Brace yourself for a bit of a rant/tirade... :)
My father attended Marshall University from 1964-1969, and he played football during part of that time. It's also where he met my mother, but that's another story.
As has been publicized by the movie "We Are Marshall" starring Matthew McConaghey and Matthew Fox, there was an extremely tragic even that changed the Thundering Herd family forever in 1970. The plane, carrying upperclassmen football players, coaches and staff, crashed. There were no survivors. I have known of this tragedy my entire life via stories from my dad. And I can see some of the pain of that loss in his eyes to this day.
My father knew all of the coaches and staff as well as many of the players.One of the hardest things that Marshall University had to do was pick itself back up and carry on. As you can imagine, it was a very emotional time, and for those who lived through it, something that they will never forget. How did they do it? By coming together and honoring those who were lost. The cheer, "We Are Marshall" was their rally cry and their way to express the strong feelings of the time.
I know that many schools are now using the "We Are" cheer. I will not do it when it happens at South Carolina because I don't feel that it demonstrates the appropriate level of respect for the real reason that phrase exists.
And I am LIVID that Penn State has begun using it to help their recovery. Plane crash > Sex Scandal. Quite frankly, I find it extremely disrespectful and despicable. Find another tag line to frame your situation, Nittany Lions (what the bleep is a Nittany lion anyway?). I am sure Ohio State & Michigan fans have plenty of suggestions.
