Brand Replacement

During the course of the PSU coaches caravan, new head coach Bill O'Brien stated that he's not looking to replace former coach Joe Paterno, but be his own man, do things his way, but within the framework of the "Penn State Way" of "Success with Honor" established by Paterno.  He added specifically that the program will be built on the four pillars of Academics, Respect, Football, and Integrity.  Not far from the previous version, but enough of a change to make it his, distinguishing the new approach from the prior:

Football

Academics

Respect

Team

I say it's a welcome change.

The Amazing Ability of a Stadium Crowd to Transmit Its Sense of Impending Doom

Warning: Mostly off-topic.

As many of you know (and I've written about here), I've become a pretty big Premier League soccer fan.  Big enough that I spent the last week in London going to games, visiting stadiums, and participating in general revelry and rabble rousing amongst the various competing and often hate-filled bodies of fans within (and outside of) London.  No worries, though.  They're far less hostile to American fans of rival teams, especially if you come in peace and good humor.

This may not be directly related to Penn State athletics, football, but I was asked to make some correlations between the experience at premier league games (particular at the home of my Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane) with the experience in and around Beaver Stadium.  As the Penn State fan base has been revitalized over the past decade with a particular verve and penchant for singing, it has been likened to a Premier League atmosphere.  While it isn't quite at that level for the organic manifestation of on-site creativity, I suppose it's the nearest thing in the US that isn't named the Portland Timbers.