I know that in the past week, basically everything there is to be said about Joe Paterno and his legacy has already been said, but I wrote this little editorial for my school paper and figured I might as well post it here as well. Enjoy.
When most public figures die at the age Paterno did, their legacies are already well established. Their obituaries are already written and the only thing that needs to be added is the date and cause of death. The same could have been said about Paterno until a few months ago when Jerry Sandusy, an assistant coach under Paterno for three decades, was indicted and arrested for forty two counts of child molestation over a fifteen year period. According to a grand jury investigation, Paterno was alerted to an alleged case of sexual assault by Sandusky in 2002 and reported it to his immediate superior and other university officials, but never the police. These revelations, of Paterno fulfilling a legal, but not a moral responsibility, led to Paterno’s dismissal as Penn State’s football coach on November 9 after 46 seasons leading the Nittany Lions.
In the aftermath of this scandal, we are still struggling to make sense of all that has happened in recent months and how it fits into the preconceived model of Paterno that had already been established for decades. He was seen as a shining light of academic and athletic integrity, the last remnant of more noble days as the sport became more commercialized and more compromises were made for the sake of winning. With these recent revelations, the idea of Joe Paterno died before the man himself did.
In hindsight, it was a legacy that no man should have been expected to sustain, but amazingly, for over four decades he did. In 1986, Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year and a glowing article written about him calls him “a beacon of integrity” and lists several other achievements, which make him sound more mythical than human. Even the author seems amazed that a man who balances both academic and athletic success, and whose team personifies those same virtues, could exist in the era of Barry Switzer’s and Jimmy Johnson’s successful yet brash Oklahoma and Miami teams.
In 1980, a cover story from Sports Illustrated on Paterno after a mediocre season led with him saying, “there’s a lot of people who think I’m a phony and now they think they have the proof.” In 1980, he was speaking of his skills as a football coach, but now, 32 years later, the words are even more applicable, but instead in regards to his integrity as a human being.
Now the man is gone, but Penn State is left with a statue erected to represent victory and integrity that now can also be seen to represent moral compromise. Meanwhile, everyone who ever cared about the man is left struggling to figure out what to think about him.
What can we make of his legacy now in light of all that has happened and been revealed? Do we continue to lionize him or should his legacy be entirely demythologized?
What needs to be realized is that Paterno was neither a hero nor a villain, but a flawed human as opposed to the mythical hero he was portrayed as for the final three decades of his life. It would certainly be a mistake to assume that an amendment to the end of his already written obituary is all that is needed just as it would be a mistake to act as if every positive thing he did for Penn State University and college sports has suddenly ceased to exist.
We simply need to embrace nuance and realize that condemning his actions in regards to the Sandusky scandal and praising his coaching skills and promotion of academic integrity are not mutually exclusive actions.
A Humble Case Against Naming Jeremy Lin “The NBA’s Tim Tebow” Either Out of Laziness or Moronic Exuberance
1) Tebow’s dad is a white dude who travels overseas to convert people. Lin’s dad came from overseas, from a place where, historically, white dudes have spent a lot of time converting people.
2) If all it took for an athlete to match Tebow’s crazy devoutness was giving a post-game shout-out to God or Jesus, the NBA would be at least 35% Tebow. Lin has not made a commercial for James Dobson, performed circumcisions, or been caught on the bench singing “My God is an awesome God.” No one has reported on the status of his virginity, and if God is truly awesome, no one is attempting to.
3) Lin hasn’t forced the Knicks to revert to a primitive offense.
4) Lin completes passes. And scores points. And does other stuff players with great fundamentals do. In the words of Kingsbury Factor’s Neon Bodoe, “No matter how the rest of this goes for him, if you were creating a point guard, you’d want him to have the exact skills Lin does — ball-handling, finishing, lobs, textbook (if a bit mechanical) jumper. Tebow throws the football like a monkey throws its own poop, with considerably less accuracy. Nobody would ever, ever intentionally teach their child to throw like a poop-chucking monkey.”
