By Mike Gibson
Last night there was an interview with Vince Papale broadcast over the Bravo Network.
Papale, the former Philadelphia Eagles’ walk-on, talked a little about the movie Invincible, made about his life.
The more I watched, the closer I listened.
“This isn’t a movie about me or about the Eagles or even about pro football,” Papale said. “It’s about everybody who has been told they couldn’t or that they can’t or that they won’t or that they should just stop trying and give up.”
It’s about Temple football, the movie Invincible is, in its own way.
How many of us in the Temple family have been told to give up, to stop trying, that they couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to succeed?
Just about everyone, I’d imagine.
“This is a story about underdogs,” Papale said.
That’s what made Saturday so great _ not that a 19-point underdog rose up and won by two touchdowns, but that the same program people said wouldn’t or couldn’t win a game did just that.
It’s the first of many.
The pain of being a Temple football person has been a deep and cutting one, and writing about it while in this 16-year intensive care state has been catartic for me, as evidenced in this post about going to Heaven and this one about Lost in Space but the bleeding has stopped and the wounds are beginning to heal.
The losses aren’t over, but this patient is no longer in critical condition.
In fact, the long-term prognosis is good.
Very good.

By Mike Gibson
Watching Travis Shelton show his backside to the entire Bowling Green kickoff team, I thought about a lot of people.
Most of all, I thought about Karl Smith.
And all of the other small-minded narrow-thinkers like him.
Smith is the executive editor of PhillyBurbs.com.
You need only read a few excerpts from this piece of crap he wrote about Bowling Green putting up 70 on the Owls.
Things have changed a little since then, Karl.

A brief synopsis is in order. He went on to thank Temple for this and thank Temple for that and then concluded by thanking Temple for accepting an invitation to the MAC so that the Owls can be Bowling Green’s whipping boy for the next few years.
“… how nice to have an extended scrimmage against an overmatched opponent every year that actually counts in the standings,” Smith wrote.
Hmmm.

I guess he doesn’t know collegefootballnews.com named the Owls 2006 freshman recruiting class at the top incoming class among MAC schools, current or future.
I guess he doesn’t care many of those recruits, as many as 18, are seeing significant playing time for the Owls this season or that these same players pushed around Bowling Green’s sophomore- and junior-dominated lineup.
He might not know that the 2007 recruiting class is ranked significantly higher than that one and that it might dwarf any recruiting class of any MAC team in recent memory.
Or maybe he doesn’t care.
And, if he can count, he knows that this same Owls will be around for the next three years. Yes, the same Owls that beat his beloved Bowling Green by two touchdowns yesterday.
We won’t assume that Bowling Green will be Temple’s whipping boy for the next few years, as he assumed the other way.
The evidence is there.
Temple is getting better.
Bowling Green is getting worse.
Get used to watching Shelton’s backside. You’ve got two more years of watching that 4.27-40 speed.
We have six players coming in with that kind of speed and the evidence suggests that Temple could literally leave Bowling Green looking permanently in its rear view mirror.
Al Golden is a young, charismatic, recruiter who kids identify with and will rally behind. He came to Temple with a deserved reputation of being a recruiter without peer and he has only enhanced that reputation so far in his year on the job.
Thank you, Karl Smith.
Thank you very much.

By Mike Gibson
In about six weeks, Al Golden will be on the job as Temple University’s head football coach for a year.
In the time since Dec. 6, Golden has said and done all the right things.
He’s talked about changing the culture of losing, about pounding that rock until it cracks, about even coaching the pre-game warmups.
In less than two months, he’s recruited the top incoming football class in the MAC.
All signs so far that this current class, which includes North Catholic superstar Daryl Robinson, will be off the charts as far as recent MAC recruiting classes go.
Now Robinson is recruiting fellow Philadelphia superstars for the Owls.
All good signs.
At some point, though, Al Golden is going to have to do what he’s been brought in to do:
Win games.
This would be as good a week to start as any against a Bowling Green team that scored 70 points _ twice _ against recent Bobby Wallace teams.
If fact, anything less than a win against Bowling Green is unacceptable.
Consecutive 62-0 losses to Louisville and Minnesota were eye-openers, especially in light of North Dakota State’s ability to take Minnesota into overtime.
North …. FREAKING … Dakota … FREAKING … State.
Giving up 63 points to Clemson was another stomach-turner.
Yet a 28-17 loss to Kent seemed to show some progress because the Owls were toe-to-toe for the most part with one of the MAC’s best teams.
Bowling Green, on the other hand, lost to Kent, 38-3.

Bowling Green, like the Owls, took Buffalo to overtime.
The Owls, unlike Bowling Green, were short six key players in the loss at Buffalo, while Bowling Green did not have equivalent personnel shortages in an overtime win over Buffalo.
The Owls are back at full strength for the first time all season.
That SHOULD be bad news for Bowling Green.
It’s up to Al Golden and his staff to deliver that news.
At some point, you’ve got to win.
At some point, you’ve got to stop dropping third-down passes.

