Don't expect to hear Neil Diamond's hit "Sweet Caroline" at Penn State football games this season.
According to Cory Geiger,
a writer for the Altoona Mirror, the song has been cut from the rotation along with several other tunes, but he didn't know which ones.
"Sweet Caroline," which is a big fan participation song during games, is being cut because of the lyrics, more specifically the line "touching me, touching you."
Probably a smart move by Penn State, which is still reeling from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and doesn't need to add any insult to injury. Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is still awaiting sentencing.
The Freeh Report, which was conducted at the behest of the university, determined several members of the athletic department, including late coach Joe Paterno, knew of the abuse and tried to cover it up. Because of this, the NCAA slapped Penn State with several penalties, including a four-year postseason ban and scholarship reduction.
In addition to the change in the stadium's playlist, Penn State also will change the way players arrive at the stadium. Players will not wear their uniforms on the bus and instead arrive early and get dressed at Beaver Stadium.
The university also will debut a new intro video that will hype not only the football team, but also the other sports at the school.
These changes are in addition to the uniform changes already announced, which included the addition of blue ribbons and
nameplates for the first time in school history.