5) Lin doesn’t suck for three quarters.
6) To win with Lin, the Knicks don’t have to depend on a dominant performance by a defense on which Lin does not play.
7) Lin is not a physical freak who experts predicted would have more success at power-forward than point.
8) Lin’s dad wanted his kids to play basketball partly because he thought it would be a beautiful way for them to assimilate. Tebow’s parents home-schooled him to prevent assimilation, which, like Satan, has an “S” in it. And two A’s and an N.
9) There are tons of white dudes in the NFL. Almost all of them went to Florida. Several of them are quarterbacks.
10) Lin’s been overlooked from the beginning. Unlike 99.9% of all future NBAers, he struggled to win believers in high school, because, you know, he’s Asian. He got zero scholarship offers. Went undrafted. Got signed-n-dumped by a useless franchise. Got his Knicks shot because a sinking coach said (Bodoe again) “fuck it, let’s just see what this kid’s got in games we’re likely going to lose anyway, because we need to guarantee his contract by the end of the week or just give him up”.And because two guys got injured. But nobody was praying those guys would get injured/traded/benched so that Lin could start, because nobody had any idea Lin was on the team.
Tebow was a blue-chipper out of high school despite never attending high school. He won two national championships, one as starter, one as bulldozer. He got drafted too high because he was popular, and because Josh McDaniels has even more faith in his ability to fix shitty mechanics than Tebow has in Awesome God. There were rumors he’d go even higher because people in Jacksonville also think God is awesome, but NFL teams don’t spend 1st round picks on marketing initiatives.
He got his Denver shot because everybody wanted him to, either because they had an irrational faith in his abilities/Tebowness, or because they wanted to see him crushed under the weight of a reality that doesn’t care about how enthusiastic you are for football/Jesus/Filipino children.
11) Jeremy Lin is not divisive. Nobody hates him. Except Tim Tebow, in about three years, when despite Lin’s minimal proselytizing he becomes the Kim Kardashian of Christian professional athletes, and Tebow the latter-day Paris Hilton. Or he grows out of the religion thing, yet for inexplicable reasons (good at basketball; really loves basketball; no-contract-having, couch-crashing origin story), everybody still likes him anyway.
— Dat Nguyen
I second everything.
Today is Randy Moss’ 35th birthday and the receiver only has one birthday wish - another chance in the NFL. The controversial receiver last played for the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 season but feels he still has something to offer a team next year. In this 1997 photo, Moss, then a wide receiver for Marshall, scores a touchdown against West Virginia. (Al Tielemans/SI)
GALLERY: Rare Photos Of Randy Moss
It’s hard to really sum up what a transcendent experience it was to watch Randy Moss at Marshall. 50 touchdown catches in two seasons, what a little run.
Graybones: The "Polish Goalline" tactic and the Super Bowl
On the third to last play of the Super Bowl the New York Giants were penalized for having 12 men on the field. However the Giants largely benefited from the play: The 5-yard penalty put the Patriots at their own 49, but New England lost valuable seconds and was prevented from completing a pass by…
This is seriously brilliant. I was hoping that it was intentional when I watched and it really does make perfect sense.
Legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant diagrams a play during a 1980 photo shoot for TIME Magazine. The Crimson Tide could use some of their old coach’s brainpower as they prepare for Monday’s BCS Championship Game against LSU. (Neil Leifer/SI)
STAPLES: How two Aussies have become surprise stars for Alabama and LSU
MANDEL: Rematch debate evolving into offense v. defense dispute | Podcast
FINEBAUM: Alabama fans uneasy about Louisiana State winning game again
VIDEO: Will LSU-Alabama sequel be any different than their first meeting?
Best Onion headline ever: Tim Tebow’s Success Inspiring Other Teams to Start Shitty Quarterbacks
Happy Birthday Bo
Lee Corso drops an f bomb on College Gameday, Kirk and Chris lose their minds.
