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am Ficken doesn't cheer against
opposing kickers. Considering
what he endured early in his Penn
State career – most notoriously
those four missed ;eld goals at Virginia
early in his sophomore year – he under-
stands how stressful the job can be.
It's not as if he's hoping for the other
team to score; he simply has just a little
bit of empathy for his counterparts in
what is a small brotherhood. He knows
that there's no point in sending negative
energy in their direction.
But there was a moment late against
Boston College – when BC kicker Mike
Knoll slipped on the grass and pushed an
overtime PAT attempt wide
right – in which Ficken expe-
rienced a
