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Rutgers Athletics is finally addressing important stuff

Finally, we can stop talking about coaching changes and facilities and get onto the salient and pressing issues of the day.

By rvc73
Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports

We've hired all the coaches we're going to hire for a while.

We've got fundraising underway for the new facilities.

Now....finally....we can address the most pressing question of the day.

Pork roll or Taylor Ham?

It apparently came up during the Town Hall meeting that Pat Hobbs and Chris Ash had last night at the Student Activities Center on the College Ave campus. (For those older than 35, the Student Activities Center is the Ledge on George Street by the river dorms.  And how did Pikiell get hired with a two syllable name?)

Hobbs said it was Taylor Ham, Ash said pork roll.

Now, we're talkin' Jersey issues.  And the Athletic Department jumped in with both feet.

Yes, a poll to determine what we call that uniquely New Jersey, er....food stuff.  For those outside the immediate area, you can check out the full citation but:

Pork roll (regionally known as Taylor Ham) is a pork-based processed meat originating and commonly available in New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, and sold as "Taylor Ham". Other producers entered the market, and subsequent food labeling regulations required Taylor to designate it as a "pork roll" alongside their competitors.

People, it predates football.  And it is only a year younger than Penn State.  It is a classic!

And people were getting very serious about this debate, as seen in these tweets.

No, Zuzu, sorry but it is not.  Is it okay to say you play a wind instrument?  No, you play the trombone!  But I digress.

Got processed meat?

Need pork roll?  You can get it in Piscataway.  Even order it online.  Really.  How do you not check out a website called jerseyporkroll.com ?  From the site:

Jersey is famous for far more than landfills, the Sopranos, and the lovely children of "The Jersey Shore" Show! From the Garden State came the genius of Thomas Edison, the talent of Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, the first baseball and football games, salt water taffy,  diners, and so much more. Maybe you're not so grateful for Jerry Lewis, traffic circles, or the Miss America Pageant, but one of the best foods in the world  comes from New Jersey, Taylor Ham or Taylor pork roll! Slice it thick or thin, tangy or mild, make the four little cuts around the edges so it doesn't curl when you cook it, and brown it till it's just the way you like it in a honest-to-goodness Jersey Diner.

We are bordering on a raison d'etre with pork roll.  Jersey pork roll.

Now, interestingly (or not), that website also sells scrapple.  And remember, you can't spell scrapple without crap.

Scrapple....another reason to not like Pennsylvania.  Read how it is described:

....traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then pan-fried before serving. Scraps of meat left over from butchering, not used or sold elsewhere, were made into scrapple to avoid waste.

Scraps.  Mush.   Semi-solid.  Congealed loaf.  They actually eat that?  I will not disgust you with the specifics of what goes into it but look up the word offal....which is not far from awful.  It is also "celebrated" on the Delmarva the second weekend of October during the annual "Apple Scrapple Festival" in Bridgeville, Delaware.  So we can also dislike Maryland for eating.....that.

Historical perspective....vis a vis Rutgers

The fact that Rutgers ran with this idea - a poll on which side you were on with pork roll/Taylor Ham - is fantastic.  Sports is supposed to be fun.  But....

What if Twitter was around in earlier times (which, crazily, means before 2006)  What would these Rutgers AD's have done with this issue?  My thoughts?

Fred Grunninger - what's pork roll?

Bob Mulcahy - we can do this but only if Coach Schiano says it's okay

Tim Pernetti - can we get a donation with their vote?

Julie Hermann - what's pork roll?

On the Menu

Get ready for pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwiches at the stadium.  I decided to chime in on Twitter.  If there was this much interest, let's serve it at High Point Solutions Stadium I thought.  Someone in athletics liked the idea.

You get your say at On the Banks

You may have voted in Athletics' poll, but you get another chance here....and you can tell us what you think?  Where did you first taste pork roll?  Who told you what it was called?  Should we be serving it in the stadium?  See you in the comments.