By
O.J. Frazier
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA: Outgoing PSU President Rodney
Erickson rejected a proposal from an alumni group to rename Beaver Stadium to
Paterno Field.
Erickson, whose title was changed from “Interim President”
to “President” without the knowledge of Ken Frazier and Ron Tomalis, revealed
he never wanted to be President because he didn’t like to make decisions.
When asked about his rejection of the proposal of the new
name of the stadium, Erickson remarked, “I was hoping that issue wouldn’t have
come up before I retired. Fortunately,
when it did, I was able to reach out to some of the trustees who recommended against it. I have absolute faith in those trustees. I signed the NCAA Consent Decree based on their advice.”
I then asked Erickson what he learned from his experience as President.
“I have learned a great deal from my experience in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal. I
think one of the greatest lessons I learned was the value of our traditions here at Penn
State. To rename the stadium, I think
would upset many of the alumni who sat in Beaver Stadium all those years on
fall Saturdays. I’m sure most of them
can still remember, as I do, that famous stadium cheer:
PENN STATE….LIVES HERE!
The NCAA’s Mark Emmert also agreed with Penn State’s decision
on the matter.
Emmert stated:
“If there is one thing that sets college
football apart from professional sports it’s the traditions. We tend to be traditionalists who want to see
the Big Ten er, Eleven er, ah, whatever,
square off in the Rose Bowl against the Pac-10, er, I mean, Pac-12."
As I looked at Emmert with a raised eyebrow, he knew that I
knew he was full of crap, so he quickly changed his reasoning.
“Well, to be honest, I think that you still have some
traditions that shouldn’t be messed with," remarked Emmert. "When I was President of Washington we played at Huskie Stadium and when
I was at LSU, the games were played at Tiger Stadium. I see no reason why Penn State wouldn’t want
to keep their stadium named after their mascot.”
O.J. Frazier?? I thought he was doing 6-9 for Fraud and Extortion.
ReplyDeleteThe crap that comes out of that man's mouth (Emmert)....It's amazing that guy is in the position he is in.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Frazier whispered in Erickson's ear that the plan is to name it "Vioxx by Merck Stadium", and Frazier will pay $50 million a year for 10 years out of his 401K to make up for what they've cost Penn State.
ReplyDeleteAlso, somebody ought to tell Emmert that it would be nice for colleges other than Penn State (we never stopped) to return to the tradition of having student athletes play "college" sports.
Those *$%^&$# a holes have no clue and really don't care how much Joe Paterno means to the Penn State community. Joe did more for Penn State than any administration member ever did. It's time he's recognized for the dedication of the Paterno family to the State College community, and the stadium should be renamed Paterno Memorial Stadium in his honor before these bafoons let it be named after some idiotic corporate sponsor.
ReplyDeleteWe are, because he was......
Since when is PSU's mascot a BEAVER???? The stadium isn't named after a mascot, it's named after someone who played an important part in Penn State's history. I see nothing wrong with Joe Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium. Emmert is a total douche bag.
ReplyDeleteAttention Happy Valley and Joe Paterno fans; do we give a flying ^(&& what either one of these two idiots has to say about this? Once and for all, it's the naming of the field, NOT RENAMING THE FREAKING STADIUM...... PATERNO FIELD AT BEAVER STADIUM BECAUSE 64,000 PLUS HAVE SIGNED..... Backed by the people, for the people, to honor Joe Paterno and 61 years of excellence. We don't need to listen to these two clowns, and that is just what they are, both are a waste of space. This is going to happen, be assured of it, and to the people who would like to see Paterno Stadium, I can assure you for a fact that the Paterno family does not want that to happen, but they do fully support the movement of "Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium". Sue Paterno has signed the petition and you and everyone else should know by now, if Sue doesn't support something than nobody should bother wasting their time, because it's not what she wanted for Joe, or the family. She supports this petition push, and it will get done. Honoring two great men that gave so much to Penn State, James A. Beaver, and Joesph V. Paterno is the only way to do it, otherwise we would be erasing part of our historic past by removing the Beaver name, and that is something that we are fighting to make sure doesn't happen to Joe Paterno!
ReplyDeleteEmmert doesn't know what he is saying when he states "I see no reason why Penn State wouldn’t want to keep their stadium named after their mascot.” When did we change our mascot to a beaver??? What else doesn't Emmert know what he is talking about.
ReplyDeleteGreat spoof of Emmert by Biehar. The thing is, Emmert is stupid enough to think that the stadium is named after a small rodent or a female body part. He.d probably dump more sanctions on PSU if it did name something in honor of Joe. How about "Joseph V. Paterno 409 Field At Beaver Stadium"? Or have the scoreboard with a big "409" legend on it for all to see?
ReplyDeleteHA! Beaver Stadium named after our mascot? Since when is a Nittany Lion and a beaver anywhere close??? Not to mention it's named Beaver after General James Beaver. I don't really think it matters if we change the name of the field but we should bring back the Paterno statue!
ReplyDelete