FB: Liberty League

[union89]

u know maybe this 27 year old college graduate should take this life lesson from this blog post by jay paterno(co-off. coordinator at psu)...here is someone same age as her who doesnt wait for freebies and hand outs....this girl should see someone like this and learn...

Saturday was the 3rd Annual Penn State Football Letterman's Golf Outing and 128 former Penn State Football players took part. Student-Athletes from teams in the 1950s all the way through the current decade gathered for golf, but more importantly to catch up with former teammates and to meet other people who share a proud tradition.

Gathered were people who have gone on to do different things with their lives, some as doctors, others working on wall street, others as teachers, others coaching, and others as lawyers?just to name a few.

At the dinner following the Penn State Football Letterman's Golf Outing, Justin Kurpeikis got up to introduce a very special former Penn State Nittany Lion. It would turn out to be a moment that none of us there will ever forget.

He introduced one of his teammates Rick Slater. Most Penn State fans will not recall his name, number or what position he played but they should know his name for what he's done since college.

Rick's path to becoming a Penn State Football student-athlete was an unconventional one. He graduated from high school in Flint, Michigan in 1988. Before coming to Penn State, he served 8 years in the military, primarily as a Navy Seal. He enrolled at Penn State in 1997 and decided to try and walk-on to the football team at the tender age of 28 years old.

He made the team, and although he didn't see a lot of game action he made lasting impression on all of us. He became a great influence on a lot for younger players who looked up to him once they knew this "old" guy's story.

When I'd walk through the locker room, Lavar Arrington, Brandon Short, Justin Kurpeikis and other guys who were big-time players for us would be gathered around his locker listening to him tell stories. I remember hearing one about a monkey in Panama who refused to get out of Rick's jeep.

In the summer work-outs the toughest part of the running is the phase when our guys finish by running twelve 300 yard sprints. To accommodate the team they used to have three running groups, one at 6 a.m., one at 7 a.m. and one at 8 a.m. Rick would show up at 6 a.m. and make all the times for the 300 yard sprints. Then he'd stick around and do it again and again passing the times for ALL thirty-six 300 yard sprints.

Through that, he earned the respect of his teammates, but also in so many other ways.

He became the oldest college football player in the country during the 1999 season when he started camp as a 30-year old junior.

In his senior year an injury ended his football career, but he went out for the boxing team. All he did was go out and win the National Championship in his weight class.

As Justin Kurpeikis introduced him, he explained that after college Rick was going on with his life until September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on this country changed the course of Rick's life. Rick knew what he had to do he re-enlisted as a Navy Seal.

By the time he stood up to speak to the group assembled last night, he had completed a total of 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be heading back again. But even those facts aren't what hit us all.

It was what Rick said to all of us.

"The fact that we all played for Penn State and for Joe Paterno, in my mind, makes us all brothers. My time on this team is among the most meaningful things I've ever done in my life. We are all better men for having played for Joe Paterno and these coaches."

Then he pointed to the belt he was wearing, and we all recognized it as a belt you would wear in your football pants.

"This belt I'm wearing, is the belt I wore in my football pants on Saturdays at Penn State. I wear it today, but this belt has also been with me ever since I left here. It's been with me when I jumped out of airplanes at 25,000 feet on oxygen at night, it has been on all my missions. I wear it for all the guys who played at Penn State all the guys who played before me and all the guys who will play after me."

Needless to say it was completely silent as he spoke those words. It was a recognition that we are all part of something special, something that will always be a part of us no matter what we do or where we go. It was the recognition that here was an example of someone who even in the midst of war, has a part of Penn State Football and what he learned here with him.

Most important it was a reminder to us all that while we live our lives in this country lives of relative safety and enormous freedoms, there are still those putting it all on the line for us every day.

PBR, great story.....Rick is quite an impressive individual. 

U89 laughed to himself, because if Rick were at Union, he would have gotten donkey punched for kissing ass and running with all 3 groups.

[PBR...]

LOL...funny u89 pbr was thinking the same thing of course then this dood would of proceeded to kick everyones azz...guess pbr's point is that if someone wants to cruise thru college and part and barely get by then dont complain when you dont get job offers and most importantly dont look to blame others for your lack of drive in the workplace. just irks pbr anymore how there is this large generation anymore of people feeling like they are entitled to everything just for being born and want free handouts while others bust their azz to earn everything

[wildcat11]

Try not to pimp my stuff outside of the NWC board too often but WC11 went on a bit of a rant last night about senior/team posters after I peeped the most horrible college football video of all time and wanted to share my thoughts with the LL'ers

ADvantage Catdome:  WHY? WHY? WHY?

