'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Penn State,

the players were stirring, even this late;

The helmets were hung in the lockers with care,

In hopes that the Rose Bowl soon would be there;

The players were nestled all snug in their pads,

While visions of the BCS danced in their heads;

And Tom in his sweater, and Joe with his cane,

Had just settled down to prepare for the game;

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,

D Will was out there, running a new pattern.

Away to the window, Joe flew fast as rain,

He ran down the stairs, threw away his cane.

The ball perfectly placed to D Will’s outside shoulder

Gave Joe Pa shivers, he swore it got colder;

When, what to his wondering eyes should appear, 

Was the entire team, dressed in full gear;

With a big ol’ quarterback, the orders he barked

Joe knew in a moment it must be Darryl Clark,

More rapid than normal, the receivers they ran,

And Joe whistled, and shouted, and called out each man.

“Now, Williams! Now, Maybin! Now, Scirotto and Lee!

On, Norwood! On Royster! On Wallace and Mauti!

To the top of the rankings! To the top of them all!

Now touchdown, touchdown, touchdown all!

Excited, nervous, and loud was the band,

And the players were focused on the task at hand;

The players hustled up as practice soon would be ended,

The kickers kicked, offense scored, defense defended;

One final speech, Joe Pa gave to the team,

He sounded encouraging, demanding, confident, never mean;

“We gotta win, we gotta fight,” was his encouraging cry,

He wore his black shoes, khakis, windbreaker and tie;

The ultimate game plan, he was sure it would be,

He hoped it was good enough to beat USC;

Their bags were packed on the plane with ease,

The players looked forward to the Pasadena breeze;

He sprang to the plane, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle;

But I heard him exclaim, “We have but one goal,”

“To return as Champions of the 95th Rose Bowl."