Joe Paterno has been laid to rest.A private funeral mass as well as a public memorial service was held last week in which grief-stricken Nittany Lion mourners bid farewell to the “head” of Penn State nation.
He died at the age of 85 from lung cancer. Ten thousand tickets for the public service were swept up in minutes. Thousands lined the streets for a glimpse of the electric blue hearse that carried Paterno’s body through the streets of “Happy Valley.”This time there was nothing to be happy about.
Paterno dedicated his life to Penn State.He was recruited as an assistant coach at the age of 23 and spent his life nurturing a program designed around hard work and academics.He championed the ideal of the true student-athlete.
Players who were not recruited with money, players who excelled in the classroom and players who stayed out of trouble.Joe Paterno and his beloved Penn State was the picture of the ideal college sports program.Academics were so important to him that he donated the money for the university library, which bears his name.
His coaching legacy will be included with only a very few of the greatest including Bear Bryant.Paterno spent six decades as a Nittany Lion football coach, 46 of them as head coach, and several months in the wake of a heart-wrenching child sex abuse case involving a former assistant coach who was also Paterno’s trusted friend.
Many have said that his legacy was tarnished after this. Not me.
His accomplishments include five perfect seasons and two national championships.He is the No.1 ranking coach in major college victories.In 1972 the New England Patriots tried their best to woo him away from college football, but Paterno told the NFL team that his opportunities for helping the lives of young people were much greater at the college level.
His gratification centered on molding his players into successful men, both on and off the field.
Success with Honor. This is the motto Joe Paterno uttered for six decades to his players.No one will ever debate how sincerely he meant what he preached.
In his last days he told a reporter, “My life has been filled with sunshine. A beautiful and caring wife, five healthy children and I got to do what I loved.How many people are that lucky?”
Joe-Pa as he was so lovingly called by the Nittany Lion faithful probably should have retired at least a decade ago.Even after two sideline injuries, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away.It was his life.
Jay Paterno, son of Joe-Pa, said his father’s “truest moment” came in the last few months, as he felt blessed in the face of obstacles. He led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer, holding hands, a Nittany Lion tradition after every game. Then he recalled kissing his father the morning he died and whispering his final words.
“Dad, you won,” he said. “We love you. You can go home now.”