[PBR...]

hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...


http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/4-107481.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

[Blutarsky]

hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...


http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/4-107481.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

Not sure I would think about leaving the "Mrs" for any of these beauts......

[pumkinattack]

Yeah it's really adding insult to injury to do that after he had to make sweet love to those ladies. 

[dlippiel]

dlippiel very excited about the d3football.com preseason poll (thanks Pat and others)! Hobart is the lone LL rep with neither Union or RPI getting any votes at all. To dlippiel this is maybe a good thing for both. dlippiel's thoughts being that hopefully the U will surprise many this season and be motivated to really make a mark early with a victory over pre-season #10 Ithaca Bombers. For RPI dlippiel feels they often get so much attention and are constantly grilled because of their weak ass schedule and then they end up disapointing in the end. This ealry season lack of votes or outside belief in the Engineers may just provide the fire this team needs to take care of buisness throughout the entire year and recieve an NCAA birth. Although dlippiel must make it clear that he would prefer da U or Bart to get their instead. **** dlippiel thinks he may have even matured enough this off season to root for RPI in OOC games for the better of the LL. Who knows, crazier **** has happened!

[union89]

dlippiel very excited about the d3football.com preseason poll (thanks Pat and others)! Hobart is the lone LL rep with neither Union or RPI getting any votes at all. To dlippiel this is maybe a good thing for both. dlippiel's thoughts being that hopefully the U will surprise many this season and be motivated to really make a mark early with a victory over pre-season #10 Ithaca Bombers. For RPI dlippiel feels they often get so much attention and are constantly grilled because of their weak ass schedule and then they end up disapointing in the end. This ealry season lack of votes or outside belief in the Engineers may just provide the fire this team needs to take care of buisness throughout the entire year and recieve an NCAA birth. Although dlippiel must make it clear that he would prefer da U or Bart to get their instead. **** dlippiel thinks he may have even matured enough this off season to root for RPI in OOC games for the better of the LL. Who knows, crazier **** has happened!

+1 to you dlip.....U89's thought's exactly (almost).......

[Regulator]

I don't know anyone that thinks or speaks about **** as much as DL!

+1 for using **** in posts than I have EVER in real life.

[pumkinattack]

If Bart and Union can get to 10/10 undefeated (a big if as they will both be challenged by Dickinson and Ithaca respectively right out of the gate), that will be a pretty big matchup.  Maybe even worthy of a trip by KMack and the Guru (though you should really come to one in Geneva one of these days, way nicer area than Troy or Schenectady). 

[union89]

I don't know anyone that thinks or speaks about **** as much as DL!

+1 for using **** in posts than I have EVER in real life.

Hey Reg,
**** You!!!!

+1.

[Knightstalker]

I don't know anyone that thinks or speaks about **** as much as DL!

+1 for using **** in posts than I have EVER in real life.

Your ****ing ****ting me right?

+K

[PBR...]

****in' a doods....lots of **** on this page....

[labart96]

If Bart and Union can get to 10/10 undefeated (a big if as they will both be challenged by Dickinson and Ithaca respectively right out of the gate), that will be a pretty big matchup.  Maybe even worthy of a trip by KMack and the Guru (though you should really come to one in Geneva one of these days, way nicer area than Troy or Schenectady). 

TGP thinks this 09 #15 preseason ranking is the highest Hobart's probably had ever (at least during the D3fb.com era). 

[dlippiel]

If Bart and Union can get to 10/10 undefeated (a big if as they will both be challenged by Dickinson and Ithaca respectively right out of the gate), that will be a pretty big matchup.  Maybe even worthy of a trip by KMack and the Guru (though you should really come to one in Geneva one of these days, way nicer area than Troy or Schenectady). 

TGP thinks this 09 #15 preseason ranking is the highest Hobart's probably had ever (at least during the D3fb.com era). 

Bart clearly turned heads last year putting up a decent fight against the great MT. That plue the fact that Bart has quietly been playing solid football now for at least six years, to dlippiel, clearly makes them deserving of their 09 preserason ranking. dlippiel feels that bart simply takes care of buisness most seasons very quietly. Where as with dlippiel's sacred U there is always talk and debate about the past, a huge microscope, and high expectations. dlippiel feels like all of these factors should be there year in and year out with the ducth but is hoping for the U to just take care of buisness this season the way Bart has been doing for a while now. Congrats to Bart, their players, and their fans for this nice preseason ranking. dlippiel is off to watch one of those great Cape Cod Summer League Baseball games now. Tons of talent in this league year in and year out. Former alums of this league include Aaron "to the moon" Boone, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, Nomar , Frank Thomas, Thurman Munson, and Carleton Fisk.