Booing the home team

remember the players and families of coaches

Believe me, I know about having successful seasons with an undefeated record and championship trophies, but I know about the pain of having a winless season.

On the positive side, I prefer to remember those undefeated or championship seasons, the bad seasons not as often. I have had four undefeated seasons, and three championship seasons that had at least one loss.

However, what is really challenging is remembering that winless season. Which brings me to the Penn State saga in 2015.

Every person who buys a ticket has the right to express himself or herself. The way the Penn State team has played the last two games is somewhat pathetic. As a result, people begin booing as a way to express their anger.

The coaches who are making six and seven figure salaries this year are fair game for criticism as I mentioned last week about Franklin's salary.

However, keep in mind that when you boo the coaches, the players also take it to heart, as do the families of the coaches and players. They hear only the reaction that rocks the stadium, not knowing who the target is. When one member of the team is criticized, other take that to heart.

When teams play as poorly as the Nittany Lions have, fans must have some patience with the players. Easier said than done, I know.

When James Franklin brought his entire staff with him from Vanderbilt, I thought that was a mistake. On every coaching staff on which I have served, I could name one or more of the coaches I would not elevate to a better job. Not everyone who deserves to be there particularly if the job is a step was, as Franklin's was. Bringing in new people often gives a staff a new dimension.

In reality, that may not be the major problem right now.

Penn State was spoiled for most of Joe Paterno's career. He very famously promoted people from within, many of who were a player or coach -- or both -- with Penn State ties, and he had very good results from that.

However, once Paterno began suffering with losing or lackluster seasons, people were complaining about the coaches. The person who was often targeted, fairly or unfairly, was the son of the head coach. Not sure if that was always justified, but it was there.

As for the NFL teams, booing is a little more acceptable since they are all adults who are being well-paid. I remember a few years back when the boo-birds at Heinz Field targeted offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Suddenly, however, Haley has been a genius the last two seasons as the quarterback recorded the best yardage of is career.

The problem was not the coaching, but the execution -- and the willingness to make that change.

I can still remember a funny sight when my brother expressed his displeasure at the Steelers by throwing his Terrible Towel at the TV set. That was during some good years, winning one Super Bowl and reaching another.

Remember that the coaches have spouses and children. I can remember stories about Bill Cowher's girls being given a hard time in school during the difficult years. That should never happen, but it does.

Anyway, hopefully for Nittany Lions fans, the team will gel a little more before it meets its first Big Ten opponent next week.

Be positive.