409 Wins Are Great! Why Am I Not Jumping for Joy?

Today's announcement by Senator Jake Corman (R-PA) that the NCAA has repealed the sanctions against Penn State, including restoring the 112 wins the football team achieved during the years 1998-2001, was a pleasant surprise.

111 of those wins were achieved through the coaching of Joe Paterno. One of those wins was achieved through the coaching of interim head coach Tom Bradley after Coach Joe Paterno was summarily fired on November 9, 2011 by the Board of Trustees.

But let's not forget that these wins belonged primarily to the players, not the coaches.  And so especially for the players, I am happy.

Paterno Legacy by Jay Paterno: A Must Read!

I was lucky enough to learn that the Barnes and Noble bookstore in State College had a few copies of this book before anyplace else in the country.  I was able to drive down to the bookstore and pick one up right away.  Never mind that I almost got a speeding ticket on my way to pick up the book...luckily the police officer that stopped me was kind!

Once I acquired it I couldn't put it down, even though I went through an entire box of tissues while reading it.  There are painful moments, rich moments, humorous moments.  It is very well written.

Two Ways to Honor Joe Paterno This Summer

When I think of Joe Paterno and his impact on Penn State University, I think primarily about his commitment to developing young men - his football players - into educated and responsible citizens who contribute greatly to the world we live in.

Yes, Joe also won a lot of football games - 409 to be exact - but in fact Joe didn't win a single one of those games by himself.  His players were the true winners.  What Joe did so beautifully over 61 years of service to Penn State as a coach was to establish the right conditions and discipline for those team members to excel. 

And to excel while earning their degrees at a demanding university that cuts no slack to athletes. I know, because I teach at Penn State and have to fill out forms on athletes' progress in my classes - they are very tightly monitored to make sure they are attending classes and succeeding in the classroom.  Regardless of their position on the team, if a football player is slacking off in the classroom, Joe Paterno would tell you "Flunk him.  It will teach him a lesson."  I know because this situation happened in my classroom and that is exactly what Joe Paterno told me. 

Joe Paterno and his wife Sue were also great humanitarians.  They gave back (and his family continues to give back) to Penn State University and to numerous Pennsylvania charities.  Economically, the success of Penn State football during Joe's tenure contributed greatly to Centre County businesses and tourism and certainly the quality of life.

For these reasons, the efforts to Honor Joe through the film "The People's Joe" and through a very exciting bench sculpture project "Joe's Bench",  planned for downtown State College are worthy of your support.

These projects are designed to be projects by the people and for the people. Many sculptures are created due to the generosity of a few large donors with deep pockets, but the intent here is to reach out to all who want to share in the story and pay tribute to a man who truly deserves our respect.

Recently, I was visiting the City of Amsterdam, and while wandering through the Red Light District, happened upon this bench which pays tribute to Lieut-Colonel Alida Margaretha Bosshardt, a Salvation Army leader who was known as the "Angel of Amsterdam".   I didn't even know who she was at the time, but felt compelled to sit on this bench and curious enough to find her biography online. 

Just think...how cool would it be if we had something like this in State College to honor a man who would never want to be described as an angel, but who had such an impact on so many lives through his work? 
 
To find out more about the film and bench projects and to contribute $1, $5, $25, $100 or more towards this effort, visit igg.me/at/joesbench

And please...spread the word....this project will happen only with broad-based support.
  

Penn State Football: Is This The Feeding Frenzy the NCAA Wished For?

Is this what the NCAA intended last year when, as part of the NCAA sanctions announced a year ago, they reduced scholarships for Penn State football by 20 scholarships per year for four years, and they allowed current Penn State football players to leave for other schools without penalty?

Fortunately many of the schools represented here in this mascot collection exercised restraint last summer on recruiting current PSU football players, and the one school that did not, Illinois, does not have a mascot so is not in these photos.  Chief Illiniwek, now gone, was never a mascot.  He was a spirit, I was told when I tried to acquire one the first time Penn State played Illinois in Champaign.

 Photos by Carolyn M. Todd.  All Rights Reserved.

Sure looks like the NCAA wanted a recruiting picnic full of mayhem that would cripple if not destroy Penn State forever.   A feeding frenzy of sorts.

And even if none of these schools pictured here directly tried to destroy Penn State, they are in fact represented on the NCAA Board and Executive Committee that discussed, approved and authorized the sanctions announced by Dr. Mark Emmert on the basis of a management advisory opinion piece called the Freeh Report rather than follow its own investigation rules.

Fortunately, few players transferred, thanks to the quick thinking leadership of the 2012 football team senior leaders, and the fact that the new coaching staff at Penn State, led by Coach Bill O'Brien, had earned the team's respect.

