Where have you gone, Franco Harris oh, a nation casts its lonely eye to you?


What has happened to our beloved Franco?
"Franco’s Tiananmen Square moment"
Oh, how I yearn for the Franco Harris of old, the affable, hard-running and successful Pittsburgh Steeler and Penn State Nittany Lion running back. He was so beloved by Pittsburgh that some in the city paid a sculptor to build a statue recalling Franco in arguably the greatest moment in Pittsburgh Steeler history: The Immaculate Reception. 
In fact, the Steelers built a monument of their own and unveiled it last Dec. on the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception.
<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20121222/steelers-immaculate-reception.ap/>
Today, many in Pittsburgh and in Penn State are wondering what has happened to be beloved player who became a successful businessman after his football career ended. 
In fact, he is almost a cartoonish character with some of what he has done since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke in late 2011. 
Today, the students at Penn State are fighting back against Harris and the others of his ilk who are trying to make the election to the board of trustees almost a Scarlet Letter moment. If you voted to fire Joe Paterno, you must go. 
That is all the people and their groups care about in a trustee. The multi-billion premiere research university is now at the mercy of those who talk only about mistakes made by the those trustees in the "Sandusky Affair."
First, Harris was pictured on television during a Penn State game after Joe Paterno was fired with a cutout of the coach in Harris' box. 
Now, he has recorded what some are calling "Franco’s Tiananmen Square moment." 
A small group of these people who are being called "Joebots" marched on the last trustees meeting. Not having anything happen to their satisfaction, Franco stood in front of a van that was carrying some previous trustees to their vehicles. 
According to Charlie Thompson of PennLive, the crowd was upset when trustees, mostly emeriti, left the Penn Stater via university vans. Protesters challenged them to address the crowd.
"Harris, the most public face of the pro-Paterno loyalists, then was moved to step into the driveway in front of one of the vans. The driver calmly steered up onto the curb and drove around him to loud choruses of “Shame on You!”
Some have dubbed it "Franco’s Tiananmen Square moment."
The university right now is interviewing prospective candidates for a new president, and you would think that the alumni would be very concerned with that. You would be wrong. The only concern of these people is ridding PSU of Rodney Erickson, the president who was rushed into office when Graham Spanier was released because of his inaction in the Sandusky affair, and all of the board members who voted to terminate Paterno. 
Erickson and the board made some decisions that in retrospect could have been handled better. Franco's crowd blame the president for accepting the NCAA sanctions without question.
Yes, I would love to have the old Franco back. This one has really gone off the deep end.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., the quarterback who gave of himself to so many people: Some Lilly Raiders who will not be with us on Saturday

Image
Chet Beres was a special human being … The 1968 championship QB is calling audibles from heaven On a few nights in late October 2010, I slept overnight at the Conemaugh Hospital palliative care unit. My brother, Father Jim, was clinging to life at the end of a long battle with cancer, and this unit was designed to make life easier for those in the final stages of disease — and for the families who wanted to spend their last days with their loved ones. It was at that time that while wandering through the hall, I noticed a plaque on the wall that warmed my heart, albeit in a sad way.  The palliative care unit was dedicated to Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., an advocate for those in hospice care. My mind flashed back to the Lilly Raider quarterback on the 1968 championship team, a young man who was bright, exuberant, and so popular with his teammates.  Chet went on to college at Pitt and to medical school after graduating from Penn Cambria. We knew that he was bright, but we also knew that he had c
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably, he
Read more

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-point loss was the to
Read more