Blue White Illustrated

Actually, it might. Unlike last year, when the world seemed to be crashing down around Penn State and the tone at media day was somber, this year's event was lighthearted. Players clowned around, smiling and joking and pointing Gatorade bottles at each other as if they were microphones. If not for the names on the jerseys and some unorthodox personal grooming choices – is Anthony Zettel the first Penn State player to wear a Mohawk? – you could have been excused for thinking you'd been whisked back to a time years ago when the Lions' biggest concern was which bowl committee was going to want them come November. They won't be going bowling until 2016 at the earliest, but the camaraderie seems not to have suffered. If anything, players appear more engaged than ever. How else to explain the fact that hardly anybody took the NCAA up on its offer to let players leave Penn State during the off-season without having to sit out a year at their new school? One of the Lions' best young players, sophomore offensive tackle Donovan Smith, received roughly 50 scholarship offers, but there he was at media day, still wearing blue and white. So were Allen Robinson, Kyle Carter, Deion Barnes and any number of other players who could easily have fled. The team did lose quarterback Steven Bench, but only because he was not expected to compete for the starting position. As for the returning players, Bill O'Brien didn't sound particularly surprised that they're still on campus. "Once last season started, we weren't even thinking about that transfer rule anymore," he said. "We felt like these guys were committed to us. A couple guys left, but that was more of their own volition and that's what they decided to do, and we respect that. But in the football program, we didn't mark Aug. 5 on our calendar and say we were going to start partying when that date came. We didn't worry about that date at all." O'Brien has plenty of other things to worry about, of course, like getting a new quarterback coached up in time for the opener and avoiding the kind of injuries that could devastate a team with only about 65 scholarship players on its roster. But heading into the season, the mood is as upbeat as it can be considering that Penn State's postseason fate has already been determined. A larger question has to do with the level of engagement outside the program. There are widespread indications that fan enthusiasm has waned in the past year. For example, the team's merchandising revenue fell from 12th nationally to 19th during that span. That's partly because there was no bowl paraphernalia to hawk last December, and Penn State doesn't get a cut of the "O'Brien's Lions" and "Billieve" T-shirts on sale everywhere. But it would be unrealistic to think that the Sandusky scandal hasn't had an impact. What's more, it looks as though attendance at Beaver Stadium will be down again this fall. It declined by 4,697 spectators per game last year, and further erosion is expected despite attempts to boost ticket sales, including a plan to make fans who aren't in the Nittany Lion Club buy Eastern Michigan tickets if they want seats for the Michigan game. Penn State fans used to laugh derisively when Pitt made fans cough up to see some early-season yawner if they wanted tickets for the Nittany Lions' visit to Pittsburgh. Now Penn State is doing the same. Times have changed. Considering how hard the NCAA hit Penn State, some erosion is to be expected. More than at some other schools, Penn State football fandom is an investment. Michigan and Ohio State can fill their stadiums by drawing from nearby metro areas. You can watch the Buckeyes trounce Buffalo and be home in time for dinner. Penn State has to draw from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Washington, D.C., and the Lehigh Valley, the closest of which is about two hours from University Park. While the Lions have benefitted over the years from fans' desire to spend weekends at Dear Old State reliving their carefree undergraduate days, those expensive two- or three- day getaways are often the first thing to go when times are tough. And right now, times are tough. The real question for Penn State is whether the downturn is tied to the sanctions or is part of a long-term trend. Attendance has declined every year since 2008, so it's possible that the scandal accelerated a process that was already under way, with fans preferring to spend Saturdays at home in front of their 60-inch TV screens rather than fighting the crowds and traffic. If that's the case, the days of guaranteed sellouts may be gone for good. It's not as if TVs are getting smaller. But it's also possible that the decline prior to last season reflected anger over the Seat Transfer and Equity Plan and disenchantment with the direction of the football program in the waning years of the Paterno era. If that's the case, then Penn State will have a chance to recover when the NCAA sanctions end and the team is able to vie for titles again. O'Brien and his players showed last year that the program can excel even when faced with unprecedented challenges. Those challenges aren't going to last forever, and there already are signs that some semblance of normalcy is returning to the program. O'Brien was asked 39 questions at his media day presser, and nearly all of them were about on-field concerns. The transcript runs nearly 6,000 words, but the NCAA is mentioned only once, and that's a reference to a clearinghouse issue that delayed the arrival of freshman defensive back Neiko Robinson. During the 40 minutes he talked, O'Brien spent less time on sanctions and lawsuits than on Miles Dieffenbach's potential as a future "Saturday Night Live" cast member. So while the most burdensome parts of the sanctions are just starting to take effect, there's a feeling around the team that Penn State can continue to make the best of a bad situation. Players have kept the faith. They believe they can fly. Who knows? Maybe they'll make believers out of everyone else before it's I all over.

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