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Sunday, September 29, 2002

so much depends upon a red, er, hat

A red hat (as opposed to a Red Hat) is going back to Nebraska. Someone with more alcohol than brains in their system swiped it off a Nebraska fans’ head after Penn State demolished Nebraska a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad to see that whoever did this had an attack of conscience, although it’s sad to see that this happened in the first place. I found the reports of Nebraska fans being harassed after the game disappointing, because that’s not what I remember Penn State football being about.

I remember in the 1980s when Penn State had a short-lived regular series with Alabama. A ton of ’Bama fans would drive up to State College in their crimson-and-white motorhomes. The tailgates were a joyful occasion, Lions fans and Crimson Tide fans sharing food and swapping stories. It was a good-natured kind of thing, occasional chants of "Round the bowl/and down the hole/Roll, Tide, Roll" notwithstanding. Nebraska is not my favorite team, particularly after they were handed the national championship in 1994 over the most amazing and explosive college team to hit the scene in fifty years. But Nebraska fans have the same kind of devotion to their team that Penn State does. I would have hoped there would have been that same kind of recognition of kindred spirits that I saw during the ’Bama series.

Posted at 1:47 AM

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