It’s been a difficult five years for the Nittany Lions. Disappointment. Over and over again. Sometimes, we’ve wondered if there would ever be end to the tunnel. Apparently there is. Aside from a last second loss to Michigan this season, Penn State is undefeated bringing hope back to Happy Valley.

It’s been such pleasure this year to check the polls. The BCS puts Penn State at #5 and as long as we beat Michigan State in two weeks, we’ll be going to a BCS bowl game. It seems too good to be true. I guess the last years have bred a hopelessness marked by depression. But hope & hopelessness aren’t usually permanent. Who knows how long this will last? But at this point, who cares? I just want to enjoy the time that is and soak in the pleasure of seeing a decimated team rejuvinated and a campus envigorated.

Personally, I think it’s been good for the Valley to lay fallow for a bit. It helps to get some perspective and to lose some unnecessary blinding pride. You can’t learn if you are falsely proud and that’s what sports programs can tend to do. You think your team is invinceable, but sometimes you need a wakeup call. Penn State has woken up.