Joe Paterno; a Legend Passes
Posted by smarko1 on January 25, 2012
With the passing of Joe Paterno, it is the end of an era for much more than Penn State and its football program. Joe Paterno was a throwback to an era when loyalties to one’s employer and country were more than just personal conveniences. This was evidenced by the over five decades Coach Paterno stayed with one employer, Penn State University, where he lived modestly and donated millions to the University.
Yes, the end of Joe Paterno’s coaching days at Penn State were tainted by the Jerry Sandusky scandal. However, the fact that Paterno was shown not to be perfect does not detract from the significant good he brought to his University, its football players, and the greater world.
Recently, one of Joe Paterno’s over 5,000 football players that he mentored at Penn State, Mike Guman, gave an interview with his thoughts about Coach Paterno (posted below). In a few minutes, Guman who also played in the NFL, elegantly speaks for many of us Penn State alumni as he expresses how Paterno was much more than a football coach.
Joe Paterno touched many lives and the world is a much better place because of him. History will remember with kindness the man who many in recent years referred to as “Joe Pa”.
Jim Mahoney said
Joe Paterno genuinely loved Penn State and the players, students and fans have returned that love to him over the years. Joe earned a fraction of the salary of other Division 1 coaches and he donated most of that back to the school. He was instrumental in raising funds for the addition to Patee library years ago and donated over $4 million of his own money to the project. The joke goes that Penn state is the only university where the sports arena is named for a former University President and the library is named after the football coach. He was unique among major college coaches in that he felt his players needed to receive a good education in addition to their football experience. His team consistently had the highest graduation rate in the NCAA and he had 42 Academic All Americans in his career. Joe and his wife lived in the same modest ranch home north of campus for the last 50 years. His number was in the phone book and you’d see him walking around town without an entourage. Coach Paterno was the real deal and part of a era that is sadly now gone.