16—The Daily Collegian Thursday, November 10, 1977
Happy Valley no barrel of laughs
Two ,weeks from Saturday, about
6,000 or so more lemmings will exit
the "Happy" Valley with a few words
of wisdom from some guest speaker,
a small piece of paper certifying their
four-year hitch here, and if they are
lucky, a pat on the butt from old uncle
Johnny Oswald, as they break huddle
for the game of life.
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I should be there since I'm
graduating, hut instead I'll be in the
pressbox at Pitt Stadium to cheer,
errr, report on the Penn State football
team's effort to reassert its image as
the king of Eastern football.
It's no big deal really. My folks
called a few weeks back and asked
me if I wanted a class ring. Without
thinking, my immediate reply was,
"Are you crazy, $9O for a little piece
of metal to commemorate my time
spent at Penn State?"
It seems the money could be better
put to use by hiring a cheap hit man to
put pressure on the bozos in
Harrisburg to quit pointing fingers
and get some money through to the
universities.
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Photo by Andy Combing e
Running back Ed Gurhtie, who paved the way against the West Virginia Moun
taineers a few weeks back, now has the task of outwitting an Owl. The Lions
may be favored on Saturday, but if this year's Temple game is anything like the
two previous years', their hopes for a major bowl bid could fade.
Jerry
Lucci
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But getting back to rings and
things, who needs a ring when you
never even got a yearbook picture,
sat on the Nittany Lion nor bought a
sticky bun down at the Penn State
Diner.
It's hard to say goodbye to someone
you don't really know.• It's even
harder to care.
Two absurd anecdotes enter my
mind for some strange reason' as 1
prepare to enter the real world.
"Life is like a shit sandwich," one
of my journalism professor told me
one day as we talked about a project
that hadn't come out as expected
because of unforeseen cir
cumstances, fate and the like, "and
every day you have to take a big
bite."
That certainly seemed to apply to
my overall experience here.
"Life is like foraging in a wild
blackberry thicket," I told myself as I
'walked back from Carnegie Building
one dark night in the half mist-half
rain type weather that seems to
prevail in this climate five months of
the year. "Every once in a while you
come across a few beautifully
formed, succulent berries, but most
of the time, they're too ripe, too sour
or you end up getting pricked."
No doubt all the cynics in the
audience are up on their feet with fist
in the air yelling, "Right On!" while a
few others are probably breaking out
the pen and paper to write in and say
what a load of kitty litter the
preceding words are. That's your
privilege.
But then that would be par for the
course for a lot of Penn State
students. Get all excited about some
jerk like me spouting off in the paper
and then forget about things that
matter.
Tuesday was election day. About
sixteen per cent of the student
population voted. Arnold Addison was
elected mayor with less than 3,000
votes.
Just think about it if West Halls
got behind a candidate for mayor the
3,000 or so votes there could have
been the difference. You're right
though, it's too much trouble to vote.
Sure a couple more girls got at
tacked on the streets of our fine
municipality but what are you gonna
do? I mean what's more important,
your girlfriend getting raped, or State
getting an Orange Bowl bid.
Then there's everybody's favorite
subject Harrisburg. I'm certainly
no legislative expert maybe if I
was a graduate student but it
seems they can only play so many
games before the public snaps out
or can they?
Don't ask me. Ask yourself.
Granted, it's a pretty bold move for
me to throw all this out in your lap
this morning while you munch your
Coco Krispies and sip your Bosco.
This column is usually reserved for
important sports stuff, like the latest
from Joe Pa terno, Walt Bahr, and
John Bach. And of course who would
want to miss the latest scoop from the
biggest soap opera sensation in the
land the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lions remember
By KIM SMITH
Daily Collegian Sports Writer
So who the hell are the Temple Owls,
anyway? The answer to the question
depends on who you're asking.
Ask a fan, for instance, and he's likely
to call them a nothing an unranked
team which will give the Nittany Lions a
much-needed break between their North
Carolina State and Pitt games.
But ask a football player, and he's
likely to sum it up in one phrase THE
big game.
But why? Temple is not exactly the
football powerhouse of the East, as
evidenced by its 76-0 massacre at the
hands of Pitt earlier in the season. But
for some reason, the Temple game has
never been an easy one for the Lions.
And this year, it's an important game
in more ways than one. •
"Our whole season rides on it," safety
Gary Petercuskie said. "They've, always
given us problems. And bowl bids come
out before we play Pitt. If we win, we can
expect a good bid."
