Culture this

First, we need to accept words like "culture" and "transparency" as subjective, and as such, there is no chance for right or wrong...only opinion.
Personally, I don't give a rat's ass about the #freehopinion, the #psubotopinion, ESPN, the NCAA, Mark Emmert, et. al.

Actually, I'm not that crazy about my own opinion, but here it is:

As a local boy and Penn State alum, I choose to use the broad strokes of sports culture, rather than isolate everything as a football culture.

For example:

--Coaches and sports writers used to be on friendly terms because local journalists were unabashed "homers."...now, we eat our own.
--"Anything you say, can and will be held against you" is not just for law enforcement.
--Other than car dealerships and chinese restaurants, coaching is where nepotism goes to prosper.
--You will be allowed 30 seconds to savor any victory. You will regret, and we will remind you of every mistake, error and loss you have...for the rest of your natural life...maybe longer, if your family survives you.
--Anyone who remembers when the Olympics were for amateurs will know that all sports cultures have sold out. Winning at all costs and Dream Teams have replaced any possibility of another "Miracle on Ice."
--Stadiums and arenas are built with bonds and tax dollars...and most taxpayers can't afford the price of admission or the $5 hot dogs.

Let's start with the wayback machine:

--I've been using Rec Hall as my personal fitness center since 1954. That's over for everyone else.
--I used to sneak into Beaver Stadium...when it was next to Rec Hall.
--I've met Navy players like Roger Staubach and Joe Bellino...at Beaver Stadium.
--I knew Joe Paterno when he was a bachelor, living in the basement of someone else's home.
--I remember when there were only 4 post season bowls.
--I remember, as an in dependent, when we could schedule any team we wanted.
--I remember when the players voted on which bowl they wanted to go to.
I could sit here and write this list for hours, but I decided that it serves no purpose. Essentially, the only thing I can prove is...I'm old.

Let's look at today:

--Let's remember - "fan" is short for "fanatic."
--Let's remember - ESPN would have you believe poker and hot dog eating contests are sports.
--Let's remember - ESPN's on-air personalities are mostly former players and coaches who are unemployable elsewhere.
--Let's remember - the words "fantasy" and "rumors" are the hallmarks of sports reporting.
--Let's remember - coaches make more money than presidents. Players make more than coaches.
--Let's remember - throwback jerseys are conspicuous consumption...period.
--Let's remember - "bowl eligible" is a joke.
--Let's remember - a baseball bat now costs roughly the same as a kidney transplant.
--Let's remember - Professional athetes turn down $80million because...it's not enough.
--Let's remember - 16-year-olds now hold press conferences.
--Let's remember - 16-year-old gymnasts have no future.
--Let's remember - 25-year-old tennis players are over the hill.
--Let's remember - the most popular play in hockey is a fight.
--Let's remember - ESPN still thinks a dunk requires skill.
--Let's remember - they make sliding gloves for 6-year-olds.
--Let's remember - they have traveling teams for 9-year-olds.
--Let's remember - they have all-star teams for every age group there is.
--Let's remember - grown men will run over women and children at the Blue/White game to get the autograph of an 18-year-old.
--Let's remember - fans can, and will boo legends.
--Let's remember - Well....you get my drift. This is unfixable. It is societal.

Should you know of anyone capable of correcting any of this, they will have my support.

We currently live in an era where any sports culture cannot be defined to any degree of certainty. TV money, revenue sharing, conference alignments, shoe contracts, merchandising, stadium and bowl branding rights, etc., have created an environment that dictates everything, including kickoff times. The NCAA and conferences profit from the very "culture" they've created and arbitrarily punish.

This is the "culture" that the AG, Freeh, NCAA, Corbett, etc...and the media would have you believe that respectable men would risk their careers and reputations to protect a pedophile for. From the beginning, the premise is patently absurd.

Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz had nothing better to do with their time than protect a pedophile? Excuse me?

So, here's what I went with:

they are innocent until proven guilty. Due process. The Constitution...you know, radical, irrational thinking. Jesus, talk about lonely business.

When falsely accused, stand and fight.
Not so, with our current administration and BOT. Their record speaks for itself.

It is one thing for the media to crucify people, institutions and an entire community with unsubstantiated, inflammatory remarks, but it is the wholesale acceptance and seemingly delight by the general public that completely stuns me. It shouldn't, but it does. I get enraged with the media because I am part of it, and we have power and responsibility to get it right. However, I believe it was a Roman who said, "let's give the people what they want."
So, here we are.

I have a list of people who really deserve our scrutiny

and I believe my Twitter log and this blog accurately reflects that...and here they are:

Corbett, Baldwin, (Matt) Sandusky, Courtney, Emmert, Erickson, Masser, Surma, Peetz, Lubert...and, of course, Mark Schwarz...to name a few.