News About Other B1G Teams and Their Players

I think it is going to be MInnesota vs Wisconsin, then Nebraska vs Texas. And top 4 are still in it - Louisville, WI, Pitt, Texas.

Well, one not-so-admirable reason is that they have beaten Penn State more than any other team has beaten Penn State (I think).  Another is that, as with all successful women's volleyball teams I've observed over the past 20 years, success unleashes in a small segment of the fan base a kind of arrogance.  I've seen it in Penn State fans, Texas fans, Wisconsin fans, Minnesota fans and Nebraska fans, to name a few.  No team seems to be immune.  So Nebraska has been more successful in the past 6 years than Penn State has, and that segment of arrogant fans has both emerged and grown, to some extent.  Penn State hasn't been so successful (overall) so that segment has piped-down a bit.  It's a small percentage in all cases, I think, but it can be damaging.

Another reason, I think, is that Nebraska has the most unfriendly policy towards seats for visiting parents of any B1G school.  I've heard that from multiple player parents over the years.  Nebraska both denies it, and justifies it (do you see the inconsistency there?) by saying they always sell out, so they can't "afford" to give better seats to visiting parents. That is such a lame explanation -- t;hey would, of course, lose some revenue, but not a program-bankrupting amount -- and should be viewed by Nebraska as the cost of being a good host. [To be fair, at Thanksgiving, we always charge our guests for every drink, and a prix fixe price for dinner.  And a coat check fee.  And parking fees -- no valet, sorry.  But otherwise, how could we make a profit on Thanksgiving?].  It's, well -- if the word fits, use it -- arrogant.

Finally, I think John Cook's demeanor adds to it all.  He looks like he's on the verge of getting angry all the time.  He's not in Kelly Sheffield's class in that regard, but he's up there in the standings.  I observed it up-close and personal at an NCAA tournament match in State College, where Nebraska was out of the tournament, and Cook had somehow wrangled a seat, which happened to be only a couple away from mine.  At one point I asked him if I could take a picture.  He scowled at me (what a surprise) and said: "What are you going to use it for?"  Well, obviously I was going to photoshop it to make it look like he was in some embarrassing situation , so I said "To ruin your life?"  No, that's not what I really said, because I wanted the photo, so I said "I run a Penn State-centric website, and I'd just use it when we write about Nebraska."  So he said OK. Grudgingly.  With a scowl.

Agreed.  Pitt essentially nixed the creation of a "Big East" with Penn State.  Time heals all wounds, I suppose, and the cast of characters is different now, but there hasn't been enough time yet, for me, to ever root for Pitt.  Well, except against Nebraska

Shame on me!

Well, nyline it looks like you're going to get your chance to root for Pitt after all. I also will be there rooting for them too, even though the only Pittsburgh team I root for is the Steelers, and I have been a fan of theirs since the fifties, but like you I hold a grievance against Pitt for their culpability in the Big East fiasco. 

I don't know about your dog, but mine would eat the napkin along with the food.