At some point, you’ve got to put your best talent in position to win the game for you. One way would be using Tim Brown on punt returns, too, giving him the space to do what he does best.
At some point, you’ve got to stop receivers from running free through your secondary like roaches in a ghetto kitchen.
It’s up to Al to formulate a game plan to win this week against Bowling Green.
A bold game plan, much like the one against Kent State.
Two tight ends, power-I, use Tim Brown’s talents to move the chains and shorten the game. Use Brown’s running ability to set up Adam DiMichele play-action passes to Travis Shelton and Mike Holley downfield.
On defense, Mark D’Onofrio has to come up with a gambling-style game plan that utilizes the Owls’ strength _ their front seven _ and protects the weak back four.
Blitzes, particularly from the blind side, and up the middle to create protection problems for the Bowling Green quarterback.
The best defense is putting the other guy’s quarterback on his ass _ or, as Jim Rome says, his ARSE _ and it’s high time the Owls adopt that philosophy as the core of their defensive approach.
Use the speed of the young linebackers to smack the quarterback around and, hopefully, come up with the ball a time or two.
Philly-style football. Only a win would open eyes in a cynical and skeptical Philadelphia.
At some point, Al, you’ve got to win.
This week, in front of a Homecoming Day crowd, would be an acceptable place to start.

By Mike Gibson
The sign is on the wall at the Edberg-Olson Complex for all to see:
“HUNTING A MAC CHAMPIONSHIP WITH LOCAL TALENT.”
If you know anything about Al Golden so far in his almost one year on the job, it’s this:
Allie G. means what he says and says what he means.
It’s evident in the verbals so far.
One, Daryl Robinson, might be the best player in North Catholic’s long and sometimes glorious football history.
Another, Kit Anderson, scored three long touchdowns in a big Neshaminy win last week.
There is a school of thought that there isn’t enough talent in the Philadelphia area and Eastern Pennsylvania to support a winning Division IA football team.
The Headmaster of that same school likes to say there’s more talent in a five-mile square area of Florida than there is in Southeastern Pennsylvania or South Jersey.
Hogwash, Phooey and any two-syllable word you can think of that begins with a B and ends with a T.
Wayne Hardin and Bruce Arians proved you could field WINNING football teams at TEMPLE with primarily local talent.
Take the 1979 team, which finished 10-2 and ranked No. 17 in both final polls.
Brian Broomell, the quarterback who led the nation in passing efficiency for most of that season, was from Sterling. Mark Bright, the fullback who was MVP of Temple’s bowl win over California, was from William Tennent. Kevin Duckett, the slippery halfback, was from Northeast.
We could go on and on but won’t.
The proof is in the history, past and present.
The sons of these great players, figuratively, did not forget how to play football.
The football is Southeastern Pennsylvania and nearby might not be Florida but it is good enough.
If you like what Golden has done so far, the best is yet to come if the recruiting of D.J. Lenehan is any indication.
I had the pleasure of watching Lenehan of Wilson Area near Easton compete in the Class AA championship game last year.
I saw a number of his games on Service Electric Cable TV and on WFMZ Channel 69 in Allentown.
This kid is the real deal.
Much like Adam DiMichele of the current Owls, this young man has the “it” factor.
“I like to say this about all great quarterbacks, they have IT,” ESPN commentator Lee Corso said. “I can’t put into words precisely what it is, but when you see a quarterback who has it, you’ll know.
“I’m going to say it like this: IT is the sense of when to throw the ball and when not to, it’s the ability to throw the ball deep on a dime while sitting in the pocket or running at full speed and IT is toughness and the sixth sense to stay in the pocket until the last split second in order to make a play.”
If you don’t believe me, look at the Lenehan highlight films on Rivals.com and judge for yourself.
This kid can play and he’s perfect for the Temple offense. DiMichele’s presence, and to an extent Vaughn Charlton’s, gives Lenehan a chance to develop at a pace that will accelerate his production.
The first school to offer Lenehan was Temple.
If anything, that indicates Golden is paying attention to the films and his two eyes and not letting some recruiting service tell him who the players are.

