Neil Diamond’s popular ditty “Sweet Caroline” (BUM BUM BUM) has become a staple of karaoke bars and sports stadiums everywhere.
The tune is catchy, family-friendly and easy to sing-along to.
Everyone loves “Sweet Caroline” — everyone except Penn State University athletic officials.
According to Pennsylvania’s Altoona Mirror, the school will no longer play “Sweet Caroline” during football games. The offending lyric — “touching me, touching you” — is a, well, touchy line given the recent events involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Penn State is reportedly taking an array of subtle precautions in the wake of the scandal. The Mirror reports that the football team will no longer arrive at the stadium on game day in uniform, but will come to the stadium out of uniform and much earlier than in years past. The new measures seem to be an attempt to downplay the once-revered squad and make the entrance less of a glorified moment.
In June, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of sexual abuse involving young boys over a 15-year period.
Penn State and the late head coach Joe Paterno were handed down relatively harsh sanctions by the NCAA as part of the program’s punishment for allegedly covering up Sandusky’s behavior. The school has been banned from bowl games for the next four years, and must pay a $60 million fine.
Paterno, who was considered by some to be a living legend until his death in January of this year, was stripped of games won between 1998 and 2011. A statue of the coach in front of the stadium was torn down in July.