To paraphrase Friedrich Nietzche, “The Penn State Football Whiteout is dead, and we have killed it.”
Yes, that Whiteout.
The Whiteout that Kirk Herbstreit has called “as good as there is, not only in college football but in sports.” The Whiteout which had legendary coach Urban Meyer shaking in his boots to play in, calling it the most difficult place he’s ever coached.
One of the greatest spectacles in all of sports is inching closer and closer to falling into obscurity for the sake of corporate profits.
How did we get here?
With the launch of Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff in 2019, more and more of the biggest matchups for the Big Ten have moved from the night primetime 7:30/8 pm slot to the noon slot on Saturdays.
This has had massive implications for Penn State’s annual spectacle.
While trying to keep the night whiteout tradition, Penn State has been forced to move away from using its competitive advantage in massive matchups against Michigan and Ohio State, to instead turn to inferior matchups against Minnesota and Iowa for the sake of keeping the night Whiteout tradition alive.
Again in 2024, it looks as though Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will once again steal the Nittany Lions‘ biggest matchup against Ohio State from the night prime time slot, leaving Penn State potentially forced to either abandon the night whiteout tradition, or Whiteout a September night game against Illinois.
With Fox’s unrelenting stranglehold on the best matchups under the Big Ten’s new media deal, Penn State’s leadership is facing a true crossroads.
Do the Nittany Lions keep the tradition of the night whiteout alive, understanding that the annual spectacle is wasted on inferior opponents? Or do the Nittany Lions pivot back to the Whiteout being against the Nittany Lions top opponent no matter the kickoff time?
Unfortunately, as the Big Ten squeezes more and more money out of its media partners, the likelihood of Penn State’s biggest matchup returning to the prime time night slot is looking farther and farther from reality.
The Nittany Lions’ administration has quite an issue on its hands to save one of the best yearly atmospheres in sports, and there isn’t a right answer on how to do so.
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