Not since the days of Wayne Hardin and Bruce Arians has there been flicker of interest in Temple football.
Jerry Berndt was a good man and had success at Penn, Ron Dickerson had the pedigree as a player and coached at Penn State, and Bobby Wallace was legendary as a D2 coach and won 3 consecutive national championships. But even with all this history on their side, none of these leaders could get the Owls over the top.
Enter, Al Golden.
This dashingly handsome generator of raw energy and enthusiasm has done what many local pundits said was impossible, and that is to put Temple football back on the national stage. Ok, Ok, it is the Mid American Conference, and no one is going to confuse Eastern Michigan with Oklahoma. But it’s not the stage they are playing on here that matters, it’s Director Golden and his cast of adolescent actors that are awakening the audience and have them shouting “encore’ after just about every game.
I did color commentary for Temple football television in the mid 80’s with Harry Donahue, and I never quite understood why a university in a major market like Philadelphia that played their games in a big time venue (then Veteran’s Stadium, now Lincoln Financial Field) struggled in numbers, both in the seats and the win column. But that is history now --- at least the wins are no longer a problem. The 2010 version of Golden’s baby birds are now 8-2 and headed for another bowl game.
Al Golden is blazing a trail that will end up a with a pot o’gold at the end of the rainbow, both for himself and for the Temple Owls. He may be the perfect choice as a successor for his aging but legendary mentor Joe Paterno at Penn State. But never fear Owl fans…for he has proven that it can be done on North Broad. And if you can make it there, you can make it just about anywhere.
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