49 days to Western Michigan
Counting down the 50 most important Illini
To follow Bob Asmussen on Twitter, click here.
No. 49: Eddie Viliunas, tight end.
Why he's important: Converted quarterback, who moved to tight end before the 2010 season, can help take some of the pressure off the receivers and running backs. He had two of his four catches last season in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl win against UCLA, which was watched closely by the new boss, Tim Beckman. Viliunas showed his ability to get down the field with a 39-yard grab against Western Michigan. Part of a talented group of tight ends, who will be asked to do more because of deficiencies at other spots.
Fast fact: A two-time all-conference choice at Lyons Township, the Peyton Manning fan earned seven varsity letters during his high school career: three in baseball and two each in football and basketball.
Tomorrow: No. 48
I've been told that there are many fans who will not attend the Illinois - Penn State football game in a protest against Penn State's refusal to accept any responsibility for the criminal events that were tolerated for so long at the school. Apparently many fans at all of the schools that will be visited by Penn State's football team this season plan to stay away from the game as a sign of respect for he victims. What do you know about this movement? In my opinion I hope Memorial Stadium is empty for the Illinois-Penn State football game.
Staying away from an Illinois game because of revulsion against former coaches and officers of Penn State is as great a non sequitur as I can imagine. Who would be penalized? The players and coaches of Illinois, who had absolutely nothing to do with the crimes at State College. This is a truly stupid idea; who ever is pushing this needs to have his or her head examined. Stay away from State College, but not from Memorial Stadium. It is not even fair to the players at Penn State. I smell self-righteousness and ignorance in a curious mix.
My understanding of the protest is that Penn State as an organization has not offered a satisfactory response to the victims.It also seems that PSU engaged in much more dishonesty and criminal behavior that many people first believed. The suggestion that Penn State should receive an NCAA death penalty is being promoted by many people for reasons that are obvious.To show disapproval in a meaningful way is a reason for refusing to attend Penn State football games. Many writers,professionals and honest fans of college sports are deeply upset that Penn State has covered up and downplayed the events. Out of frustration it might be that the idea of a disassociation with any aspect of Penn State football prompted this proposed action. At the basic level college football is supposed to be entertainment.For many the idea that Penn State is so willing to put it's football entertainment product before the public, so quickly,without any serious efforts to address the issues of the crimes is immoral and deeply disturbing. I would suggest that Penn State look to Tulane University.That institution aggressively worked to address the problems discovered in their basketball program by voluntarily ending men's basketball for four years. I think that an honest response is what people want to see from PSU. So far that has not happened.The administration shows no remorse,and Penn State fans are all over the blogs and comment sections defending the football tradition and culture of PSU. I didn't mean to seem self-righteous.I understand that evil and tragic events can happen in any community.I simply agree with the people who believe that Penn State University must do more to rebuild with honesty and justice. I've been a seaon ticket holder for thirty years after graduation from the University of Illinois.I was a season ticket holder as a student at the UI. Maybe my thinking on this is ignorant but I am not going to attend any football games in which Penn State is a participant until they make a truthful effort to address these crimes.Again,I may be stupid and irrelevant but I cannot pretend none of this happened and I don't believe we should all move on to the next happy football Saturday.There has to be a response...from all of us.
. . . and I repeat, just as your concern is that Penn State ignored innocent victims, you wish to make innocent "victims" -- only in the sense of one of the reasons they play football -- of the young men who play for the University of Illinois. Penn State as an institution will indeed be paying for its crimes in a monetary fashion in the oncoming lawsuits, but a fan boycott of an Illinois game because Penn State is the opponent is too self-righteous for me. And give the trustees at Penn State some credit for hiring Freeh to investigate and allowing him to make public his findings. Nothing can undo what was done wrong. One more thought: a fan boycott would take away the home field advantage; it would benefit, not penalize, Penn State.
Good point about the Freeh investigation...although I don't believe many in the PSU community thought it would turn out to be so devastating.I doubt the NCAA will take any action.The belief of most people,as you stated,is that Penn State is going to pay an incredible amount in damages.That probably will be the final accounting.
This is really a stupid idea for Illinois fans to stay away from an Illinois game against Penn State. Better that the UI team go out and beat Penn State for all its worth. The B10 should lead the way to show Penn State in some way and other schools that there is a high standared of ethics to live by. Go Illini beat Penn State.
Social Media
Comments
News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.