Happy Valley. Who would have ever thought things would come
to this. Is there a college football program more historic then Penn St?
Historic highs come with historic lows. That’s an understatement. Would JoePa
ever step down from coaching? Yeah, when hell freezes over.
It has frozen
over, and frozen in the most ugly and disgusting way one could imagine. And it
doesn’t look like Nittanyville will be recovering any time soon. There are
plenty of questions that have yet to be answered, but let’s start at the
beginning. We Are..
..Penn St. shouted the crowd of students and supporters
outside of Joe Paterno’s home the night he decided to step down from his throne
as the coach with the most wins and bowl wins in college football history. Days
before that, assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had been accused of sexually
molesting 10 boys dating back to 1998 during his camp for underprivileged
children, The Second Mile, which took place for years on the Penn. St. campus.
Many of the boys, now broken men, claimed that they were
molested in the Penn St. showers, as Sandusky showered with them separately on
several occasions, some said they were molested in the hotel rooms that
Sandusky brought them to as they attended trips to away games with the Lions.
Hang on a minute, Sandusky was allowed to bring young boys
on a trip, which is one thing, but actually got away with sleepovers? Did
anyone question why Sandusky slept in the same room as the boys in the first
place? Did anyone ever exercise any moral judgment? Or was moral judgment
ignored as long as Paterno was the head coach. We are..
..Joe Paterno. The definition of Penn St. football. He was
the program. Since becoming head coach in 1966, and hiring Sandusky in 1969 as
assistant, they had accumulated two national championships, 409 wins and 24
bowl wins. A storied program that could never be touched from the ranks of
greatness. A program where football took the place of a scandal. A coach that
was willing to cover it all up, just for Penn St. football. In November it was
decided that because of the coming scandal and health issues that Paterno would
step down as head coach. Controversy ensued as many fans thought he was pushed
out. In January, Paterno passed away. Leaving some to question where his legacy
would go from here. We are..
..Accessories. According to Louis Freeh, former director of
the FBI who did a separate internal investigation into the matter for Penn St.
What he found seemed to stun some, and reassure others. University president
Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Shultz, athletic director Tim Curley, and
head coach Joe Paterno, all had known and covered up Sandusky’s crimes since
1998. Various disturbing e-mails and phone records proved this to be true.
Why is it that football is so much more than just a sport in
Happy Valley? Why did it take precedence to a disgusting act on multiple young
boys? Why did faculty and staff including the two time coach of the year
Paterno feel the need to cover up something so vile? The answer may be simpler
than one may think.
The obsession with football, the winning tradition, the
respect amongst collegiate athletics. All of this has gone over Penn St.’s
head. Think of it as the jock of your college or high school. They thought they
could do anything and get away with it. Any trouble that ensued for Penn St.,
Paterno could get them out of it. The president could get them out of it. They
were Penn St. football, they were legendary. They could not be touched. Until
Sandusky’s touch proved to be too much.
Is this what college sports teams have come to? National
powerhouses thinking they are too good for God? Did the four men mostly
responsible for this concealing really think that this was okay to cover up, or
are their heads almost as screwed up as Sandusky’s himself?
Legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson wrote in an
excerpt from his famous wave speech in his 1971 publication of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, “We had
all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So
now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill, look West, and
with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place
where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
Can you see that high water mark at Penn St? How far has the
crest of the wave fallen and rolled back? Is there any more water even left in
that ocean? We are..
..Torn. The feelings towards the University, the officials
and even the athletes are varied, depending where and who you’re asking. The Joe
Paterno statue is in jeopardy of being demolished. And now one question finally
remains. Was it worth protecting a football program? Better yet, is it worth
protecting a sports program? I
suppose these kinds of questions may never be answered. Whatever comes of this
will come and go with time. But they have surely surfaced over everyone’s mind that
has an even remote idea about this tragedy.
Will this be a lesson in history? Will there be something
learned from this? God can only hope- because the school that once thought they
were as powerful as Him- has now frozen over.
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