A couple of fun behind-the-scenes reports I didn't want to see get swept away into the internet ether. First is an account from DomerJD over on NDN, who saw JoePa address a Penn State alumni function.
Before everyone kills me, I didn't pay for the ticket... The ball and chain mentioned to me a few weeks ago that Paterno was going to be in town giving a talk, so I agreed to go because I thought it might be interesting. I am sort of dumb and didn't realize what I was agreeing to.... I get there and there's a thousand people for "A Night With Joe Paterno" sponsored by the PSU Alumni Association.... I felt sort of unclean, and I fully expected that someone would be waiting outside after to revoke my ND alum status.
I don't have much to say about the talk itself, because he sort of rambled and I couldn't really make heads or tails of it.
At the end, he opened it up to questions. I think I was the first person with my hand in the air. I asked him about PSU's intentions of continuing the series against ND beyond 2007- if there had been any discussion at PSU about it, and if he wanted to continue to play ND. (When I was asking my question, he stopped me at one point and yelled at me for talking too fast). He said that he doesn't think the series will continue beyond 2007. His comment was that initially there was some discussion about a six-game series, but that ND has a lot of people who wants to play them and he doesn't think that PSU is going to fit into the schedule.
Then he started talking about how he thinks that the twelve-game season is a terrible idea, and started talking about money and how football has to finance "all fifteen of the women's sports" so if there is going to be an extra game it's going to be a home game. Then he started talking about how ND needs to upgrade their athletic facilities so they need additional home game revenue as well, and made some comment about how "we can't go ask the Church for money for athletic facilities like they can." So I guess the upshot is that from the PSU side it doesn't sound like we're going to be playing them after 2007. I know this is probably not news, but I thought it was interesting to get Paterno's comments on it.
Also, during his talk he made mention of the upcoming season and the first few games. Here's what he said:
Akron: "Don't count them out, they are a tough team and their QB threw for 3000 yards last season."
Notre Dame: "Notre Dame... aren't they a 1-AA school? (laugh from the crowd) No, seriously.... I shouldn't make fun of them, I knew them when they were Catholics. (more laughs from the crowd, as I attempt to shoot laser beams at him out of my eyeballs)"
Ohio State: "That will be a tough game."
I know he was playing to his audience, but I thought it was a bit foolish for a coach to deride a team that is probably going to hand his ass to him on the road as "I-AA." To be fair, he made some pretty unkind comments about some of his own people. And, at one point when two guys were confused about who he had called on to ask a question, he said "It doesn't matter who goes first- you're both ugly!"
Before everyone kills me, I didn't pay for the ticket... The ball and chain mentioned to me a few weeks ago that Paterno was going to be in town giving a talk, so I agreed to go because I thought it might be interesting. I am sort of dumb and didn't realize what I was agreeing to.... I get there and there's a thousand people for "A Night With Joe Paterno" sponsored by the PSU Alumni Association.... I felt sort of unclean, and I fully expected that someone would be waiting outside after to revoke my ND alum status.
I don't have much to say about the talk itself, because he sort of rambled and I couldn't really make heads or tails of it.
At the end, he opened it up to questions. I think I was the first person with my hand in the air. I asked him about PSU's intentions of continuing the series against ND beyond 2007- if there had been any discussion at PSU about it, and if he wanted to continue to play ND. (When I was asking my question, he stopped me at one point and yelled at me for talking too fast). He said that he doesn't think the series will continue beyond 2007. His comment was that initially there was some discussion about a six-game series, but that ND has a lot of people who wants to play them and he doesn't think that PSU is going to fit into the schedule.
Then he started talking about how he thinks that the twelve-game season is a terrible idea, and started talking about money and how football has to finance "all fifteen of the women's sports" so if there is going to be an extra game it's going to be a home game. Then he started talking about how ND needs to upgrade their athletic facilities so they need additional home game revenue as well, and made some comment about how "we can't go ask the Church for money for athletic facilities like they can." So I guess the upshot is that from the PSU side it doesn't sound like we're going to be playing them after 2007. I know this is probably not news, but I thought it was interesting to get Paterno's comments on it.
Also, during his talk he made mention of the upcoming season and the first few games. Here's what he said:
Akron: "Don't count them out, they are a tough team and their QB threw for 3000 yards last season."
Notre Dame: "Notre Dame... aren't they a 1-AA school? (laugh from the crowd) No, seriously.... I shouldn't make fun of them, I knew them when they were Catholics. (more laughs from the crowd, as I attempt to shoot laser beams at him out of my eyeballs)"
Ohio State: "That will be a tough game."
I know he was playing to his audience, but I thought it was a bit foolish for a coach to deride a team that is probably going to hand his ass to him on the road as "I-AA." To be fair, he made some pretty unkind comments about some of his own people. And, at one point when two guys were confused about who he had called on to ask a question, he said "It doesn't matter who goes first- you're both ugly!"
