Illinois HC Bret Bielema has caused a stir this week amongst Penn State fans.
It started Monday, when he quipped “whatever the hell that means” in response to coach James Franklin calling for Penn State fans to bring “White Out energy” to Saturday’s game against Illinois at Beaver Stadium.
#Illinois Football HC Bret Bielema in his Monday Press Conference.
"They're calling for White Out energy, whatever the hell that means."
👉 https://t.co/70wtgCZ77l pic.twitter.com/Kh2Rg0QXC6
— Penn State Nittany Lions | Happy Valley Insider (@PennStateRivals) September 24, 2024
As soon as Bielema said that, everybody in the press room and watching at home knew it would be a story, and it was.
Bielema was not happy that it became such a hot topic, and took to social media Tuesday afternoon express his frustration.
The world we live in today where it’s easy to pick what you want to hear instead of what’s really been said,” Bielema wrote. “Respect is awesome because it can never be bought or faked… it can only be earned. This ENTIRE clip should give an understanding of what I think…. #famILLy #ILL.
The world we live in today where it’s easy to pick what you want to hear instead of what’s really been said. Respect is awesome because it can never be bought or faked… it can only be earned. This ENTIRE clip should give an understanding of what I think…. #famILLy #ILL https://t.co/Ykbx4DPMjS
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) September 24, 2024
Regardless of what Penn State fans think of Bielema, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t have a point here.
Yes, Bielema did say what everybody is saying he said, and yes, the 16-year head coaching veteran has been around long enough to understand that these are the types of things media runs with.
At the same time, the impression that Bielema doesn’t respect Penn State is inaccurate based on everything else he said about the program during his presser.
He complimented Franklin and the current team during his opening statement, and spoke with great respect about Penn State’s tradition during the answer that featured the White Out quip.
Bielema described Penn State as having “such an incredible crowd.”
“I’ve been in the Big Ten a long time,” he said. “But for me as a GA to see that for the first time was really overwhelmingly amazing. It’s kind of like a spaceship out in the middle of nowhere.”
“Their fans are intelligent. They have tradition, very similar to Nebraska. They’re been doing this for a long time. Penn State fans are accustomed to great football.”
Bielema coached against Joe Paterno several times and remembers hearing a speech from the legend.
“He was talking about uniforms, he goes ‘I don’t like our uniforms,’ but, he goes, everybody knows it’s Penn State. And I just have that in my mind of what this program has been built on.”
Biemela also remembered being on a Nike coach’s trip and seeing Penn State legend Franco Harris, who had come to see Sue Paterno in Hawaii after Joe had passed away.
“That’s the ultimate,” he said. “Of a player who had come to see a coach’s wife, I was like, ‘that’s a sign of the program.’ So huge respect for that. That’s pretty cool.”
But none of these quotes got attention, which is what Bielema is pissed about.
It’s not confirmed how Bielema feels about Barstool Sports writing an article about saying something he didn’t actually say but one could imagine he wouldn’t be too happy about that, either.
