Video WhiteOut: Paterno to Nixon “Shove it!”
I attended the pep rally, but didn’t stumble upon a video of it until now.
“How could Nixon know so much about college football in 1969 and so little about Watergate in 1973?”
Nixon decided to attend the game in Fayetteville, Ark. According to Sarantakes, that was because he had been asked to help commemorate 100 years of college football, and, probably more important, it was a way for him to boost his political image in the south.
Then Nixon decided to award a plaque to the winner, which was seen as essentially crowning a national champion.
Paterno and Pennsylvania governor Raymond Shafer griped. A few Penn State alums and fans picketed the White House, which got some 90,000 angry letters and telegrams.
As a concession, it was decided Nixon would present a second plaque to the Nittany Lions for having the sport’s longest unbeaten, untied streak.
Sarantakes writes that when the White House called about picking up the other plaque, Paterno said, “You tell the president to take that trophy and shove it.”
Releated Posts:
- Video of Joe Paterno’s Press Conference
- [Video] Joe Paterno at Football Eve
- Joe Paterno at Big Ten Media Day: Presser Transcript and Video
- Penn State media day video collection
- Joe Paterno’s Not Dead Yet
