Filmmaker and blogger John Ziegler is working on a documentary called “Framing Paterno”, in connection with which, Ziegler interviewed the Tickle Monster in mid-March. Not wishing to allow a hefty bit of sensationalism like a Sandusky interview lie unexploited while languishing in the secular backwater of a pro-Penn State/pro-Paterno blog, producers of the TODAY Show latched onto Ziegler’s interview. Matt Lauer questioned Ziegler at length about it.
From this turkey’s perspective, there’s nothing very remarkable there, other than that Ziegler claims to have three-and-a-half hours of questions and answers with the erstwhile Tickle Monster. However, what I do find remarkable in a very negative sense, is that public sentiment, at least as expressed by the blow-hards who populate Internet comment streams, is just as irrationally anti-Penn State as ever. There are 468 comments to the TODAY article; the vast preponderance still are blind-ass castigation of Penn State and everyone even peripherally aligned with Penn State. Half of them are hiding behind the viccccccccccctimmmmmmmmmms; the other half are employing a non-sequitur to paint anyone who supports Penn State as a dirty, no good, yellow-bellied child molester.
Apparently, they didn’t get the message. Bob Costas is supposed to be their god, and they’re supposed to change their tune, just as he did. Costas even works for NBC and interviewed Sandusky himself. Oops, I guess no one is listening to St. Louie Bob.
The Paterno family and the University have distanced themselves from Ziegler and the Sandusky tapes.
We impatient types are going to have to wait some more before this public disdain recedes to any significant extent. That sucks.