No one will ever mistake me for a Penn St. or Joe Paterno fan. In fact, along with Notre Dame, they were the school that I loved to hate growing up. However, I felt it was necessary to post strictly about the accomplishments of Paterno the coach because as college football fans we can't ignore the amazing record he had. The sport is much about tradition and because of that, the demise of Penn St. is a sad day. Similar to my post about Jim Tressel, I tend to believe that most big-time coaches have their skeletons, and I would rather just focus on the football.
46 seasons, 409 wins vs. 136 losses. 75% wins for 46 seasons! You could say he went basically 9-3 for 46 seasons in a row. That would be amazing enough. But consider: 5 undefeated seasons, 2 consensus national championships, 21 10-win seasons, and a very impressive 24-12-1 bowl record. When Penn St. moved up in competition, he had them ready to compete and win. I always dreaded an SEC-Penn St. matchup when I was young, because I knew Joe Pa would be tough to beat (went 8-5 vs. SEC in bowls). 37 bowls in 46 seasons, and 16 of those bowls were a "major". In those 16 major bowls, he went 11-5. He made hay in the Orange Bowl, going 4-1.
So Paterno is gone, the arrogance, the ugly glasses, the high-water pants, the bland uniforms, the linebackers that would take your head off. As hard as I pulled against those guys all those years, I will still miss who they were and what they meant for college football.
S
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4 comments:
He truly was a great coach.
I will honor his record and leave out my disgust for the feelings I had toward his persona.
j
JAC I think you have to look at the good and the bad. As with anyone he was not perfect. I do think he was overall a good person and a great coach. Their are enough stories from enough people to support that. Also he was from a different era where schools and coaches were more loyal. I will miss him, but do think he should also be judged for his mistakes as well. I can not forgive the coverup- it is too much, but Joe Pa had another side as well. loyalty got him his coaching records and caused his downfall.
Jonathan, that is a fair account. It is just a feeling I had my whole life and the more I read about his tenure, the more I realized I was right. He thought he knew better than the NCAA and Admin when dealing with his players.
j.
I agree with that assessment- that would be one of the bad
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