Wednesday, November 9, 2011

It wasn't supposed to happen like this



I can't believe this. JoePa is retiring at the end of this season. That means this Saturday is the last game he will coach at Beaver Stadium and I can't go. :(

This is so freaking sad. I feel like a little kid who just got kicked in the stomach and told there's no Santa Claus. I'm so sick at the whole thing. All the media talks about with regard to this incident is Joe, because that's the name they're familiar with (oh and BTW, if you're not familiar with the name Jerry Sandusky, you have no business being a so-called sports writer) so that's who they focus on dragging down.

Every article talks about how Joe didn't handle the situation properly. But I have yet to read the article that says how he should have handled it. Joe went to his superiors with the information and they did nothing. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn't go to the police and say "Somebody told me they saw something" - police don't answer calls like that. Why didn't the witness who saw the incident go to the police himself? He was an adult and as such, maybe HE should have been the one to handle the situation better. That's who I have issues with. Him and Jerry Sandusky. LEAVE JOE ALONE!

I know Joe is in his eighties and would probably retire soon, but it should not have been this way. I will always think of JoePa as the best college football coach ever. I was fortunate enough to attend many games as a student and as an alumni, watching him pace up and down the sidelines with those thick glasses and those ridiculous pants. I was even able to attend the 1987 Fiesta Bowl where underdog Penn State beat Miami to win the national championship my senior year - a memory I will never forget. I've even met Joe a few times on campus. He's like a God on that campus, and he could be as aloof as he wants, but he's not. He always smiles and says hello. Not a lot of sports figures are as friendly as that.

But everyone is reading all the negative press and jumping on the hater bandwagon. I understand not everyone went to Penn State and shares my love of JoePa, but I just don't feel like reading the negative bullshit anymore. The worst has happened - he's announced his retirement. I got the news, yeleld and swore a lot, slammed the phone down and went outside for a tearful walk. I don't need all the negative commentary. If something terrible happened to someone you really admire, would you want to hear someone else bash them? Neither do I. So I think I'm just going to avoid reading anything online for the next little while. I have enough else to do anyway. People need to realize the university is far more than this incident.

Oh, and for the record I am and will always be Penn State Proud!

1 comment:

D-A from PA said...

YOu ar absolutley right! It was not supposed to happen as it has been unravelling for the last 48 hours...you watch, he wil get a lawyer and be reinstated when they find the School Ath;etic Director was at fault.