For the first time since September Penn State has won a football game. 8 weeks without a victory. Several – mostly? – near misses, but for the first time since playing Villanova the Lions had a higher
score than their opponent when the clock struck aughts.
And I gotta say, I’m happy.
For beating a meh-to-bad Michigan State team, I’m happy.
For finally getting the monkey off Terry Smith’s back, I’m happy.
For the players that have been playing hard against a gauntlet of a schedule, I’m happy.
For Penn Staters everywhere, I’m happy.
That’s not to say the losses made me sad, angry, depressed. I was disappointed after the Oregon loss, dumbfounded after the UCLA loss, and resigned after the Northwestern loss.
I’ve largely gotten to the spot mentally where a Penn State loss no longer defines my entire weekend, week, month, or year.
But man, going 2 full months without a win is tough. Each game is rationalized one way or another, and you watch other football games and try to enjoy them.
But it’s not the same. Disinterest for the most part, occasionally cheering on as chaos consumes other teams too.
But there I was Saturday evening watching Georgia take it to Texas, sitting on my couch and just having the warm and fuzzies.
Ironically it was a pretty dreary, blustery evening, with tornado warnings and wind gusts and driving rain outside. But inside I was warm, dry, and happy.
Who knows what will come from the rest of this season, whatever is left of it. But for now, I’m happy.
