I was in State College today and had lunch at the pub inside The Penn Stater Hotel on Innovation Blvd. I hadn't been there in a bit and was happy to find this guy proudly displayed in the center of the bar.
Legends at the Penn Stater today for lunch
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I guess the university’s approach with Joe’s legacy is to acknowledge it very slowly and safely. Thus, it will be done at select places and times, without fanfare and with a low profile, where it will be visible primarily to alumni. Cowardly, but better than nothing.
I guess the university’s approach with Joe’s legacy is to acknowledge it very slowly and safely. Thus, it will be done at select places and times, without fanfare and with a low profile, where it will be visible primarily to alumni. Cowardly, but better than nothing.
I will disagree. Nothing is better than being fed table scraps. Nothing keeps the flame burning for full recognition. Nothing is what I will continue to give Dear Old State until those bastds in charge give Joe his due.
I guess the university’s approach with Joe’s legacy is to acknowledge it very slowly and safely. Thus, it will be done at select places and times, without fanfare and with a low profile, where it will be visible primarily to alumni. Cowardly, but better than nothing.
They are,after all, are excellent cowards.
Amen.I was in State College today and had lunch at the pub inside The Penn Stater Hotel on Innovation Blvd. I hadn't been there in a bit and was happy to find this guy proudly displayed in the center of the bar.
I guess the university’s approach with Joe’s legacy is to acknowledge it very slowly and safely. Thus, it will be done at select places and times, without fanfare and with a low profile, where it will be visible primarily to alumni. Cowardly, but better than nothing.
This graphic has been there for 20 years - unchanged.
Great! I hadn't been there in a few years and must have forgotten about this, but either way it still up and that's somewhat amazing.
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Perhaps you should have posted this if you've known it was there? I've been to this pub many times but today must have been the first time I took the time to look around? Either way it's nice that it's there, although this thread will likely be it's demise!
It has. But that it survived the Great Purge of 2012 is (at least) notable.
Fair (
) point. I get it. The university has a long, long way to go to win me back, but it’s nice to see Joe recognized somewhere on campus. (The library doesn’t count because the university was required to leave his name on it.)
I was in State College today and had lunch at the pub inside The Penn Stater Hotel on Innovation Blvd. I hadn't been there in a bit and was happy to find this guy proudly displayed in the center of the bar.
Photo has been there for over 10 years
Because they didn’t know it was there! An error of omission not commission on there part.
I was in State College today and had lunch at the pub inside The Penn Stater Hotel on Innovation Blvd. I hadn't been there in a bit and was happy to find this guy proudly displayed in the center of the bar.
Back in Jan. 2012, my daughter and I were having dinner there on a Sunday night. They have very good burgers, among other good food. The place was all but empty, when who walks in but new HC Bill O'Brien and sits down a few seats away from this painting of Joe. He was ordering his dinner and having a beer. He was staying at the Penn Stater during his back-and-forth trips to NE to coach both the Pats and PSU. Anyway, we said hello to him on our way out, and he was very nice and accommodating, even engaged us in a brief conversation that he initiated. I had told my daughter that we would quickly say hello and welcome and leave him to himself. But he had no issue with sitting near the Joe wall display, even with an almost empty dining room and bar all around him.
Of course, the OGBOT had not yet made Joe into the full pariah they would just a few months later, with $8mm worth of collaborative help from Freeh. Still, I tend to believe that Bill had no issue with Joe at any time. He stayed in contact with former players who overwhelmingly supported Joe.
I'm not sure about Joe personally but he lashed out at "Paterno People".
“You can print this: You can print that I don’t really give a [expletive] what the ‘Paterno people’ think about what I do with this program. I’ve done everything I can to show respect to Coach Paterno. Everything in my power. So I could really care less about what the Paterno faction of people, or whatever you call them, think about what I do with the program. I’m tired of it.
Fair (
So you think it's nice this painting is up and view this as a goodwill gesture?
Used to see George Pa in there frequently on game weekends. Also ran into Franco several times and Brent Musberger once. Always was a nice place to relax with a drink. Staff was always friendly. Some may remember years ago they had free pool tables and free hot bar grub, which was quite good. This may be dating back to the "Scanticon" days.
