The Not So Happy Valley

Isn't it amazing what can happen in the span of a week?  Not only can an entire program be put under major scrutiny, but also a legendary head coach is fired, the president of the university resigns, and the entire campus makes the hit Three Days Grace track "Let's Start A Riot" sound like something out of a children's tv show.  Seriously though, Penn State fans and students are just nuts. 

However let's not forget about the victims in this whole situation.  From a personal opinion, Paterno did everything he was suppose to do.  He covered himself legally and he did the right thing by promisiing to retire at the end of the season.  The board of the university however saw things a bit differently.  Not wanting to deal the mess that it would cause having Paterno coach the last 4-5 games of the season, the decision was made late last night to fire the 84 year old head coach of Penn State who's been a coach at the program for the past 61 years. 

While I do not condone the actions of Paterno's staff in the slightest, the way this situation has been handled has been purely dreadful.  Joe Paterno took responsibility for his staff's action and told the board that he will reitre at the end of the season in order for them to not worry about forcing him out or not.  He did the right thing.  The board on the other hand did not.  While I've never been a Penn State fan myself, I still recognize the fact that this man is a legend in the sport world and an honorable thing to do would've been to let him finish this season the right way.  Not like this.

Joe Paterno gave 61 years of his life to this program.  He won 2 National Championships.  He holds the records for most bowl appearances and wins.  And he's the winningest coach in NCAA Football history with 409 wins.  You can't let this man go like this after everything he's done for this university.  I understand the reasoning behind it, but sometimes reasoning is just not enough to change public perception.