Rising from the ashes of their own shame.

Championships are played for on the field. But the sign of a true champion is what happens off it. Penn State has been handed a golden chance to prove they are true champions.

The school was severely punished yesterday for the coverup of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.  The NCAA and the Big Ten hammered them with a series of sanctions that will leave the program gutted and hobbled for years.

But now it’s the next day.  The dust has settled and the University, Coaches and Players have started picking up the pieces. I’ve already heard one alumnus say ‘I’ll double my contribution because we were wronged’  (Um, Penn State wasn’t wronged, the victims were). Let me just say this, if they have any hope of recovering, that attitude can’t prevail.  Why? Being mad at the person you perceived ‘wronged you’ will do nothing more than hold you back.  Admitting there is a problem is the first step of recovery. (And Penn State had a major problem.)

New Penn State Head Coach Bill O’Brien (hired last January) woke up this morning with a heck of sales job to do. His players can leave for other schools at any time. So he has to convince them to stick around. He needs to make them believe that Penn State represents all the good things that everyone used to think it stood for. Character. Integrity. Excellence on and off the field. He needs to find his team leaders and lean on them.  And then he needs to start the mother of recruiting programs.  He has to start laying the foundation for tomorrow (this time solid) today.

The fans need to accept the what happened and move forward.  That alumni who I mentioned before needs to give money because he believes in the school — not because he’s pissed that the NCAA ‘wronged him.’  I can tell you from personal experience, being mad at someone because they wronged you is like trying to drive forward with the parking brake on. Rally around the school because you believe in the future — not because you’re mad about the past. The walk-ons and scholarship players will need Beaver Stadium to be full and rocking for support.  And the school will need the revenue generated to pay the fines.

While Penn State made their own bed and are lying in it,  they don’t need to lie there forever.  They have an opportunity to show the world that they are indeed true champions.  And  yes, it can be done. I’ve watched so many individuals and organizations come back from bigger disasters than this self-inflicted one.  The school now has the chance to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of their own shame.

Let’s see how Penn State handles this. Let’s see if they can rebuild a football program based on the integrity we thought they stood for before. And then we’ll know if they truly are champions after all.