I was 17 years old and in the back of a car on my way to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. In the preceding weeks, I had focused my college interests in that small engineering school and was ready to send in my application, until my high school guidance counselor recommended I stop at Penn State on the way. On the long drive from my home, I read the the Penn State literature and after ten minutes in University Park, I knew I had found my college home. Carnegie Mellon would fade quickly and after early acceptance, I would be Penn State bound the next Fall. I would later come to find out, the guidance counselor who recommended Penn State, was on weekends a college football referee, which had taken him to Penn State many times. So in a very real way, were it not for Penn State football, I would likely not have been told of Penn State or ever considered going there.
Before I left for school, my stepfather offered me a deal. Penn State had been experiencing a quality football drought and there were calls for the old, legendary coach to step down. My stepdad offered me either $300 for graduation or to take me to the Rose Bowl, the Big Ten championship game, if Penn State won the conference during my time at school. I accepted the hypothetical Rose Bowl trip, in ignorant hope of Penn State football success.
That Fall, I worked hard during my first semester and immersed myself in student life, studying, and club sports. I came to find out all club and school sports were supplied equipment and warmup gear by Nike in exchange only for a small white swoosh on the football jerseys. This was Coach Paterno's demand to support the university as a whole.
A huge part of my student experience also involved home football weekends. Every other weekend, myself and 90,000 of my closest friends cheered on the team and partied after for wins or to forget losses. It was regarding these games that I learned more about the "old" coach Paterno and was intrigued why fans loved him so. So shortly after the 10-2 season ended, I called the football office and requested a meeting. They asked if I played football and I said no. They asked the purpose of the meeting and I replied, "Because I was a freshman at Penn State and wanted to meet Coach Paterno." The rep politely took my name and number, but reminded me how busy the coach was. I shrugged off the rebuke and went about my business.
It was about two weeks later, when my dorm room phone rang. When I answered, the caller asked if I could be at the football office in an hour. I said yes and asked why. They said Coach Paterno wanted to meet the kid who wanted to meet him. I ran to the bookstore, grabbed a football and a sharpie, and headed to the office. I was ushered into the trophy room and that was when the legacy of a Coach Paterno and Penn State football first hit me. I stood alone in a cavernous silent trophy room, surrounded by bowl trophies, Heisman trophies, national titles, letters from presidents, and picture upon picture of Joe and his teams. A squeaky voice interrupted my awe, when Coach Paterno called out my name. He had a 15 minute conversation with me, while pointing out some of his favorite memorabilia. But honestly, although he dominated the conversation with the suddenly, and finally appropriately, meek Freshman, he kept the conversation focused on me. He asked about my background, what I was studying, and offered advice on working hard and succeeding in school. At the end of a whirlwind exchange, he signed my ball, wished me well, and even offered a spot as a student manager on the team, which I later declined to stay focused on my studies... as he had suggested.
I walked away from that meeting, that night the hero of my dorm, a Paterno fan for life. His love of academics and caring about even for me, the most lowly, clueless student, was obvious. He was a genuine role model. The more I learned about him since then, the more I realized how important he was to Penn State. When Joe first came to Penn State in the 1950s, Penn State was a small farm school. He preached hard work, academics first, and that no player was bigger then the team. The unprecedented success he would bring to Penn State football and resulting national exposure, brought attention, enrollment, and investment. He also shaped the very persona of what it is to be a Penn Stater. Work hard, be polite, don't be flashy, let the quality of your work define you, and be proud to be associated with Penn State. Not to mention, the millions in salary he donated back to Penn State for library improvements and campus programs.
My sophomore year, when crossing the quad one day, Joe approached from the opposite direction. As he neared, I noticed he was giving me a strange look. I lifted off my sunglasses and said, "Hi Coach." He replied, "Oh hi, [Max]. I didn't recognize you with your sunglasses." Over a year later, he had remembered me by name. Oh and did I mention that Fall I had cashed in my Rose Bowl trip and watched my beloved Nittany Lions finish an undefeated season in Pasadena? So in the middle of all that success and pressure, the "old" coach remembered the name of a meek Freshman he had met once.
