The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Home Archives for 2009

Archives for 2009

Site Redesign

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As you might have noticed, The Nittany Turkey has changed cosmetically. Everything that was here before is still here; the contents are merely arranged differently. I needed an extra column to squeeze in all the stuff I want and I wanted an updated look that would not resemble about 30% of the hosted WordPress blogs out there using the same default theme as I had.

The old look was getting to be pretty stale. However, I’m still in love with the header I created for the old blog, which I’m trying to figure out how best to work into the new layout. In the meanwhile, you’ll have to put up with the plain text and no visible turkeys or Penn State logo items.

The featured photos on this page are all taken by me, including some from 45 years ago, when I was at Penn State. A different one should come up each time you refresh the page. Later on, I might crank a Flash slide show into that space, but for now, static pictures are what you get.

Please let me know if you encounter any problems with the new design.

You Gotta Have Heart

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Nate Mink of The Daily Collegian is getting pumped up for a pivotal game with Iowa but he wonders whether the Nittany Lions are similarly pumped. He seems to doubt it. So do I. From the beginning of this season, I’ve been saying that these guys are emotionless out there.

I’ve characterized the emotion level of this team as being like guys heading off for another day of work in the coal mine. I’ve been trying to figure out why that is the case. ????? ????? ??? ???? Is it because their coaches are telling them to be cool, to act like they’ve been in big games before? Is it because they take valium and beta-blockers before the game? Is it because they are aliens from the planet Alia, or perhaps, Vulcan?

How does one not get himself up for playing in a game in front of 110,000 crazed fans, all dressed in white, many of whom camped out in tents all week to see him play?

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Corn, Hogs, and Eye of Hawk

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Come Saturday evening, there’ll be some kinda hoedown in the whitened out confines of Beaver Stadium, as the almost-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) come to town to square off with the #5 Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in the first conference game of the season. The Lions’ official terminology czar, Guido d’Elia, demands that we call this a Whitehouse game, so we will. Any way you slice it, Beaver Stadium will be visible from the moon, a vast white blobule with a small wedge of black and yellow in the crappy seats in the northeast corner.

A lot of big shots are attending the game. Katie, from our local chapter of the alumni association will be there. Mike of Black Shoes Diary will be there. Because of their presence, I suppose, ESPN has decided to air College  Gameday from Beaver Stadium this weekend, too. The folks at ESPN/Disney/ABC are no fools, you know.

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