"I guess you could say it's a big
game," offensive tackle Keith Dorney
said. "We could be given a bowl bid
before we play Pitt, but we can't look
past Temple as an opponent. We have to
look at it as the tenth game of the
schedule because if we look past them,
we could be knocked off. Then we'd be
nowhere."
Flanker Jimmy Cefalo agreed.
"It's an important game for both
teams," he said "Any time we play
Temple it's a good rivalry.
"A bowl bid? We try not to think about
it. If we beat Temple, it'll take care of
itself, the benefits will come later."
"This game is not to be taken lightly,"
quarterback Chuck Fusina said.
The Yanks are looking to buy ace
reliever "Goose" Gossage for a
couple million and the hapless Pitts
burgh Penguins traded Syl Apps for
Dave "The Hammer" Schultz.
Beauty for the Beast you might call
the last development.
That seems to be the problem
everywhere; too much beast, - not
enough beauty.
The Happy Valley is a myth. Sure,
there's a lot of good people here but
there are a lot of pricks in the black
berry thicket.
Teachers and students who don't
care.
Girls two-timing guys, guys three
4iming girls. .
Book stores selling textbooks at a
high price and buying them back at a
bargain for them.
People who say one thing, do
another and blame someone else.
Sure that goes on everywhere you
say.
That's my point, if there is any
point to this so-called goodbye
column. There's no such thing as the
Happy Valley. This is just a small
piece of the shit pie; a small berry
and a small prick in the blacgberry
thicket.
Try to learn how to cope with the
real world here and now, and use it as
a stepping stone, of sorts, when you
leave the valley for hopefully bigger
and better things.
Don't get me wrong, Penn State's a
nice.place to visit, but . . .
I'll see you later, I gotta catch a
cab.
"Because of the last two years (Penn
State won both meetings by a one-poiht
margin) we can't go into it looking
toward bowls and Pitt. We realize that.
"They're coming up here with the idea
they can beat us it's gonna be a tough
game."
And Temple has good reason to believe
that its supposedly-outclassed team is
very much in contention for this game.
The Owls have a habit of giving the Lions
fits whenever the two teams meet. Last
year at Philadelphia, Penn State won 31-
30. Two years ago, the score was just as
'close, with the Lions on top 26-25.
The Owls' strong showing against
Penn State has been attributed to their
scouting, good preparation and
perennially good game plan. They also
know most of the Lions' personnel, since
the two schools recruit many of the same
players. And besides, this is their big
game, too.
"If 'they beat us, it makes their
season," tailback Steve Geise said.
"They're always up for this game. My
brother (Joe) played for them last year,
and it seems they've always had the
attitude that they can beat us.
"They have confidence they're not
going to lay down and die."
So, as the cliche goes, throw out the
4,
(„,
-1/4,
Owls' wisdom';
rankings, the records and the past
performances this game will be
decided on its own merits.
"We expect a tough game," middle
guard Randy Sidler said. "They've done
a lot against us the past two years and
we expect the same this year.
"We can't take anything for granted
just because they didn't play well earlier
in the season."
"They seem pretty well prepared,"
FuSina said. "And this is their big game
of the season. They have nothing to lose
and everything to gain —that's the
biggest point on their side."
And it seems that the Lions consider
that a very important point one not to
be taken lightly.
"There's no doubt we can beat them if
we play our best," Dorney said. "But if
we play less than our best, we could be in
for a very long afternoon."
So it's a big game for Penn State, and
for Temple, and especially for the Lion
seniors who will be playing their last
game at Beaver Stadium.
"It hasn't hit me yet," Geise said.
"Maybe it will when it's over . . . that's
a strange feeling.
"We want to win our last home game
to go out winning —that's the big
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Ste,
thing. It's the game you'll remember the ,
most."
"It feels funny," Sidler reflected.s
"Four. years went fast., it's just about'
over now.
"Because it's my last home game,
probably try to play a little extra hard."
son
"I'm going to miss it," Petercuskiel
said. "But I've got good feelings about
it . . . I'm happy about the four years
spent here. I guess I'll feel it more ono 4
Saturday."
"It's depressing. No, that's not a gooe
word. It's sad," Cefalo said. "The,
seniors sat around at dinner tonight and
thought about the first time we went into
Beaver Stadium.
"I guess I'll be thinking a lot on:r
Saturday, and talking a lot to the kids In'
went through the last four years with." r el
So Saturday looks to be a lasting
memory for the Lion seniors. But
should also be memorable for the rest of ri
the Lions and for Temple. A big game,
but then aren't they all?
"Every game is a big game whet - ;4
you're coming down to the wire," Fusina
said. "We only have a few games left
we want to win them all "