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Fight On, Harrisburg (The College Years)
Seeing my old thread bumped to the front page (thanks, Abe!) put me in the mood to fire up The College Years again. I had to repurchase the game, which wasn't too much of a problem, considering it's been marked down to $4.95.
I've placed the Solecismic Eight in Pennsylvania, and I've renamed it the Commonwealth Eight. I'm taking over the football program at the fictional Harrisburg College, and we're turning back the clock to 2004, which happens automatically at the beginning of the game.
We are far, far from a football powerhouse. A quick look at the preseason rankings finds us at #117 among 125 Division I programs. (The college football universe in The College Years is "frozen" in 2004, with the conference alignments that were in place then. I have no problem with that; I'd prefer the more traditional lineup that I remember from my boyhood in the 1980s.)
I will certainly be trying to make our program much stronger than its current, not-even-mediocre state. But, at the same time, I am committed to establishing Harrisburg's academic standards to the elite level, on a par with Stanford, Duke, and Northwestern. We were dealt a good hand in this regard, as we're currently ranked #25 in Undergraduate Average, in the same territory as the service academies, in-state powerhouse Penn State, and conference rivals Reading and Williamsport. The players I recruit will have to demonstrate potential in the classroom as well as on the football field.
I'll be back in a bit with a quick look at the state of our program as we enter the 2004 preseason. I'm not sure how often I'll update my story; I'll play that by ear. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy having two TCY stories to follow. Please feel free to comment anytime. I enjoy being able to interact with any readers who are out there.
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