Were you offended by the "Terrelle Cryer" T-shirts that sparked Penn State's second clothing-related controversy this semester?
I know I wasn't -- I bought not one, but two of them. And you know what else?
Terrelle Pryor definitely didn't seem to mind them, either, at least if you go by how he played Saturday.
Following the debate surrounding both the Pryor shirt and this year's White Out shirt, we're getting a little too worked up over a couple of benign T-shirts. I would completely understand if the uproar was over an obviously profane or suggestive design, but neither of these shirts fit that description.
With the cross-like imagery on the White Out shirt raising ire only a few weeks ago, what is it about State College that makes us so concerned about the messages we receive from T-shirts? Are they really that unnerving?
Before leading his Ohio State Buckeyes to a thorough trouncing of Penn State, Pryor said he wanted one of the shirts bearing his likeness to wear in warmups. Distributed by the Penn State Marketing Association, the design showed a very muscular Nittany Lion handing Pryor a tissue, making fun of the Jeannette native's despair following Penn State's win last year.
Some alumni and students felt the shirt was a poor reflection of Penn State's sportsmanship and demanded the shirt be discontinued. The Marketing Association went one step further. Thursday night I received an e-mail telling me I had to turn in my shirts Friday at the HUB, where I would be refunded. The message told the 40 or so people who had purchased the shirts that the Marketing Association was "working to get all of the shirts out of the public eye."
To the organization's credit, it did reference the ridiculous nature of the demand -- the sender of the email even said she was unhappy over the "unnecessary" recall. The decision was certainly unnecessary, and the Marketing Association must have been told by superiors to do it. However, if people wanted to see the design, all they had to do was go to the Internet -- the design had even prompted responses mocking Joe Paterno by Friday. The announcement of the discontinued sale only drew more interest to the design, all because three dozen people purchased shirts.
Despite the fuss that was raised, I still can't see why a shirt sparked so much debate. The major reason given for the recall was the design's perceived poor taste; however, I viewed it as nothing more than poking fun at the face of one of America's most visible college football teams. Terrelle Pryor, because of his status in the world of sports, is fair game to be mocked a little. The shirt wasn't vulgar or blatantly offensive. It was simply a bit of ribbing at the expense of the opponent -- something that is to be expected in a heated series.
Furthermore, the "poor sportsmanship" argument holds little water. If you were in State College over the weekend, you saw plenty of shirts that combined "Buckeye" and a certain George Carlin word. Of course, those shirts weren't produced by a Penn State-affiliated organization like the Pryor shirts were. But tons of these shirts were worn by Penn State students who are, in effect, walking billboards for their school. No one knew what shirts out of dozens of designs were made by a Penn State-related group or by entrepreneurial students who wanted to make a buck.
Don't get me wrong -- I'll never pretend to be an Ohio State fan. However, I think we all should've taken the Terrelle Pryor approach to the newest controversial shirt design -- take it for what it is and laugh it off.
Only if you're a Penn State fan, try not to beat up on the Nittany Lions after you do so.
