Today is a very sad day here at Off The Mark Thoughts. As a Penn State graduate, and former sports journalist for The Daily Collegian, I have a very warm place in my heart for Joe Paterno. He was everything you aspired to be as a man: honorable, loyal, tough, and loving. I know that the Sandusky scandal will leave a black mark on his legacy, but it will never change my opinion about the man I had the pleasure of meeting a few times.
Every one that attended Penn State has a Joe Pa story. Whether it was a funny anedote from a press conference, or a personal moment that was not spectacular, but still impacted you for life. I have two stories, but the one that always sticks with me is when I ran in to him before the first men's basketball press conference during my junior year.
I was walking toward the entrance to the press room at Beaver Stadium with my friend and co-host of a basketball radio show, Mike Wolf. As we approached the door, which for you Penn State fans is right next to where the team enters the stadium from the bus, a dented-up BMW sped up Curtain St. and came to a sudden stop right across from us, and out pops Joe. His hair is a little disheveled, and he looks like he had just remembered that he had a press conference that day. The 80-plus year old coach begins to speed walk toward the door, and Mike and I arrive at the door at the same time as the legendary coach. To our surprise, instead to ignoring us and entering the stadium, Joe engages in some small talk as he holds the door open.
I'll never forget that small talk, which consisted of Joe saying, 'Crazy weather, huh? Very windy,' and us nervously nodding and saying, 'yes, coach.' As we entered the press conference room, Joe hung back and said, 'Have a nice day,' as he walked over to the director of sports information.
That moment has stuck with me not because it was the moment I met a legend, but because despite being a legend, he treated us like we were equals. He didn't need to say anything. If he had walked by in silence, we would have thought no less of him, but he didn't. That's the Joe Paterno that should be remember, not the one who made a terrible mistake in an otherwise virturious life.
Rest in Peace, Joe. You will be missed!
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