Ad Disclosure
Wall Street Journal Trolls Penn State, Patronizes Temple
By Kyle Scott
Published:
I think the Wall Street Journal went trolling with this College Football Grid of Shame. Not trolling buttoned-up hedge fund sheep eager to make a dime off the casino of American greed. No. They trolled Penn Staters. Hard.
Criticizing a Penn State student or fan (and, like everyone else in Pennsylvania, I know many) is like poking a hornet’s nest with a Bic pen– you’re hand will be way to close to the blowback. So, predictably, when the WSJ (or, The Journal, if you’ve attended a dressage competition) ranked Penn State as the most embarrassing school and somewhere probably not high enough in terms of powerhousity in D-I football, our friend Andrew Porter of The School Philly took the bait:
OK, fine. If you’re going to put sanctions in the criteria than Penn State has to be the most “embarrassing.” Can’t really argue that, but who cares? Ironically, it’s polar opposite in terms of how the fan base, the students, the alumni, the coaches, and the players at Penn State actually feel about their football team. Embarrassed? Seriously? Ha. All the sanctions did was bring Penn State closer together and make us a million times more prideful.
Honestly, I kind of like this chart. More motivation. More bulletin board material. Us and Against the World mentality, and that’s how we like it.
Rah, rah rah! Somewhere, a WS Journaler sits back and laughs– It’s too easy! It’s too easy, I tell you!
Anyway, every school is prideful, and I hate when Penn Staters act like theirs is the only school on Earth where people love the institution and its traditions. For some reason, students and alumni of virtually every other college understand that, hey, everyone feels this way. But whatever. The Wall Street Journal thing is a joke. They picked the low-hanging fruit to kick a school while it’s down, and that’s not very nice!
Meanwhile, Temple receives the chart’s Philly Tough Fighting Rocky Spirit Award— they finished as one of the weaklings but among the most admirable. Basically, hey, Owl, you try really hard and that’s cute, but you’re not very good.
My alma mater, Villanova, was not on the chart. They don’t have a D-I (A) football team. And yes in fact my grapes are sour.
Kyle Scott is the founder and editor of CrossingBroad.com. He has written for CBS Philly and Philly Voice, and been a panelist or contributor on NBC Sports Philly, FOX 29 and SNY TV, as well as a recurring guest on 97.5 The Fanatic, 94 WIP, 106.7 The Fan and other stations. He has more than 10 years experience running digital media properties and in online advertising and marketing.