You Gotta Have Heart

Nate Mink of The Daily Collegian is getting pumped up for a pivotal game with Iowa but he wonders whether the Nittany Lions are similarly pumped. He seems to doubt it. So do I. From the beginning of this season, I’ve been saying that these guys are emotionless out there.

I’ve characterized the emotion level of this team as being like guys heading off for another day of work in the coal mine. I’ve been trying to figure out why that is the case. ????? ????? ??? ???? Is it because their coaches are telling them to be cool, to act like they’ve been in big games before? Is it because they take valium and beta-blockers before the game? Is it because they are aliens from the planet Alia, or perhaps, Vulcan?

How does one not get himself up for playing in a game in front of 110,000 crazed fans, all dressed in white, many of whom camped out in tents all week to see him play?

Some of this has to bother you, if you’re a Penn State fan who has seen how the most successful PSU teams conducted themselves through the years.

Kick coverage has been a disappointment so far, linebacker Josh Hull said, because some of the guys on the unit don’t have the urge to play special teams.

The urge? I’ll give them an urge! Sounds like they need a foot up their ass if what Hull says is true. ???? ???????

You know, there are a couple of guys out there on the field who give it everything they’ve got on every play, and when they’re not in there playing their asses off, they’re pumping up the rest of the guys. ??? ???? ???? ??? If you’re thinking Sean Lee, you’ve read my mind.

I know that you can’t have 45 Sean Lee’s on a team, or even 10. But for God’s sake, guys, act like you’re on the biggest stage, with the privilege of playing in the biggest production of your life. Once your eligibility is up, you can never get this time back again. Just ask Anthony Morelli. What you do now not only wins or loses for your team, but also determines where you go from here. The NFL is not looking for guys who act like they’re playing at their CPA firm’s Labor Day picnic touch football game with the girls.

Mink hits the mark when he attributes some of the Lions’ struggles in getting the damn ball over the goal line to not having heart. Watching some of the offensive line play, I have to agree. They’re not digging in, getting down, and moving people.

I want to see a helluva lot more spirit on the sideline and in the huddle tomorrow night! If they can’t get up for a game like this, you might as well put at least three losses on them this year.