We are! Penn State!

If you don't know, I'm a sports fan. On a certain level with some of my peer group that's a dirty thing to be. Sports aren't exactly punk rock. But I'm a fan. Especially of college football, hockey, and soccer. Also of trash sports but I think that might be better as a separate blog post.

Anyway, recently ESPN put out a list of rules for college football fans. And in reading them I realize, I don't do a very good job of following them. I went to Penn State and while I love Joe Pa like I should and celebrate the fact that we can win football games and graduate players who can read, I have trouble with other factors.

I don't hate our current Big Ten rivals. When I went to school there we were independent. So our rivals were Notre Dame. And to a lesser extent Miami. And I still hate them. Along with Nebraska for some reason, still not sure why I don't like them but I don't. I'm enjoying this season as much for Penn State's success as for the schadenfreude of Notre Dame's season. Nice job there giving the "genius" Charlie Weis all that money after you ran Ty Willingham out of town for doing what has now amounted to a better job.

But when I was a kid, I rooted for the Big Ten to beat Notre Dame so now I can't really get behind rooting against most of them except when they play my Lions. It also doesn't help that my academic career has taken me to so many different schools, both as a student and as a professor. You gain an interest in all of them, at least a desire to see them succeed, especially if you have athletes in your class that are good students. It makes me a sports team whore. Some times I feel no better than the people who jumped on the Red Sox bandwagon just so they could back a winner and feel good story.

Except when the Lions are on. I have trouble watching them unless they are blowing out their opponent. Every bad play makes me so anxious. I really do honestly feel horrible if they lose but it's even worse if I watched it cause what if I jinxed them somehow? Not the best logic. But isn't that part of what being a fan is sometimes?

Fight on State. Roar, Lions, roar. LET’S GO STATE!