At Penn State, you’re required to take at least two courses in physical education. I believe it’s a requirement bourne out of the fact that nearly every coach and assistant is a faculty member who teaches class. I took a jogging class with a former basketball assistant, Mike Morse, who is a Penn State legend in his own right. Our final exam in that class would be the same as our first assignment. In fact, we repeated the same test several times in that semester.
Run to Joe Pa and back.
ESPN The Magazine: Be the Ball. Pretty much the trippiest thing I ever read on ESPN.com (or any other sports site for that matter). The Magazine relates the experience of a Nike 3005 collegiate football (yes, the ball) as a part of the Spread HD offense in the Penn State-Illinois game. Never before have I thought so much about what it might be like to be a football.
The Genesis of the Roar. The second item on this page is a nice little story about the lion’s roar they play on the PA system at Beaver Stadium during football games. Apparently it started as a radio show effect, then started being used at wrestling matches and basketball games. Other schools have come up with copycats but the lion’s roar was the first.
Penn State basketball players go where nobody knows their names. A great feature on the forgettable Penn State men’s basketball team, which recently has become more of a Big Ten spoiler (though not a powerhouse). Poor Jamelle Cornley, no one even knows he plays basketball on campus! On a side note, I think its interesting that though I don’t like basketball that much I think Dana O’Neil and Henry Abbott are my favorite ESPN.com contributors.
Time: The Evolution of the College Dorm. A pretty cool history of dorms as they’ve gone from tightly controlled living spaces to become more student driven – which has resulted in “country club” dorms. I would say that most of the dorms I experienced at Penn State were more of the 70s-80s era brick or cinder block variety. It’s clear though that the focus of future dorm development was on more expensive ones with amenities.
Sonic Youth. Old news by now, but ESPN the Mag named Penn State the best student section overall and most fun. Says Beno Cook, “If you aren’t impressesd with the White Out, you’re probably one of those people who thinks the moon landing was faked in a TV studio.” Well said. I’m proud to have been part of the greatest show in college football.
I rented an independent film called Cashback on Netflix this weekend and was surprised to find a cameo appearance of a Penn State sweatshirt. The 2006 feature film is an adapatation (really more an extention) of 2004 short flim that was nominated for an Academy Award. The Penn State girl’s scene appears in both versions. Certainly Penn State’s a well known school in the United States, but I was surprised to see it represented in a British film. It made me wonder whether the actress or maybe another crew member has a connection the the University, but I couldn’t find any details about it on Google. Ironically, I looked on a couple Penn State clothing Web sites and couldn’t find any sweatshirts exactly like this one. Anyway, its fun to see Penn State reach expanding across the Atlantic.
Update: FYI, as College OTR humorously pointed out, the film is NSFW in case you go looking for it. I think its pretty tasteful though and the whole movie is pretty original.
The end of the Cosmo: A Dining Commons tradition runs its course. For outsiders, the Chicken Cosmo is a tastier version of a McChicken sandwich and a staple of the undergrad diet. It’s hard to imagine residential dining without Cosmos. Why couldn’t they have canceled herb chicken instead?
For at least two years, Big House won’t be biggest. Who isn’t surprised that Michigan was trying to cheat at the ADA, by not making the stadium accessible. Now that the playing field is level though, maybe Penn State will expand to keep up with them. Generally I regard stadium expansions as the worst kind of pissing contest, but if Penn State wants to add seats so I can get tickets easier that’s alright by me now.
Collegian: Pot funds student’s tuition, police say. Although $100,000 in cash could probably fund a couple students’ tuition. God I hope they find out this is a business major – what a great senior thesis that would be 🙂