LOCAL: Happy Valley is Buzzing

*October 30, 2008*

What a week. First it was the #3 Nittany Lions defeated the loser Terrell Pryors in Ohio. Then, Sarah Palin rallied 7500 people at Rec Hall. Then, the gay Phillies won the World Series and students has cause to party in the streets yet again. Then Bill Clinton came to talk to students in fake support of Obama. I'm going to focus on the football win because of the retarded aftermath. Flashback to the night of Super Bowl XL, one of the greatest nights of my life. After the win, future columnists Dave, Andy, and myself (along with the future Mrs. Herb) ran down the streets of downtown State College to party with 300 other Steeler fans. I did the Foote Stomp in the middle of traffic. Eagles fans were trying to talk trash. And the Police had to come to stop people from clogging the streets. What a great night. This past weekend, students had more reason to rush the streets with the thought of a possible undefeated season looming. But the good sense of the Steelers fans were not with them on Saturday night. Some yokel thought it would be funny to get destructive. And once you start up a mob, all hell breaks lose. Street lights were being pulled down. Bushes and trees were uprooted and thrown at cops. Beer cans and bottles were thrown. Toilet paper was thrown. Cars were scratched, dented, and almost flipped. Newspaper stands were uprooted and overturned. So the cops did what the had to do. They broke out the mace and the tear gas. Students' stinging eye-witness accounts made it seem like cops were just running from student to student and giving it to them. Some kids cried. Some ran. Some just took it and kept on smiling. The point is, the outnumbered cops accomplished their goal and the mob dispersed. Hell, some sprayed students would even come back an hour later and get their picture taken with the patrolmen. My beef is with the whiny kids who thought the cops were excessive. You asked for it, moron. If you wanted to get destructive, deal with the mace. If you wanted to stand by and cheer while others were destructive, deal with the tear gas. This isn't WVU. We don't want burning couches and upside down cars. But this was just a regular season away game. Can you imagine what might go down if we go undefeated or even win a National Championship? Hopefully we exercise better judgement.