Monday, September 18, 2006

Big Ten Season Begins with a Bang

Well folks, here we go. After Ohio State's convincing victory at Texas, they are the odds on favorite to win the National Title. Penn State is in a position this week to alter the course of the rest of the college football season. A win at Ohio stadium would all but ensure that at least one, if not both, Title game participants will have one loss. If the Lions can beat the Bucks tomorrow and win out, they would have a legitimate shot at being in that game (If Notre Dame cooperates and wins out as well to help put a positive spin on the Lions 41-17 loss to the Irish.). If you are in the viewing area, tune in and watch @ 3:30 EDT or 2:30 CDT.

Get a copy of the
Penn State Football Weekly for 09/18/06
Transcript of Coach Paterno's Press Conferemce.


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I'm often asked, “What the heck is a NITTANY Lion? Why not just the Lions? What are you Penn State fans trying to pull?” Well, with a little help from the Official Penn State Football Site I offer the following:

Penn State's athletic symbol, chosen by the student body in 1906, is the mountain lion which once roamed central Pennsylvania. H.D. “Joe” Mason, a member of the Class of 1907, conducted a one-man campaign to choose a school mascot after seeing the Princeton tiger on a trip with the Penn State baseball team to that New Jersey campus. A student publication sponsored the campaign to select a mascot and Penn State is believed to be the first college to adopt the lion as a mascot.

Since Penn State is located in the Nittany Valley at the foot of Mount Nittany, the lion was designated as a Nittany Lion. In regional folklore, Nittany (or Nita-Nee) was a valorous Indian princess in whose honor the Great Spirit caused Mount Nittany to be formed. A later namesake, daughter of chief O-Ko-Cho, who lived near the mouth of Penn's Creek, fell in love with Malachi Boyer, a trader. The tearful maiden and her lost lover became legend and her name was given to the stately mountain.

And no, Penn State didn't always have those plain blue and white uniforms. The school's original colors were dark pink and black. However in 1890, as a result of the pink portions of school uniforms fading to white from exposure to the elements, the black was changed to blue and the rest is history.