Narrator: Now that we knew, we could act. We could contact trace. We could isolate. But we needed to move quickly. The screen is black. Background conversations overlap each other about food, playing children, holiday plans… The scene fades into view. It’s a living room on a Saturday afternoon in late Autumn. It’s 2018. The family is seated around a big screen TV. The “Fox Box” in the corner reads 3rd and 2, Wisconsin in Michigan territory. One conversation is louder than the background noise.. “they got this.. just run it twice this time.” The TV shows Wisconsin’s Alex Hornibrook drop back and turf a pass incomplete. 4th and 2. “That was dumb.. but ok… clearly you go for it here, you’ve got.. you’re gonna PUNT?!” Narrator: Paul Chryst, the previous Big Ten Coach of the Year, had forgotten that Jonathan Taylor existed. The Heisman hopeful superstar running back had literally not been stopped for less than 2 yards all year. And Paul Chryst didn’t give him the ball on 3rd or 4th and 2 all game. Paul Chyrst had been infected. The music gets a little louder
JUMP CUT TO: COMMERCIAL BREAK!! (IN ALL CAPS TO SIMULATE THAT IT’S TWICE AS LOUD AS THE NORMAL VOLUME) WHAT? YOU THINK WE’VE GOT THE BUDGET FOR A THEATRICAL RELEASE?! I’M STILL DEEP IN THE RED PAYING THESE BULLSHIT HOSTGATOR FEES. GET THOSE DONATIONS IN PEOPLE!! WE INTERRUPT THIS MADE FOR TV MOVIE SPECIAL WITH AN IMPORTANT UPDATE!! BRIAN KELLY IS LEAVING NOTRE DAME TO BECOME THE NEXT HEAD COACH OF LSU. WHEN ASKED FOR COMMENT, KELLY RESPONDED: “I’VE JUST ALWAYS FELT THAT I’M BORN FOR THIS JOB. NOW WHEN I GET UPSET AND MY SKIN TURNS PURPLE IT WILL BE FOR SCHOOL SPIRIT AND NOT “INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR DIRECTED AT AN 18 YEAR OLD KID”
Back to the show: It’s a split, comic book style layout with two scenes. Penn State vs. Iowa in 2018 and Penn State vs Michigan State in 2021. Both scenes show Penn State’s kicker lining up for a field goal, the 2018 scene is slightly ahead of the more recent one. A third and fourth frame fade into the corners showing Franklin calling timeout. The kickers in both scenes raise their hands in a mixture of frustration and confusion. The 2018 scene plays out with Pinegar(2018 PSU kicker) kicking the ball through the uprights. The 2021 (still slightly delayed) shows the normally reliable Stout (2021 PSU kicker) miss his. Narrator: it took him 3 years of trying, but James Franklin had finally succeeded in icing his own kicker. An acoustic guitar joins the piano and bass in the increasingly familiar melancholy musical composition.
The scene flashes back to the press conference, a few seconds earlier than the scene at the end of Act 1. The question is about the future at Penn State. Overlay the scene with headlines and reports of James Franklin being considered for USC. “We’re completely focused on Illinois right now. The Big House is a tough environment.” … “Sir, you’re playing Ohio State… in the Horseshoe…” Narrator: Things were about to get out of hand. Patient Zero was about to leave the Big Ten. This needed to be stopped NOW.
Short scenes of the 2021 football season play out in a collage of a return normalcy. Iowa knocks out PSU QB Sean Clifford adding him to the list of once hyped “could have been” Nittany Lions that James Franklin has broken (Christian Hackenberg, Trace McSorley). Iowa wins that game in a predictably boring Iowa way. Michigan adds injury to injury with 7 sacks on Clifford. The scene shows him wincing and then screaming at a poor assistant offering him a water bottle. Michigan plays an incredibly non-stupid game against Indiana for the first time in recent history. Michigan State beats Penn State. Michigan puts together a brilliant game plan and beats Ohio State for the first time since 2011. Overlay headline of Lincoln Riley being hired at USC. The musical composition begins to fade out. Narrator: They’ve found a way to beat it. Penn States collapse meant USC had hired elsewhere. And the teams that stopped it did so with little signs of infection. The wins were normal, clean, and mostly not dumb. The threat had been contained. Fade to black.
…
The music fades back in. As the volume increases you finally realize what’s been playing in the background the whole time. It’s this song. Made popular as the theme to 28 days later but I swear has been in every zombie/thriller/horror movie and TV show since… The scene fades in to 2019. Pitt is down 17-10 against Penn State. There are just under 5 minutes left in the game. It is 4th and goal on Penn State’s one yard line. Pitt lines up for a FIELD GOAL. The acoustic guitar is replaced with a distorted electric. The scene flashes now with a strobe light effect. The melancholy atmosphere has been replaced by a sense of dread and panic. Radio static filtered dialogue: “We thought it was containe..” “It’s spread outside the Big Ten!”. The kick bounces off the uprights, no good. “We’re too late!” As the song ends, just before the final note rings out, Pat Narduzzi’s voice echoes: “I have no regrets with the [field goal] call ..with the call.. with the ca.. with th…”
Black screen. Fast Scrolling Credits.
[Be Kind: Please Rewind]
That doesn’t even make sense! You said this was made for TV, not VHS… and nobody even has those anymore. I know… I just wanted to get one more joke in.. See you all next year!