One time my now-deceased uncle went in there with my Dad, my brother and I. Uncle was not a man of means, by no means but wanted to buy us a round. With him being unfamiliar with State College and more accurately, Penn State prices, we all had a draft. She rang it up and gave him the slip and he looked at it and famously said "I wanted to buy a round for us, not the whole place!" We still laugh about that.
One time my now-deceased uncle went in there with my Dad, my brother and I. Uncle was not a man of means, by no means but wanted to buy us a round. With him being unfamiliar with State College and more accurately, Penn State prices, we all had a draft. She rang it up and gave him the slip and he looked at it and famously said "I wanted to buy a round for us, not the whole place!" We still laugh about that.
Some of our fan base were and is whack jobs. I have no doubt he got frustrated when those whacks had to comment on everything he did.
I agree with that. Any coach was bound to be compared to Joe even without sanctions. He should have realized this when he took the job.
My biggest problems with O'Brien were that he stayed on with the Patriots when we needed a coach to hold things together during a difficult time, and that he was more interested in using PSU as a stepping stone to the NFL instead as a destination.
As far as I'm concerned The Penn Stater Hotel is off campus. I don't give the BOT credit for this.I was in State College today and had lunch at the pub inside The Penn Stater Hotel on Innovation Blvd. I hadn't been there in a bit and was happy to find this guy proudly displayed in the center of the bar.
I may be mistaken, but I think was a quote from the Davey Jones article that O'Brien later distanced himself from. It was a few years back, so I'm not certain. It very could have been that Jones put the 'Paterno people' idea in his head and he responded to what Jones said in that context. I htink O'Brien was right... he did show respect to Joe. And as he got to know Joyner and the Joyner faction of people, he realized who/where the real problem was.
If I recall, SuePa reached out to his family soon after they arrived and extended a welcoming hand. She was also at the rally that greeted the players as they opened up training camp that summer.
Yes, any coach was going to be compared to Joe, to the better and to the worse, regardless of the circumstances. Same as any coaching legend, any sport, for at least a decade or until those fans' expectations are met/exceeded.
Off topic:
I'm not sure how I feel about O'Brien's tenure here. He did some terrific things in keeping things going, and he had his eyes set elsewhere, too. That's a tough conflict to overcome, and certainly not fair to players or fans or school.
Still, looking back, given that he was named coach, I think we are better off having him stay just two seasons rather than longer. So with that in mind, I don't feel as strongly about how he used us as I once did. He's an NFL coach at heart, we get that.
Under normal circumstances, with his personality and coaching strategies, it would have been interesting to see how he would have done with that talented group coming back in 2012 with the recruits ready to come aboard. That 8-4 in 2012 was remarkable, but with the talent level we had, not unrealistic in retrospect even with the scholarship and transfer sanctions. A 10-2 record in 2012 with no restrictions would have led to an excellent recruiting class in '13, another strong season, and who knows how that changes the overall dynamic? Bill most likely would have still gone to the NFL after 2013, but the cupboard was full. James would have still been a prime candidate, but I think other, longer-term / higher profile guys would have been also.
I think I get why you say that, but all of Innovation Park, including the Penn Stater, is part of campus. The BOT holds their meetings at the Penn Stater, and no doubt many of them frequent Legends.
I also am of the belief that almost to a person, the OGBOT know they screwed up and know that there should be no animus toward Joe. The statue won't come back, but they aren't goign to take down anything else. (Imo, they should be putting up more of a tribute to him, but that's another discussion). They even argue with their insurance carrier that the Admins were never told of any abuse, so they did not hide anything, so therefore the insurance carrier should pay.
Another Legends story from a friend:
A number of years ago, John Cappelletti autographed his photo on the wall in Legends in exchange for the kitchen staying open long enough to make him a late night, off the menu, pizza.
That autograph is now faded, and he needs to get back and re-sign!
I don't think 8-4 was that great given the talent remaining on that team. There's no way PSU should have lost to Ohio or Virginia. IMO O'Brien didn't have them ready. In the other hand the win over Wisconsin was unexpected.
