The Penn State - Nebraska Game

"For the Kids" 

Well Jerry Sandusky is guilty and will probably go to prison for the rest of his life.  The investigation, after all is said and done, inplicated high ranking Penn State officials and Joe Pa in the cover-up.

I recall watching the Penn State - Nebraska game last fall right after Sandusky's arrest, the firing of old Joe  and the allegations of cover-up.

 The Empire of Sports  hypocrisy was on full display. Having gone to City University of New York I can’t imagine 100.000 fans gathering for anything other than maybe a return to the days of free tuition, let alone screaming "We are.....CUNY!"  But hey, this is Happy Valley.

We had the solemn marching in of the unpaid football team, a moment of silence around the obligatory prayer circle at mid-field and the  media necessary shirtless young men, undoubtedly with a six pack already in them, painted blue - each with a letter on their torsos spelling out "For the Kids!".

I thought at the time "Oh please." 

"For the Kids" my ass.

After much mumbling by media talking heads it all went on just as if nothing had happened. I guess if the Olympic Games could continue after the killing of Israeli jews then certainly the Penn State - Nebraska game could go forward after the rape and coverup of a few poor kids.

One person thought the game should have been cancelled - the Coach at Nebraska, Bo Pelini.  Pelini was the only one to show any class that day.

He expressed that this was a teachable moment - to show his athletes and fans where the relative position of football is in real life.    Unfortunately his view was not to prevail.  The game must go on.  Everyone at the game knew where the position of football was in real life.  There was money to be made.

Football made $52 million in profits for P. S. U. the year before the "incident" - about 60% of the income at the university and third highest in the U.S.   The President, the Athletic Director and Joe Pa made millions - not because they are "worth the money" - but because they know how to bring in money.

The head of the N.C.A.A. made $2 million last year. Each of his 16 Vice Presidents earned a minimum of $200.000 each in base salary.

The television media broadcasting college football makes millions selling beer advertisements during the games. The beer companies makes money.  Everyone makes money, big money, except you know who.

The players. The guys on the field. The "student athletes."

Oh sure. They get scholarships. Once upon a time, before the big money there really were "student athletes" - guys who were going to college and happened to play football. Now guys are playing football and happen to be enrolled in a college - majoring perhaps in physical training or hotel management - anything that’s a breeze in order to get grades good enough for NCAA rules.

Once upon a time football players were introduced, giving their name and college major.

"Merlin Olson - Nuclear Physics"

Those days are over.

The federal government's graduation rate statistic for Division 1 men's basketball players entering school in 2004 is just 45 percent; that number is 68 percent under NCAA calculations.

The federal graduation rate for college football players who compete in the highest division entering school in 2004 is 56 percent; the NCAA number is 69 percent.

The Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team for example did even worse, with a graduation rate of 44 percent for those entering school between 2001-04

When the NCAA talks about how well "student athletes" are doing it includes in its aggregate statistics the women's teams - ice hockey, softball, swimming, tennis and volleyball - each had a graduation rate of 100 percent for the 2001-04 students - although only the tennis team also held its perfect mark using the federal rate.

It is that padding from the "lesser sports" and women's sports that masks the poor graduation rates for football and hoops. And we're talking here about graduating in six years - not four.

The major reason most players  are there is for a shot at the NFL. College football is the minor leagues for the professional game.  The only real student athletes playing in major college football programs are in the military academies or play for schools which keep the hype under control - places like the Ivy League schools.

While on the subject, if a player sells his jacket for some cash so he can to home for Christmas he will violate an NCAA rule and might bring his football program a demerit. Jim Tressel was fired from his head coaching position at Ohio State because five of his players essentially traded rings, jackets and jerseys for tattoos, the tattoo artist happened to be a drug dealer and Tressel covered it all up.

If a former coach still has keys to the football locker rooms and is seen raping a ten year old boy therein, that apparently is not an automatic NCAA rules violation. We will see what the NCAA does now that Sandusky has been found guilty and the investigative report damning.

The beer drinkers at PSU were out in force the night before the Nebraska game, overturning vehicles , setting fires and causing general mayhem - because Joe Pa had been rightfully fired.

He was fired because he wouldn’t resign. And by not doing so he was putting the money machine in jeopardy.

Meanwhile Sandusky did an interview that night with Bob Costas which surely caused his attorney major agita and didn't help his case - he admitted to "horse play", showering with the victims and "touching their legs in a non-sexual manner".  Right.

Everyone is of course now doing major mea culpas. The PR and media spin is in full swing so as to NOT HARM THE PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL PROGRAM" and the money machine connected with big time sports.

Everyone connected with these crimes should be brought to justice and the football program should suffer big time.

Unfortunately it's probably even money that it won't.

The hypocrisy is down right nauseating