials are planning for Joe Pa’s exit. This may happen in the coming weeks.
Just threw up a Fan Post on this....
….feel free to continue discussing here or there.
PSU is taking every step an entity would take
to protect itself and its executives from civil and criminal liablity, at the expense of helping its victims. They are entitled to do that. Everyone else is entitled to notice, and act accordingly.
We play tackle football.
by Bellanca on Nov 8, 2011 11:41 AM CST reply actions 5 recs
As long as people notice.
Everything about this situation has been so reprehensible, so grotesque – from the vivid recounts of molestation to the undeniable cover-up at the top to the subsequent defense of those people by the institution that fostered all of this.
I wonder how much it really takes for people who don’t want to notice, to notice. How long can cognitive dissonance stand tall in the face of allegations for particular Penn State fans and alumni?
That's the source of the screaming on the PSU blogs.
I’d say the comments are running 70-30 around the notion that Paterno is a victim. I suppose that is easier than contemplating what has been done to the known 8 victims. (Sandusky sounds like a true sociopath and they are not parsimonious in their criminality.) (Close friend runs a hospital for sex offenders, and most people cannot handle those truths.)
We play tackle football.
PSU Grad burning his diploma. Nice.
http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/33193897
That's just stupid.
I mean I hate to tell you this, but institutional corruption by a handful of people doesn’t mean that you didn’t spend 4-6 years and a shit ton of time and money earning that degree.
Executive Producer - WRNL TV
Lighten up !!
I said that glibbly for a reason.
The picture you paint is too dark and gives too much - WAY too much - power to the dark forces of the world. Are you seriously saying that you will allow the perversions of pedophile Sandusky and the stupidity of Curley and Schultz to ruin your love of CFB?
This is a choice you make about how to respond to sad and horrible news. Don’t give Sandusky this kind of power.
Go to bed, get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.
grrr... i'm sorry, really i am.... i just can't help myself
I cannot help but add a few other thoughts.
i read this post earlier in the day and many things bothered me; i am sorry, but I just can’t let them go.
from what you wrote, your love of CFB is predicated on some alleged purity of a “handful” of schools? really? and now that PSU has supposedly fallen from the heights - it has not, btw - you are going to have trouble watching CFB with the same zeal? Who, may I ask have you been watching? I assume you did not watch ‘Bama play LSU, correct? PSU, Standford and Northwestern are it. Those are the only schools without a major NCAA violation in all the years (there may be one more, can’t remember). They don’t play each other very often. What are you watching?
I’m sorry, but I can’t understand this. My love of Ohio State athletics is COMPLETELY independent of whatever is going on at NU or PSU or Stanford or some other school. The schools themselves are irrelevant to my love of Ohio State which makes the “purity” of those other schools beyond irrelevant. The only way “purity” factors into the equation is when tOSU plays a non-pure school [SEC] and then I want to beat them more and beat them badly because good should triumph over evil. [and yes, I am aware of the irony as least as it will be perceived by other B1G fanbases.]
Anyway, sorry to rant. But, Dude if “purity” is going to be the basis of happiness in your life, you are going to be sorely and repeatedly disappointed.
As said, your view gives way too much power to the dark forces of the world. And it’s not brave; I suggest you work to maintain, reinstate, create the purity rather than abandon what/who you love when it is shown that it/they are flawed. All of these are human endeavors. Humans are, by definition, flawed. Thus, all human endeavors are flawed. But with hard work, principal, dedication, the flaws can be minimized.
I’m metaphorically slapping you. “Snap out of it!!!”
From one southerner who reads...
The only way "purity" factors into the equation is when tOSU plays a non-pure school [SEC] and then I want to beat them more and beat them badly because good should triumph over evil.
Purity = playing ineligible players in the Sugar Bowl? Lying to NCAA and OSU administrators? Lack of institutional control?
Seriously, how can you be so hypocritical and sanctimonious?
A Football Program is a Terrible Thing to Waste.
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