Since Penn State is no longer "winning with honor"

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

...are we the most honorable program?

We joke plenty here about Todd Dodge. I was against his hiring at the outset because he lacked college coaching experience, and he hired an entire coaching staff who lacked college coaching experience. From a pure football standpoint, it was terribly shortsighted.

But, let me say this: as I go about town in my Mean Green Nike hat purchase last summer, I can say that I'm proud even of those Dodge years now. Todd Dodge, as bad as his product was on the field, certainly did the right things off the field.

Many of us - all of us - want badly for North Texas to be a winning program. Thankfully, however, we haven't had leaders and coaches wanting it so badly that the lives of innocents were scarred.

"Winning With Honor" was nothing but a lie at Penn State. We haven't won much, but I'm proud of our program. I'm proud that we are clean.

Someday, we'll win again. And, I hope that when those days return again, we will truly be doing what Penn State pretended to do, win with honor.

I'm sorry for not being a better supporter during the Todd Dodge years. With the benefit of hindsight, it is always, always, always about more than winning.

And, all joking aside, I hope that everyone who played under Todd Dodge, despite their few on the field successes, become those better husbands and fathers he sought to teach them to be.

Knowing what I know now, give me the Todd Dodges of the world as the football coach of my alma mater rather than the Joe Paternos.

If Todd Dodge ever is crazy enough to read college football message boards, this is for him :

Coach, I'm sorry for not supporting you while you were here. I was a horse's ass. Even though the on field results we not always the best, you were doing the the right things behind the scenes. That was more important. And...thanks again for answering my mayo/mustard hamburger question in the chat.

Love,

Fake Lonnie

P.S. - And, Rick, if you're reading, I still say people will stop calling us North Texas State if we go with a UNT logo. Sleep on it.

Edited July 13, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch