Senior day does not usually define an athlete's collegiate career. In fact, many times the game is irrelevant; by the time the day of honor occurs, playoff chances have been solidified or extinguished, winning and losing records have been established, and the tone of the season has been set.
Senior day is more about reflection, about looking back on the hours of hard work, practice and dedication. It is about applauding four years of accomplishments with family, friends and teammates. Rarely is it ever the turning point of a career or the season.
For the football players at Penn State, however, senior day was both.
It took me multiple attempts to compose this article, as I was torn whether or not to discuss the Penn State controversy. Why discuss collegiate athletics' darkest hour when there is so much athletetic success at Hopkins that can be focused on?
I choose to write about Penn State because every athlete, every scholar and truly every person understands the innate human desire to be appreciated. It is why we have graduations, why we give awards and why we celebrate senior days. To have all of the blood, sweat and tears of an activity be honored, even just for a moment, is something everyone can cherish.
This past Saturday, when the names of the Nittany Lion seniors were called out from the tunnel and the players ran out into Beaver Stadium, a million different thoughts must have been rushing through their heads. On their senior day, tears were flowing, but not due to pride and accomplishment. Instead, it was due to a tragedy, a scandal that overnight destroyed one of America's largest and strongest football programs.
Penn State played Nebraska in their senior day game, battling back from a 17-0 first half deficit to come within three points of a win. The tilt ended in a 17-14 defeat for the Nittany Lions.
Prior to the game, the Nebraska starters came out onto the field and embraced the Nittany Lion players, huddling all together at the 50-yard line for a prayer circle. It was one of the most poignant moments I have seen in sports, and the most respect and acknowledgement the Penn State seniors received all game.
It brought the focus back to where it should have been the whole time: on the players, especially the men who put forth the time and effort to successfully complete for three, four, or five years in a nationally ranked Division I football program.
The discussions on the academic qualifications, the briberies and the money in Division I football can be put aside for another column and another day.
The Penn State scandal is far beyond any corruption formerly experienced in collegiate athletics, and the damage to the program is significantly worse. Recruits are reneging on verbal and written commitments, donors are taking back money and the whole coaching staff is on track to be wiped out and replaced.
The seniors who aimed to leave behind a legacy had, in one quick moment, their entire collegiate athletic experience ruined by the actions of somebody else. No senior accepted bribes or cars, or was at fault for a recruiting violation. No senior jeopardized the program with their actions. The horrific actions that occurred were not their fault. Plain and simple.
And while all the coaches involved with the incident went into hiding for Saturday's game, the seniors led their team out onto the field for one final home game.
Every college athlete thinks of senior day as a conclusion of a chapter, an indicator of the beginning of the end of their athletics career. But for the seniors of Penn State, it was the beginning. The end of this incident is far away in the future, with the football program and the university prepared to face ramifications long after the eventual conclusion of the legalities and media parade.
After the game, there was no talk of senior day by the media as the hordes of the press clamored to interview coaches and talk Paterno, Sandusky and McQueary. No senior was mentioned after their senior day loss.
It should have been about the seniors or, at least, the players. The seniors exited quietly; their departure from the field overshadowed by a matter so big it has not just engulfed Happy Valley but America as well.
I hope that in May, when graduation season commences and the ruckus has quieted down, Penn State honors their football seniors appropriately. Seniors, when your day comes, reflect and embrace for a moment the calm and celebration surrounding you. It may not be the defining moment of your career, but, as the players at Penn State can tell you, that may be a very fortunate thing.
