 |
| This was the talk of national radio and ESPN TV on Jan. 26, 2011. |
 |
| Game time is 1 p.m. Saturday. |
In the crowd of about 35,000 fans at the Temple vs. UConn game on Saturday, there will be one person who can't lose.
His name is Robert Burton.
You won't see them, though, unless you have a pretty good set of binoculars that can peer through some stained glass or the ESPN3 telecast catches a glimpse of him because Burton will be in one of those fancy heated club boxes.
 |
| Our prediction on this game, published on June 4 in this blog (before Montel Harris got here). |
UConn or Temple is going to lose, that's a given, but Burton will be a winner either way.
That's because if UConn wins, Burton will get to see his favorite school win an important college football game at Homecoming.
If UConn loses, he'll get to say "I told you so" and probably will be trying to suppress a smug grin behind the stained glass. Largely because Hathaway left, Burton has since patched up his well-publicized differences with UConn.
Burton was the guy who donated $3 million for his name to be given to the Robert Burton Football Complex, then wanted it back after UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway hired Paul Pasqualoni instead of Steve Addazio.
 |
| The Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Club parking lot, at Silver Lane and Simmons Road, is where visitors usually tailigate at UConn but the official TU alumni tailgate will be at the Gray Lot across the street. |
Now Addazio is at Temple and Pasqualoni is at UConn.
That's why this week is Robert Burton Week and Saturday is unofficially Robert Burton Day at Rentschler Field.
It didn't matter that Temple already hired Daz in the days before Randy Edsall resigned, Burton wanted UConn to go after him anyway.
I've got to give Hathaway a lot of credit for showing some ethics in picking the best available person and not raiding a fellow institution of hiring learning's most recent hire.
At the same time, it looks like Temple made the better hire in that the Owls' stock appears rising while the Huskies seem be going in the opposite direction.
The Owls can further solidify that general consensus with a solid win on Saturday.
In all games, there are winners and losers.
In this one, on this day, at least there is one person who could be both.
 |
| Rentschler Field forecast for Saturday. |
