Joe Paterno dies at age 85

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Joe Paterno, ex-Penn State Nittany Lions coach, dies at 85 after 2-month cancer fight - ESPN

Wow, interesting timing. I always thought he wouldn't live long after leaving PSU, much like how an old man typically passes away quickly after his long-time wife dies, but obviously I couldn't imagine he would go out the way he did. His legacy has certainly changed over the last few months, but I guess this is still sort of sad.

[Hog1]

RIP Joe......
Not the ending I would have imagined.
My prayers will go out for he and his family....

[mooby]

R.I.P. Joe Paterno. Definitely not your typical storybook ending. Shame that his fall from grace happened like this, and this is how it ends. My thoughts go out to his family.

[mredskins]

One of the saddest endings in history. RIP Joe

[firstdown]

Died a disgrace to his family, Penn State, men in general and college football.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Died a disgrace to his family, Penn State, men in general and college football.

That is a bit much.

[NC_Skins]

I"m not glad the guys dead, nor am I upset about it. I will not say "rest in peace" though because I believe Joe doesn't deserve any peace. If there is a hell, I hope he rots in it for eternity.

I think what's the biggest travesty (besides Sandusky's crime) is how the public just overlooks it and puts guys like this on pedestals all because he's some iconic football figure. I felt the same way about Ted Kennedy too, they put this man on a pedestal when he was in fact responsible for another person's death and had it covered up. NO amount of good deeds can wash away those crimes. I'm sorry. You may think I'm a dick, but I have a huge intolerance to people like this and to bullies.

Good riddance.

[Chico23231]

RIP Joe Pa. Bad situation and I do think the stress of the scandal accelerated things. Nothing but prayers for the family. Legend

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

I"m not glad the guys dead, nor am I upset about it. I will not say "rest in peace" though because I believe Joe doesn't deserve any peace. If there is a hell, I hope he rots in it for eternity.

I think what's the biggest travesty (besides Sandusky's crime) is how the public just overlooks it and puts guys like this on pedestals all because he's some iconic football figure. I felt the same way about Ted Kennedy too, they put this man on a pedestal when he was in fact responsible for another person's death and had it covered up. NO amount of good deeds can wash away those crimes. I'm sorry. You may think I'm a dick, but I have a huge intolerance to people like this and to bullies.

Good riddance.

hmmmm here we go. Where I dont think FD comment was over the line, I do think yours certainly are. I do understand your anger, but "rotting in eternity" is a bit much. I think you need to give it a rest on this day of pain for his family.

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

hmmmm here we go. Where I dont think FD comment was over the line, I do think yours certainly are. I do understand your anger, but "rotting in eternity" is a bit much. I think you need to give it a rest on this day of pain for his family.

Yeah, tell that to the families of all those kids that got molested while he sat back and watch. If you want me to feel sympathy for this guy than you are mistaken and it shows a ton of your character and morality. In fact, if it were YOUR kids that got molested, you probably wouldn't be saying jack right about now. I've said I feel for his family and the loss they have suffered. They had nothing to do with it and for that, I'm sorry they lost a loved one. Joe on the other hand, can rot in hell for what he did (or didnt in this case) do.

..but guys, we should be nice because he was a legendary football coach. If this were some joe schmoe..meh....we'd bash him too.

[firstdown]

I can understand why someone would say "out of respect for the family" but I don't think they are on this site in the other sports section. I personally think he is just as guilty as the molestor for allowing it to keep happening. Carma is a bitch.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Yeah, tell that to the families of all those kids that got molested while he sat back and watch. If you want me to feel sympathy for this guy than you are mistaken and it shows a ton of your character and morality. In fact, if it were YOUR kids that got molested, you probably wouldn't be saying jack right about now. I've said I feel for his family and the loss they have suffered. They had nothing to do with it and for that, I'm sorry they lost a loved one. Joe on the other hand, can rot in hell for what he did (or didnt in this case) do.

..but guys, we should be nice because he was a legendary football coach. If this were some joe schmoe..meh....we'd bash him too.

Haven't you noticed that no one is bashing the janitor who failed to report Sandusky? That guy certainly was a Joe Schmoe. The whole point of this Scandal vis-a-vis Paterno was that in failing to take decisive action Paterno fell short of the moral standard and example he had set for himself and the university, even if he had obeyed the law. He was and should have been held to a higher standard. But where did that standard come from? Well, it come from the way he had lived his life, and to just pretend that he didn't have a profoundly positive impact on thousands of football players and hundreds of thousands of students is to completely miss why Paterno's involvement in this was a news story in the first place. So while the last two months aren't forgotten and forgiven just because he died, it's perverse to just blindly deny all the positive things he accomplished in his life. Anyway, human beings - including Paterno - are genuinely complex, and rarely the type of unambiguously good/evil characters we see in movies like Star Wars. Unless these people are named NC_Skins or Firstdown, in which case they are unambiguously irritating beings who have been sent to this world solely to annoy me with their insensitive and ill-considered posts.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I can understand why someone would say "out of respect for the family" but I don't think they are on this site in the other sports section. I personally think he is just as guilty as the molestor for allowing it to keep happening. Carma is a bitch.

Karma is spelled with a K you stupid idiot.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I can understand why someone would say "out of respect for the family" but I don't think they are on this site in the other sports section. I personally think he is just as guilty as the molestor for allowing it to keep happening. Carma is a bitch.

Are you referring to the Chicago Area Radio Monitoring Association, Carbon Monitoring for Action, or the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy? Those chicago guys are dickheads.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Haven't you noticed that no one is bashing the janitor who failed to report Sandusky? That guy certainly was a Joe Schmoe. The whole point of this Scandal vis-a-vis Paterno was that in failing to take decisive action Paterno fell short of the moral standard and example he had set for himself and the university, even if he had obeyed the law. He was and should have been held to a higher standard. But where did that standard come from? Well, it come from the way he had lived his life, and to just pretend that he didn't have a profoundly positive impact on thousands of football players and hundreds of thousands of students is to completely miss why Paterno's involvement in this was a news story in the first place. So while the last two months aren't forgotten and forgiven just because he died, it's perverse to just blindly deny all the positive things he accomplished in his life. Anyway, human beings - including Paterno - are genuinely complex, and rarely the type of unambiguously good/evil characters we see in movies like Star Wars. Unless these people are named NC_Skins or Firstdown, in which case they are unambiguously irritating beings who have been sent to this world solely to annoy me with their insensitive and ill-considered posts.

Very well said. The main reason I said "it's sort of sad" in the initial post is for the exact reasons you pointed out. While he went out with a severely tarnished legend due to his inaction regarding the piece of garbage, Sandusky, it's hard to discount the fact that he gained that legendary status based on more than just wins.