Cedar Crest grad Mike Gross starts PSU football newsletter after 27 years at LNP

It is a leap of faith. It suggests elements of putting oneself out there and going for it. It’s also filling a need for coverage and cherished information.

Beyond all of those things, Gross Rational Product is a natural next stage, an organic evolution, in a remarkable writing career.

Writers must write, after all. There are no true substitutes or compromises. Mike Gross has letters, words, and sentences coursing through his veins, pumped from a heart filled with ideas.

“I think that’s exactly what it is,” said Gross, the owner, operator, and content producer for new Substack-hosted publication Gross Rational Product. “I think this is a logical extension of what I’ve been doing for a long time, with me having more control. I can pick my spots more, but I’m dedicating just as much energy to it as I ever have.”

Gross Rational Product is the fruit of Gross’s fertile mind and writing talents sharpened by 42 years of fine tuning and trial and error.

At its core, Gross Rational Product provides in-depth coverage of Penn State football through game coverage, feature stories, analysis, and reader interaction. But the format provides the prolific Gross the freedom to expound on other college football issues, national sports news, additional Nittany Lion athletic topics, and even politics – whatever moves him at any one particular moment.

“It’s sort of a practical consideration,” he said. “When I got to the end at LNP (Lancaster Newspapers), the kind of writing I like to do wasn’t as valued as much as it used to be. I don’t want to just cover high school sports in this point of my life. It’s risky in the sense that if I was putting a lot of time into it and not making enough money, I’d have to rethink it. But I can’t comprehend not writing any more. If I’d just be doing the freelancing stuff, it’s not going to scratch the itch.

“I really do hope that people want to check it out. I’ve always been compelled to tell people what I think. This may be a purer form for that than I’ve ever had. It’s just an outlet for me to empty my brain.”

At the end of March, Gross retired after 27 years of sports writing at LNP, at a time when the newspaper/online outlet decided to stop covering Penn State football. Gross launched Gross Rational Product days later and over the last five months has published 130 written posts and about 25 pieces of content from a pair of podcasts he is involved with.

“As far as publishing content, I’m sticking to the (original) goal,” said Gross, a native of Lebanon and a graduate of Cedar Crest High School. “As far as the nature of the content, I think I need to tweak it a little bit, maybe do more deep dives, things you might see in a magazine. But from now until the end of the Penn State season, 90 percent of the posts will be about Penn State, something like five times a week, very much like I was doing at LNP.

“There are a couple of national (web)sites that cover college football and there’s a Penn State franchise associated with them. It’s almost like obsessive coverage. That’s not what I’m really offering. But those cost substantially more than what I’m offering. I’m hoping people want to read more of a columnist’s take on things. Hopefully, people also want to read what I want to write beyond Penn State.”

Delivered in a newsletter form from the writer-friendly Substack platform to a subscriber’s email inbox, Gross Rational Product costs $5 per month or $50 per year to receive.

“I’m initially disappointed in that I’m trying to figure out how to monetize it, and I have to realize I have to be patient,” said Gross. “I’ve never been a businessman and I’ve never been a salesman. I’m retired. I’m not doing this full-time. But I’m enjoying it and it’s a work in progress.

“I think it’s unique in the state of Pennsylvania. With Penn State (football), the interest might at an all-time high. But the coverage by traditional media might be at a low for the last 40 years. That’s why I think this might be viable. LNP doesn’t cover Penn State anymore. I’d like to put myself and my product in front of as many alumni as possible. I’d like to go farther in that area.”

Following a deep postseason run last season, this year’s Penn State football team is poised for similar success. The Nittany Lions’ rabid fan base has been clamoring for another national championship for more than 40 years.

Expectations will be high when Penn State opens its 2025 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 30, at home against Nevada.

“This is the first time in the 20-some years I’ve been covering Penn State that they’re the best team on their own schedule,” said Gross, 66. “Penn State is a little ahead of Ohio State, and if they’re ahead of Ohio State, they’re ahead of everyone else in the Big Ten. If you look at Penn State’s recruiting class of 2022, there are five or six players on the team who could’ve turned pro. Then they went out into the transfer portal and got three wide receivers and a middle linebacker.

“This feels very much like this is their shot. (PSU head coach James) Franklin is pushing all of his chips into the middle of the table. The anticipation is at an all-time high and that’s saying something.”

If sports have shown us anything over the years, it’s that people love a winner. Gross possesses abilities to make viewers think about Penn State football on a deeper level.

“Most of my current paid and unpaid subscribers are familiar with my work from the past and are Penn State fans,” he said. “Over my years at LNP, I had great interaction with fans. That’s pretty much the audience right now, as far as I can tell.”

For additional information, go to Gross Rational Product on Substack.