News organizations can't be too careful these days when it comes to suspicious things arriving via snail mail.

Less than a year ago, the fear of anthrax kept journalists of all stripes alert. Just months before that, in the spring of 2001, racist hate letters had showed up at our James Building address.

But this time, we knew it was going to be different. Maybe it was the booster pin taped to the outside of the package, the one that said "Settlin' the score for '94." Maybe it was the Nittany Lion paw prints stamped on top. Of course, these too could have disguised the contents.

It was addressed specifically to one of our staff writers, and we waited for her to run down and tear open the packing tape.

And out came The Hat.

We didn't really need any official confirmation; we'd seen the picture and there was no mistaking this one.

We learned last week how far this old hat had come.

Sure, it has that big nasty "N" on the front, but it was heartwarming nonetheless to know that this souvenir had made it through another adventure.

(In case you hadn't gotten that e-mail forward, it was stolen on Sept. 14 at the big game against Nebraska.)

Baring another detour, Jim Murphy -- die-hard Nebraska fan of Lincoln, Neb. -- will soon have his 32-year-old red and white cowboy hat back.

And with it, we hope, will go a little bit of that resentment so many people felt after the stunning victory of our football team over the Cornhuskers.

As students, yeah, we're competitive, a few of us indulge in the odd prank, but -- at the end of the day -- we respect our opponents and their fans, just as much as Joe Paterno does.