Penn State Scandal: Loss to Nebraska Shouldn't Hurt Healing Process

Penn State University went through hell this past week.

There's really no other way to describe it. The Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal was horrifying the moment the allegations came to light, and things got worse and worse as the week went along. Things hit rock bottom on Wednesday night when longtime head football coach Joe Paterno was fired and student protests turned to riots. At that point, Happy Valley officially became an egregious misnomer.

But on Saturday, it was about football. The scene before the game was remarkably emotional, but football took center stage as soon as the Nittany Lions kicked off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Like all of Penn State's games this year, it wasn't pretty. The Nittany Lions played solid defense, but their offense let them down and they ultimately ended up losing 17-14.

Not exactly the ideal outcome, make no mistake about that. It would have been better for everyone, I think, if the Nittany Lions had won. Goodness knows the Penn State faithful would have loved a win to hang their hats on.

Oh well. As the Rolling Stones once put it, you can't always get what you want.

But if you ask me, whether or not the Nittany Lions walked off the Beaver Stadium field as winners or losers is irrelevant. In the grand scheme of things, all that should matter is that they played.

Penn Staters are not going to suddenly put the Jerry Sandusky scandal out of their minds—nor should they. It's something the university and everyone in and around it must live with, and it's up to all of them to do right by the standards that Sandusky, Paterno and everyone else involved in the scandal wronged.

But hey, Penn Staters should make sure to savor the little things, too. Right now, Nittany Lions football definitely qualifies. Win or lose, Penn Staters should view football games as a welcome distraction.

I'll stress it again: Win or lose. If the Nittany Lions win, great. If they lose, well, it's not the end of the world. The point is that Penn State football should be enjoyed.

The cloud of the Jerry Sandusky scandal is going to hang over the university for a long time, and the healing process is going to be long and drawn out, but it's a process that can be helped by what happens out on the gridiron.

It's nothing sacred. But if nothing else, it's something fun.