My last interaction as a student with Coach Paterno came when I invited him to be a speaker for a student organization I represented. His assistant called me to say he could not make it, but later that week he called me personally to explain why he couldn't come and congratulate me on my senior year. I graduated a far different person from the angst filled Freshman who had first reported. I was ready for life's adventure and had the confidence and skills to meet the working world head on. I was ready because of Joe Paterno's lessons and influence.
Over the following years, I would write him often and he would reply personally every time, sometimes with a full letter, other times with a note. I would congratulate him on a good year or bad and express my appreciation for the lessons I had learned from him and the school he helped build. His replies were always handwritten, matching the script I watched him use on my football so many years before. The most memorable of my exchanges with him involved me expressing my pride in him and the program for benching several stars prior to a bowl game due to academic issues. We lost the bowl game badly, and yet I had never been prouder to be a Penn State fan. Even in the modern collegiate sports environment, with all the pressure to win, it was academics first and win with honor or don't play.
He would continue to coach for almost two decades after some called for his dismissal, with mostly winning seasons and always teaching his lessons to players, students, and alumni.
Obviously, these last few months have been a nightmare for Penn Staters everywhere. If the allegations against former assistant coach Sandusky are true, he destroyed lives and deserves whatever punishment the justice system can provide. My heart breaks for the victims, their families, and the families of the accused. In addition, thanks to the resulting media lynching of the football program, Paterno, and the university as a whole, my heart also breaks for all those unfairly vilified for the alleged disgusting actions of one.
To be perfectly clear, if anyone covered up or failed to report or thoroughly investigate abuse of a child, they are in the wrong and should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Those actions are so counter to the morals Penn Staters hold dear, they should be disavowed from Penn State forever. That said, I would remind all Paterno detractors that Joe witnessed nothing, but immediately reported what he was told by an assistant to the head of athletics AND the head of the campus police department. He then recused himself from the matter, as he should have, given that any further action on his part could be painted as tampering with the investigation on behalf of his former employee. No evidence has ever been shown or witness discussed that Paterno knew anything more or covered anything up. In fact, the grand jury specifically praised his actions for proper and timely reporting. However, when Sandusky was indicted, the public disgust at his alleged actions was so great, the board of trustees fired Paterno, a 60 year employee, who had devoted his life to the school and the students, by phone. He would not be allowed to coach for his beloved school again, even on the final home game two days later.
When students protested and rallied at his house that evening, the media directly accused them of supporting child abuse or being drunken youth that failed to understand the situation. The only thing those students couldn't understand was why the media was tearing apart their favorite educator and supporter, who had committed no crime. In their exploitation of the situation for ratings and their thirst to paint Paterno as a fallen saint, the press again purposely misled the public, this time falsely indicting the character of Penn State as a whole. In his defense, Paterno simply made a brief statement on his lawn, praying for the victims, thanking the students for coming, and telling them to go home and study. He would never address students again.
It was with tremendous sadness I learned of Coach Paterno's death this morning. However, I was not surprised that after being run out of town and associated unfairly with the most heinous of crimes, that the 85 year old Paterno succumbed quickly to a brief battle with lung cancer. The media is now throwing around the phrase, "death by a broken heart." In this case, I believe they are finally correct. Football, Penn State, and education were his life. With them all gone and his life's work in shambles, it was more than he could take.
As the years pass and the scandal properly focuses on the accused, Paterno will undoubtedly be recognized for his contributions to students on and off the field. However, nothing will undo the sad and cowardly way he was dealt with at the end of a selfless career.
Personally, I owe him more than I could ever express in those few letters. I am and will forever be a Penn Stater, molded by the school he helped define more than any other. Thank you Joe for all you did for Penn Staters everywhere. You will always be loved and remembered. You will always be the most important coach in my life.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad 3G.
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