I have mentioned on here before that I was born and raised to be a Nittany Lion fan even though I did not go to school there myself. The past few football seasons have been rough to say the least for Penn State, but this year was more exciting. They finished their regular season 11-1 and ended with the number 3 rank in the nation. This season, Joe Pa's best in 11 years, caused fans like me to excitedly repeat "we're back!" over and over again as Penn State racked up the victories. Their amazing record this year earned them a place in last night's Orange Bowl match against the ACC champion, Florida State.
I have to say, this year I missed the days when all the bowl games were over by New Year's day. The fact that last night's game was on a work night meant that I knew I would not be able to stay up for the whole game and expect to function with a 5:30 am alarm. So I turned the TV off at the end of the 3rd quarter when Penn State was only leading by one and the score was identical to what it was at halftime. Little did I know what I was missing by turning the TV off at that point. Apparently, despite and even because of the low scoring, the became one of the most exciting games in recent history. The coaches overall records were close, and even if Penn State had a better season this year, both teams came out ready to win. The game went into triple overtime and didn't end until 1am when Penn State scored a field goal that put the score at 26-23.
Naturally, I am happy that Penn State pulled through, but I'm sad that I went to bed and missed all the fun. Before the game, one reporter asked Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden if they planned to retire after this season. Joe Pa said no way. He said that as long as he can coach, he will. Last year, people, including the University president, asked him to retire and he told them that he would retire when he was good and ready and that time has not yet arrived. Only a legend like Joe Paterno could tell his boss to take a hike and not get fired. And I'm sure last night's exciting victory pushed his retirement time back even further. He's already 79 years old and has coached at Penn State for 40 years, just over half of his life. His competitive spirit is still kicking, as he proved last night when he yelled at the officials and led his team through a game where at no point either time was ahead by more than a touchdown.
Posted by Kim at January 4, 2006 09:30 AM