From left, Ann Weaver Hart, Dan Polett, Peter J. Liacouras, Al Golden
By Mike Gibson
There was more power under one tent at the pre-game Temple vs. Kent State tailgate than can be found at the Limerick Nuclear reactors.
At least when it is the power provides the fuel for the Temple athletic department.
First, there was Chancellor Peter J. Liacouras, still looking vigorous and young and still Temple football’s biggest backer and still wlelding a lot of influence.
Then there was new Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dan Polett, Howard Gittis’ successor, and another familiar face at Temple sporting events.
Last, but certainly not least, was Ann Weaver Hart, the new president of Temple University.
That’s right.
A Temple president and BOT Chairman were in attendance today and visible.
And, I might add, approachable.
A friend of mine, Nick, and I saw her under the tent and said, “what the hey, let’s go up and say hi.”
President Weaver Hart could not have been more gracious.
We exchanged some small talk, I suggested that she probably should have brought her football team with her from New Hampshire.
She laughed and said that New Hampshire once struggled like Temple is now and she stuck with the coach and that team is now flourishing. A 34-17 win this year at Northwestern of the Big 10, not Northeastern of the A-10, is evidence enough of that.
She believes the same can be done at Temple. Even though she didn’t say it in as many words, I got the feeling, too, that she also believed a successful football team is vital to the image of Temple nationally, that the football team is the front porch of the university and it’s high time to replace these rotted boards and loose shingles with brand new ones.
And she believes Al Golden is doing just that, getting his tool kit and hammer out for this massive makeover project.
You want the rest of the Mid-American Conference to say no later than next year:
“Wow, that’s nice.”
Instead, too many are looking at Temple’s front porch like it’s Jed Clampbett’s, pre-black oil, Texas tea, days.
Since Temple is the 26th largest university in the country, it deserves a football team successful on the biggest stage, the 1A theater.
If Temple is ever to bring what has been a disjointed community of alumni, students and friends together in one setting, a football game is the place to do that. But it’s a football game where the Temple community has to feel there is a realistic chance of winning every week.
I told her I look forward to the day when I can post a supportive quote from her about Temple football on this website, as you can read quotes from Liacouras, former BOT chair Howard Gittis and current athletic director Bill Bradshaw.
She would be happy to oblige, she said.
I’m waiting for a blockbluster comment, along the lines of Gittis’ saying the students at Temple deserve a “great football team” and “we will provide it.” Or Liacouras saying “universities with 1A football teams must invest to succeed.”
Temple football always had a huge supporter in Liacouras and now has a pair of staunch allies in Weaver Hart and Polett.
That only bodes well for a program that saw former president David Adamany and Gittis attend just one game in six years together.
After that one, Adamany emailed me with this terse one-liner.
“Mr. Gittis was not happy with the audience,” he wrote.
Somehow, I think Ann Weaver Hart knows the difference between an “audience” and a “crowd.”
At least I got that first impression.

By Mike Gibson
On my day off Wednesday, I stopped at my neighborhood LA Fitness Club in the Andorra Shopping Center.
(Well, it’s not my neighborhood but it’s the closest LA Fitness Club to Center City.)
Since it was in the middle of the afternoon, there were only a couple of other guys in the locker room. Both of them were in their mid-to-late 20s.
After they exchanged some small talk about their kids, I overheard this exchange:
First guy: “I’ve got some tickets to the Kent State vs. Temple game on Saturday. I think I’ll go.”
Second guy: “I’m going, too. Where are you sitting?”
First guy: “I don’t know. I’ll go back and check and let you know by email.”
Second guy: “I was thinking about going up to Penn State to see them play, but I decided on the Kent game instead. I really think they have a chance to win.”
First guy: “Those 62-0 scores were getting old, but I think they competed at Vanderbilt and I think they are going to get better. I want to see them play at home.”
By this time, I was impressed.
Talk from young guys about Temple football and no gratuitous shots.
I was impressed. Surprised and impressed.
I spoke up.
“What do you know,” I said, “all three people in this locker room are going to the Kent State-Temple game.”
Those two guys were friends and I was a stranger, but they immediately included me in the conversation.
“I know it’s only Kent State, but this would be big for them,” the first guy said. “They really have to show people they can make that step from being bad to getting a little better to winning. I hope this is the week they do it.”
“Me, too,” the second guy said.
One guy had no connection to Temple other than he was from Philly and wanted, desperately he said, to see a competitive Division IA team in town and Temple was the only school trying to be competitive.
The other was a grad with some passing interest in the team, saying he tries to take in a game once every year.
Both said if Temple started winning they’d come to every game.
This represents the great untapped market Al Golden is trying to reach.
Philadelphians and Temple people wanting to see a representative Temple football team take the field.
As Golden said on Fan Fest Day, “what you see behind me is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can accomplish here in Philadelphia.”
Win on Saturday, Al, and that iceberg slowly begins to melt.

By Mike Gibson
This Saturday, Temple will play Kent State at Lincoln Financial Field.
Like so many other Saturdays, I will be looking over my shoulder, anticipating Steve Bumm tapping me on the shoulder to talk some Temple football. Steve always flew up from Fort Myers, Fla., for the Temple games or at least a couple of Temple games every year.
Most of the time we’d talk about the old days, the way things were when Temple won all the time, seemingly, and bemoan the more current era where the opposite was true.
Steve was always the greatest guy to talk to because he was at Temple before me and could connect the dots when we compared, say, Temple quarterbacks of the 70s with Temple quarterbacks of the 60s.
Or the 80s.
Or the 90s.
We saw most all of them.
My favorite was Tim Riordan for his toughness, smarts and leadership.
His was Marty Ginestra for many of the same qualities.
I was looking for Steve Bumm on the Saturday of the Louisville game, but he wasn’t there. I knew he died almost a year ago, but old habits are hard to break. The link in this paragraph is recommended reading from the Ft. Myers’ paper.
I will be looking for him again on Saturday at the Temple game and he won’t be there but it will feel like he’s there every time I make the walk from the tailgate into the stadium or walk around the ramps or stop to watch a TV behind the concession stands, places Steve and I used to talk.
And maybe he is. At least in spirit.