IMO that 2012 team would have had a great chance to win the BiG if not for the sanctions. Add Fortt, Fera, Brown, & Redd to that team and PSU wins 10 games easily and possibly 12.
And give us back 22!
Another of Joyner's digs at JVP, within his legacy of trying to supplant "Success with Honor" with "Malfeasance with Fester".
But I'm not bitter.
There are two plaques on Beaver Stadium honoring “Joe Paterno’s coaching career”.
One is on the south wall at gate A.
The other is in the lobby of the entrance to the All Sports Museum.
They are not enough recognition for what he did for the University but, they haven’t been removed. Bring back the Statue!
One is on the south wall at gate A.
The other is in the lobby of the entrance to the All Sports Museum.
They are not enough recognition for what he did for the University but, they haven’t been removed. Bring back the Statue!
I think 8-4 was a great season given the way they lost the Virginia and Ohio game as well as after the draconian sanctions that were put in place and that there was no chance of going to a bowl games. We did lose a couple of players to the no consequence transfer option. I loved the way that Coach O’Brien coached with a nothing to lose mentality and went for it on fourth down on a regular basis. I believe that Bill O’Brien played a large part in keeping the winning tradition alive and contributed to setting the stage for Coach Franklin’s success.
I agree that that Joe isn’t recognized at the level he deserves, but don’t understand people who act like his contributions to Penn State were systematic scrubbed from the official record as though it was a Stalinist purge.
With the exception of the statue (which even Joe didn’t like) all of his namesakes are still there.
Paterno Library
Paterno Fellows Program
Peachy Paterno at the Creamery
Recognition throughout the All Sports Museum
Recognition throughout Beaver Stadium
Should he have more? Probably. But it’s not like there was a master plan to blot him from memory as the OP suggests.
We'll have to agree to disagree about that.
Dude, without Paterno the Penn State you think you know would be unrecognizable!
Because the twats never knew they were as being visible. That is why they were not removed
I’d love to see Joe Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium . It would end all the nonsense. I would give the statue to the Board member chosen by a poll on McAndrews Board and the name of a good colon & rectal surgeon. If Bowden has a field it’s the least we can do. Those who know me I was often a critic of his coaching but never of commitment or integrity. As I have met many of his players over the years most would go to war for him. He was loved and respected by “his boys”
I believe that had there been no Paterno smear by the OGBOT et al, there would be many, many more tributes to his legacy on campus. As one example, there are enough pieces of Joe memorabilia from his personal archives that a 'wing' or room could be added to the all-sports museum solely for Joe and his contributions. Not talking about a separate Paterno museum ala Bear Bryant's on the Bama campus, just an expansion or addition to what is already there. And if not within the all-sports if space prohibits, then somewhere within an existing structure around the sports area in East Campus.
What we don't see now was/is part of the plan to make sure JVP and his legacy were/are minimized. That's just a short-sighted tactic and wrong, driven by a small cadre of XXXL egos.
I hope that at some point we see a personally-funded JVP museum or building of some sort downtown or within State College. If the Paterno family has a say in its design and contents and overall message, I think they would go along with that. And then the University would realize that they whiffed on a nice money-making venture that also promotes all the great contributions from Joe and family to the benefit of the school's goodwill. All my opinion.
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
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Not the OP but IMO no. Not a goodwill gesture. Using Joe’s likeness or achievements can be very profitable, provided it doesn’t result in some backlash. So unless they fear backlash, they’ll use it whenever possible. But to celebrate Joe the way they always had is still more risky than PSU has the appetite for.
For example, the statue is a lightening rod. There’s just too much controversy still. So that’ll be the last sort of thing to return.
All these scandals elsewhere are awful. I wish the abuses being exposed with increased momentum hadn’t happened. But they’re paving the way towards increased understanding of how these situations happen, despite the good intentions of the many.
Once the coast is clear to once again celebrate a great man disgraced by a terribly unfortunate situation, those celebrations won’t be quite the same as our celebrations of the man, which never changed despite the landscape. Those celebrations will be shallow and opportunistic once the landscape has changed and the coast is clear to reap the upsides without fear of the downsides.
