STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — They are immortalized on the facade in Beaver Stadium along with all of Penn State's championship and undefeated teams. The 2012 Nittany Lions is remembered for very different reasons that have nothing to do with their 8-4 record. Faced with fresh and severe NCAA sanctions, the 2012 team decided to stick together despite the opportunity to transfer without penalty to any other college football team that wanted them.
A new film titled "Saving the Roar" documents the team's unique and challenging situation. Two of the team captains from the 2012 Penn State squad spoke with us about the recent release.
"This was basically one hell of an unprecedented sports story that could translate not just to Penn State but universal themes across every fan base and every board room in America and across the world," said former Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti. Mauti played a huge part in keeping the team together in 2012.
His teammate Michael Zordich was another one of the team's leaders and strong force to keep the Lions in tact.
"You know a lot of people think they know this story, it's a very widely publicized story and everybody thinks they have an idea of what was going on," insists Zordich. "But you watch this thing and I think that once you get in to it, you realize you don't know the story at all because to be able to tell it from our eyes and to get our perspective out there was as true as it could be. I mean it means everything."
You can watch the movie and get more information about "Saving the Roar" on their website savingtheroar.com