Ode to Joe

Penn State fans approach most football seasons with a certain set of absolute truths in tow.

The Nittany Lion faithful know that Penn State will field a competitive team, having the sixth winningest program in the history of the sport will afford you that confidence.

They know that Penn State will take the field at Beaver Stadium with the classic and vanilla blue and white uniforms that have become a symbol of the university.

And they know that Joe Paterno will lead his players when they come bursting out of that tunnel in the south end zone.

All of those will be true again on this Saturday when Penn State begins its 122^nd season of football against Coastal Carolina, but 2008 may be the last year we can enjoy such assurances.

It’s hard to remember a season when there were as many compelling storylines as exist for this current crop of Nittany Lions. Promises of a new, explosive offense called “The Spread HD” may flip the strength of this team from its traditional home on the defensive side of the football across the line of scrimmage to the offense.

Can Linebacker U churn out its third consecutive All-American at the position its best known for even with the loss of Sean Lee?

Is this the year to finally beat Michigan (in the largest stadium in the country, I might add)?

How will the team respond to its newly-gained reputation as lawbreakers and thugs?

All of these questions will be answered definitively on the field over the next 13 weeks. But among all the unknown elements that encircle this team, one is going to loom largest.

Is this it for Joe Paterno?

As Penn State fans, we might want to ignore that subject and focus on the players and their quest to repeat the breakout season of 2005, but it’s not going to go away. Everybody is of an opinion as to whether Paterno, who just coached his 500^th game for Penn State in last year’s Alamo Bowl and will turn 82 this December, should remain on the sidelines or step down after this season, but a convincing argument can be made for both options.

I’ll spare you all the numbers and accomplishments that litter his resume and I won’t even attempt to influence your belief as to what his football fate should be. But I do ask one thing…

Respect Joe Paterno.

Forget about whether or not the game has passed him by, or whether or not he can still recruit the best athletes in the country. We all read and write this e-mail for one reason – we love Penn State. And I ask you, how many of you would love Penn State if it weren’t for this man?

I am not implying that you all applied to Penn State just so that you could be a part of that student section and cheer for the Lions (although some of us certainly did), but understand what Penn State was when this ivy-leaguer from Brooklyn stepped on campus. It was an under-funded farmers’ school in the absolute middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.

Penn State had no national reputation that would foretell the immense shadow that it casts on both the academic and athletic playing fields today. Joe put our school on the map. The visibility that the university gained through his efforts helped pave the way to increase enrollment and turn Penn State into the great research university that it is today.

Without him, Penn State would still be a reputable agricultural and engineering school in Pennsylvania, but with him it’s an institution and a brand that is recognized around the world. In that way, he is responsible for all the great memories we made at Penn State and all the money we’ll spend when we force send our kids there.

All of that has nothing to do with whether or not he has any clue as to what he’s doing out there on the field in 2008, but it does mean one thing - he sure as hell has earned your respect. Don’t take him for granted this season, because when he’s gone, he’s not coming back and it will be a long time, if ever, before college football or Penn St ate sees anybody similar.

So, please respect JoePa. Because someday, somewhere, some college football fan will ask you about him when he’s long gone, and you’ll hear that squeaky voice, and see that big nose, those thick glasses and those tightly cuffed khaki pants in your memory and realize that we had something at Penn State that no other fans had, so pay attention to it and admire it while it's still here.