We joked, but it’s true. About the only things revealed from the Blue-White Practice were that the football team may need a healthy Rocco Becht as much as it’s needed any player in years this fall, and that we need better rain gear.
The solutions for those things are a bit of preparation, hope and luck for Becht and some savvy shopping for the rain gear on our part.
Beyond that, the consistent (Beaver Stadium’s lousy sound system) and the frustrating (the lack of anything thoughtful to engage or inform the couple thousand fans who showed up) were pretty much expected Saturday.
Just a typical gameday on those counts.
Oh, but it was practice, right? And that lesser status — not officially a Blue-White Game and, who knows, perhaps the last such event of its kind moving forward — seemed to inform Penn State’s approach.
No, not the on-field action. It was clearly just the 15th spring football practice, organized as the coaches wanted with people watching in the under-construction stadium. That was all it could be, and all that was advertised.
Still, the fan-focused portion of things was lacking. It felt half-hearted or lazy, appropriate for the generally dreary and rainy afternoon.
Information for the fans was insufficient or nonexistent. What was happening on the field was shared, but not consistently and certainly not audibly for all because of the sound system. For the unwashed masses unable to afford club seating options when stadium renovations are complete, something even better would be a high-quality sound system. Please.
The basics of the scoring system (and apparently there was one) were never explained or repeated. Who was practicing where was pointed out. Sometimes. What was happening next was shared. Also, sometimes.
It was just a mishmash of guessing by fans and the slightest little bit of information from Penn State.
We’re just a handful of years removed from springs when Penn State would tout the attendance for its spring games and where that ranked among other spring college games across the nation. That was not even a consideration Saturday — and even if the weather had been great, you got the sense in the lead-up that a big crowd might’ve been an annoyance and required more work.
In fairness, our day was far better than that of the guy who was stretchered out (well, he was strapped onto a seated gurney) within the first 15 minutes of the practice action. After all, it was disappointing and dreary but not without a few positives in terms of presentation.
Athletic director Pat Kraft wearing Rocco Becht’s branded ball cap was striking. It’s nice that he had the QB’s back (or bankroll) but in my mind the AD’s priority should always be the bigger Penn State brand. After all, with all those athletes on the football team and in the athletic department on all teams, how would you decide when to tout one person’s brand over another?
Plus, for a guy who consistently says he does not want attention, it was interesting that he’d wear a hat that would lead to curiosity, speculation and attention.
Oh, sorry … digressed. The positives.
Fans responded to the timely announcements about NFL Draft selections of former players. Kudos for sharing those. That news evoked the loudest cheers of the day — probably because fans knew the players and felt connected to those who were picked.
Fans know much less about players on the current roster, in part because many are new and in part because Penn State did nothing to introduce the coaches or those players to those in attendance.
Especially the coach.
One coach addressed the fans briefly Saturday, but it was women’s basketball coach Tanisha Wright who led a “We Are!” cheer — a nice touch, that came with an also appropriate ad touting women’s basketball tickets on the videoboard.
But where was the football coach? A welcome? A thank you? Something? Especially for the die-hards braving the weather.
Penn State also promoted club and premium seat availability when the stadium renovations are complete. It reminded fans of the men’s volleyball team’s EIVA championship game. And it looked ahead by promoting the July 1 Life for Life.
That was all good stuff, along with thanking gameday sponsor Sheetz a couple times.
Those were good, necessary things. Especially necessary in the make-money era of college athletics, which Penn State has largely embraced — necessarily embraced if it wants to compete nationally.
Any go-beyond, serve-the-fans efforts were missing, though, and their absence was noticeable.
By the fall, Becht may be healthy, and if we remember, there might be better rain gear.
It would be nice if there could be a more fan-focused approach inside the stadium, too.
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