Can't believe it has been 9 years.
- Thread starter Sooner Lion
- Start date
Always respect what that man did for this great University. Narrative be damned.
Joe was a great guy, a great coach and a great family man. A little story. My great grandmother was turning 100 in the early 80's. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She said she wanted to meet Joe. I called up Joe's secretary, Mel, and told her what I wanted to do. She checked with Joe and he was glad to do it. I drove her up to Joe's office and they spent about 20-30 minutes together, we took pictures, etc. I think they both had a great time talking, it was in June so Joe wasn't real busy. She lived to 103 1/2 and always talked about it. I still keep that picture in my office. It made me very happy that I could do that for her and that Joe was so willing to do it. The funniest part was her giving him hell for not wearing a hat on the sideline in bad weather. Joe told her he didn't want to cover up his beautiful head of hair. LOL
I have one that I’ve always hesitated to tell, but what the heck. I attended the Hazleton campus in the mid 80’s then transferred to University Park in ‘87. My buddies and I took a day trip to State College to hunt for an apartment. This would have been late winter/early spring ’87.
We roll into town on College Ave. and make a right on Shortlidge onto campus. My buddy is a bit of a lead foot in his mid-70’s era Chevelle and he took the turn a little faster than he should have. We were talking, the music was blaring and he was probably not paying too much attention. All of a sudden he hammers the brakes. Some dude had stepped off the curb crossing the street from Simons toward the White Building. That’s when we realized my buddy almost clipped Joepa, just a few weeks after the National Championship.
Good story, had the almost same experience a few yrs back in Pittsburgh at a coaching clinic at Robert Morris, we came down the hill into the motel and I can see this tall guy walking, Gray hair, he disappears for a sec and then pops back up under the awning, heading for the entrance, my buddy is driving, not paying attention, I yell at him and he hits the brakes just in time, damn near ran over the General.. We get inside to check in and I say sorry about that coach, didn't mean to almost run you over, he slaps me hard on the shoulder and says "didnt even notice, sometimes you better off not to keep your mouth shut", with a big ole smile on his face. You forget Knight is 6'5..
He was a great man. Not perfect but GREAT.
Last saw Joe at spring practice 2011. Also the last time I saw my HS coach Joe Sarra alive. The next trip to State College was July 23, 2012. The bastards took Joe's statue down on my birthday July 22. The next day I made the trip to SC to pay my final respects to Coach Sarra.
Ironic that when I was in SC for spring practice I read the article by Sara Ganim about Jerry Sandusky. Anyone else find it strange that no one on the BOT read it?
Joe was the best......no if ands or buts.
Ironic that when I was in SC for spring practice I read the article by Sara Ganim about Jerry Sandusky. Anyone else find it strange that no one on the BOT read it?
Joe was the best......no if ands or buts.
Paul Jones posted this on his facebook page and i hope that he doesn't mind that I share it with you all here
“You know what Jonesy, you’ll be a hell of a quarterback if I don’t have to choke you first” - Joe Paterno
Coach Paterno,
I chose to go to Penn State because you were the most stable coaching position at the time. Never would I imagine being a part of your last teams. It’s been 9 years since you passed, and I think I’m starting to understand all the lessons I missed years ago. When all the other schools in the country came and saw about a 5 star quarterback, you wanted me to hand the phone to my family so you could get their trust to have me. When I came to campus and passed classes without going to classes, you sat me down. When I got frustrated and stop applying myself in school and talks of my scholarship being pulled, you kept me on scholarship to keep me from going back home. Even if I didn’t agree with the decisions made about Pj Jones the Quarterback, you were always more concerned with Paul Jones the person. You told us “Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things.” and removed from playing and transitioning into coaching everything I wasn’t paying attention to. Why the stories of Coach never taking shortcuts, talking to students throughout campus, the no hats in the building, no name on the back of the jerseys, black shoes and basic blues. It’s all about being an asset to things bigger than you. I THANK YOU FOR BEING A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE. At 28 years old and having faced some tough challenges I didn’t see coming, I genuinely thank you for forcing me to sit down and address myself as a person. I am a better person because of it, I will be a good husband and father when those days come. I appreciate you!
-Jonesy
“You know what Jonesy, you’ll be a hell of a quarterback if I don’t have to choke you first” - Joe Paterno
Coach Paterno,
I chose to go to Penn State because you were the most stable coaching position at the time. Never would I imagine being a part of your last teams. It’s been 9 years since you passed, and I think I’m starting to understand all the lessons I missed years ago. When all the other schools in the country came and saw about a 5 star quarterback, you wanted me to hand the phone to my family so you could get their trust to have me. When I came to campus and passed classes without going to classes, you sat me down. When I got frustrated and stop applying myself in school and talks of my scholarship being pulled, you kept me on scholarship to keep me from going back home. Even if I didn’t agree with the decisions made about Pj Jones the Quarterback, you were always more concerned with Paul Jones the person. You told us “Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things.” and removed from playing and transitioning into coaching everything I wasn’t paying attention to. Why the stories of Coach never taking shortcuts, talking to students throughout campus, the no hats in the building, no name on the back of the jerseys, black shoes and basic blues. It’s all about being an asset to things bigger than you. I THANK YOU FOR BEING A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON MY LIFE. At 28 years old and having faced some tough challenges I didn’t see coming, I genuinely thank you for forcing me to sit down and address myself as a person. I am a better person because of it, I will be a good husband and father when those days come. I appreciate you!
-Jonesy
Yes, I have always found strange the notion that ALL members of the BOT were unaware of the Ganim story.
Joe was a truly special human being and his leadership is missed today.
My sister and I were at a PSU wrestling match the day Coach Paterno passed. We just happened to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner after the match and they seated us at the corner table with all the Joe Paterno pictures and memorabilia. That was a tough day, almost the equivalent of losing your own father. I know one thing, there is a hole in Penn State University that will never be filled.
I know this may be hard to believe but I will never go to a PSU game and watch the team run out of the tunnel without expecting Joe to be there. When the Blue Band plays, I actually fight back a tear, thinking about all he meant to PSU Football. 1966-2011 is hard to forget. I say this as a person who thinks that James Franklin is the perfect fit for PSU. I don't think I could have sustained my loyalty if Bill O'Brien stayed. Just how it is with me.
I don't think that's true. David Jones (the board member) emailed Spanier about it one day after the article. There was another email from Steve Garban within two weeks. Spanier has also said he kept Garban appraised on everything throughout 2011. And Baldwin briefed the entire board in May 2011, sticking mostly to what was in Ganim's article.
What I find far more interesting is the lead investigator on the Sandusky case testified at Sandusky's trial that he was totally unaware of Ganim's article. See 6/19/2012 transcript, Rossman testimony at p.31:
Q. And would it be fair to say that a number of those individuals were interviewed after a newspaper article appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot News on March 31, 2011?
A. I can't answer that. I'm not aware of that article.
Excellent info, my friend. And FWIW I suspect Mr. Lubrano was leaning pretty heavily on the sarcasm with his initial statement.
One of life's ironies .....all the lies and deceit by the prosecutors, star witness for the prosecution and state police investigators and Tim and Gary get charged with perjury.
