somebody hug sam ficken

The Valley is not very Happy these days. An 0 for 2 start to the football season hasn’t done anything to lighten the mood, especially when the team was expected to win both games. They got beat by an Ohio team that was simply better than expected, but the 17-16 loss to UVA last Saturday was a tough one. And while it’s a team sport with all the applicable team cliches in full effect (win as a team, lose as a team, no one person costs us a win, etc) it’s fairly obvious that young placekicker Sam Ficken had a rough day. In fact, calling his day “rough” is a bit of an understatement, sort of like calling the Grand Canyon a pretty big hole.

Sam missed 4 field goals Saturday. He also had an extra point blocked–not his fault by any stretch of the imagination, but it shows up in his stats as a miss. His final miss of the day came with 1 second ticking off the clock, sealing the game as a loss.

As a PSU fan, I knew that this season was going to be challenging. New coaches, new systems, and no Joe Paterno would be tough enough. Factor in the NCAA sanctions, starters leaving for other schools, injuries, and bad bounces…the wins may be elusive this year. Or for the next few years.

Regardless of how things turn out, though, no player deserves to be treated the way that Mr. Ficken is being pounded in the media, chat rooms, and bulletin boards. Of course, that will never change. That’s how things work. Everyone with a keyboard is entitled to share his opinion with the masses. And let’s be honest, some of those jerks are witty.

But if we’re trying to get past the “Penn State Football Rules!” mentality, shouldn’t we be able to show some grace and class to a young man who just had the worst day of his sporting life in front of millions of people? I don’t want to be the kind of fan who sticks my head in the sand and refuses to acknowledge the shortcomings of my team.

Maybe Sam Ficken isn’t the guy who’ll be doing the kicking for the rest of the season. Or maybe this is a turning point for him, a galvanizing of his character and guts. Either way, he’s a young man who has chosen to commit to his teammates and coaches, to represent his university, and to keep kicking.

Saturday was rough. Let’s not pile on Sam Ficken or the other young men who are lacing ’em up every Saturday. Let’s root and cheer and encourage and celebrate those young men and the other good things in our community. Let’s keep our perspective on what really matters in life, and what’s entertainment.

I don’t know Sam Ficken, but I’d like to take him some cookies and tell him that it’s going to be okay. I’d like to invite him to midtown and have him connect with the hundreds of PSU students who worship there every weekend. I’d love to take him to the Waffle Shop (Blue Course, of course) to talk about the fact that there’s a lot more to life than football. And I’d give him a totally appropriate side hug and tell him that we love him.