You can't always get what you want

I must have been through this lesson a thousand times in my life. But, Saturday was reassurance that the universe is always against you and, truthfully, you cannot always get what you want.

Last week was probably the worst week EVER at Penn State. The beginning of the week was met by the untimely passing of freshman Joe Dado. I didn't know him, nor did most of the students that attend Penn State. But everyone was affected by it. One of our own died on his way home from a good time Saturday night on campus, and he was alone, and alcohol was definitely a factor. Everyone's statuses on facebook were spreading the word to find him on Monday, and then I got a text from a friend saying he was found dead. And sadly, it was true.

The shining factor of this week was supposed to be the Whiteout game against Iowa. We were all excited, and I was even planning on attending College Gameday. When I woke up that morning at 7:15, I saw rain. Lots of it. And so I went back to bed. No use getting wet and cold before the game. So, the rest of the day was chill. But the rain never let up. We got into the stadium during the alma mater (yes, that late) and we were in the junior/senior section for the first time ever! I was already soaked and freezing, but I didn't care. And the Whiteout failed because of the rain sadly. But, that first play in the first quarter! Wow, I was sure by then we were going to win.

For I outlined KEYS for Penn State to beat Iowa. Unfortunately, Penn State would ultimately lose to Iowa 21-10, those 10 points being scored only in the first quarter. Here it goes:

1. Daryll Clark needs to be sharp. Throws perfect, recievers open, and NO INTERCEPTIONS. This was all made for the most part in the first half, and by that I mean first quarter. But, second half, the throws sucked, the recievers weren't there, and he threw not one, and not two, but THREE interceptions.
2. Evan Royster needs room to run. This was again, made in the first quarter. It failed after that, and the running game was a lost cause.
3. The Defense must shut down the running game and the passing game. Again, met in the first quarter. But, the running game on Iowa was pretty good, and unfortunately, they made the passes they needed to. So fail there.
4. Special teams needs to do their thing. They didn't. Missed field goal (even though it was really close) and Iowa got decent yardage on returns. Plus, that blocked punt set the tone for the entire game.
THE ONLY KEY TO PENN STATE WINNING THAT WAS MET:
5. The fans need to be as loud as they can be. And seriously, the fans were the 12th man on the field many a times.

Yes, there were bad calls. Even one my mother pointed out that the analysts were questioning the merit. But, I think even possibly if those bad calls did not happen, we still wouldn't have win. We sucked.

Now, getting back to the theme: you can't always get what you want. I wanted Joe Dado to be found. He was, but he wasn't found alive. I wanted a successful whiteout and us to win, and to just have lots of fun. I did have fun, but we didn't win. The Eagles did win the next day, so I was happy with that. I think I need to come to realize I can' t be asking for too much these days. We are in a recession after all. So we definitely can't get what we want like we used to. I doubt I'll ever truly learn this lesson. It's near impossible. I go through it every year.

I remember senior year when Liberty's football team got pounded by Becahi yet again. My brother was so so upset by the loss. So, I put in my High School Musical 2 soundtrack and sang to him "We're gonna work, work, work this out. We'll make things right, the sun will shine. We got to work, work, work things out. If we all come together, we can work this out." I think we just all need to work these things out. Like this weekend I'm going home and I want to do a million things. I think I need to put a limit on what I can/can't do. Because after all, you can't always get what you want.

But if I COULD ask for one thing, maybe let the Eagles WIN the Super Bowl this year? That would be very nice, and I'd be a pretty happy girl. Thanks world. But knowing you, it won't happen. Because, I can't always get what I want.