However, with 80 scholarships gone over the next four years, I can't help but think that Penn State's ability to be competitive over time, even with the most brilliant coaching staff around, will be crippled.

The feeding frenzy might not be so dramatic as it was last summer, but if nothing is done about these draconian scholarship reductions, sanctions that are particularly punitive to current students and players who had nothing to do with Sandusky's criminal behavior, it will be felt over time.

Penn State Football: On Losing Your Voice When It Comes to Sandusky

Media critic John Ziegler had it right in his newly published online book, "The Betrayal of Joe Paterno", which I recommend that you access here at his website www.framingpaterno.com.  In Chapter 5, entitled "The Firing", Ziegler describes the late night decision of the Board of Trustees to fire Joe Paterno via cell phone at 10 p.m., and then the ensuing "riot" downtown after it became known.

This riot of a few thousand people who were downtown when they heard the news consisted of a trash can fire and the toppling of a news van that created serious damage to the van.  But because all the national media were present, the images became something much more like a full scale riot in the minds of the public.

Never mind that five times as many students turned out two days later for a candlelight vigil on the lawn of Old Main to pray for victims of child abuse, and students and alumni in the next several weeks also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for child abuse prevention causes at that Saturday's game and beyond.   That didn't get nearly the publicity or the press images.

Penn State Football: Will Bob Costas Create New Discussion on Sandusky Case?

Tomorrow night, on Wednesday May 29 sportscaster Bob Costas will air a long-awaited discussion about the Sandusky scandal.  He has been rumored to have second thoughts after the Paterno family commissioned a report authored by former US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh regarding the Freeh Report's inadequacies.

According to ESPN:  "In addition to Thornburgh, former FBI supervisory special agent and former state prosecutor James Clemente, and Dr. Fred Berlin, a treating physician, psychiatrist, psychologist and expert in sexual disorders and pedophilia at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine, contributed independent evaluations of the Freeh Report."   The report was entitled "The Rush To Injustice Regarding Joe Paterno."

According to NBC's Vice President of Communications Adam Freifeld, “(The Freeh Report) will be the focus of Costas Tonight tomorrow at 11pm ET following hockey on NBCSN.”

Is this good news or bad news for Penn State fans waiting to hear some positive news about the role of Joe Paterno in this scandal?  It remains to be seen what Costas will say and what he will conclude.
One has to ask about the timing of this broadcast.  The show is not exactly prime time coverage!

Those of us who have lived through this saga remember all too well how overly-consuming the media coverage was in November of 2011.  Prime time coverage was not a problem when it came to media suggestions that former Penn State head coach and college football icon Joe Paterno was somehow at fault for not stopping Sandusky's crimes.

As to any effort at vindication, it appears to me that the media has given such news second fiddle at best.

Here is what John Ziegler, independent documentary film maker and creator of the website www.framingpaterno.com has to say:

"Having spoken to Bob Costas twice about the facts of the case and the nature of the show he might do on this, I am confident that he will take a fair and objective second look at the facts here. Unfortunately, he will not be taking an advocacy role here and the size of that audience at the time with limited time to promote won't be ideal."

Bob Costas' show will air on NBCSC immediately after the hockey program is concluded.  That is anticipated to be about 11 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

Penn State Football: It's About That Culture Thing

Why did Louis Freeh determine that Penn State had a so-called "football culture"? 

In his report, Freeh states the following key finding:

"In the Fall of 2000, a University janitor observed Sandusky sexually assault a young boy in the East Area Locker Building and advised co-workers of what he saw.  Also that evening, another janitor saw two pairs of feet in the same shower, and then saw Sandusky and a young boy leaving the locker room holding hands.  Fearing that they would be fired for what they saw, neither janitor reported the incidents to university officials, law enforcement, or child protective agencies."

Later in his report, Freeh describes an interview with one of the janitors involved:  "Janitor B explained to the Special Investigative Counsel that reporting the incident 'would have been like going against the President of the United States in my eyes.' 'I know Paterno has so much power, if he wanted to get rid of someone, I would have been gone.'  He explained, 'football runs this University,' and said the University would have closed ranks to protect the football program at all costs."

And so according to Freeh, even though a more senior janitor discussed with these two janitors how to report what they saw, the two janitors involved decided that because they were fearful of losing their jobs, they would not report a tremendously awful crime.  Or at least that's what they told Freeh twelve years after it happened.

Penn State Football: Will Renewing Old Rivalries Be Worth It for Penn State?

Especially if the old rivalries do not include Pittsburgh?

With yesterday's announcement that Maryland will be joining the B1G conference in 2014, and with today's announcement that Rutgers will also join, I have been amused by some of the comments on my Facebook home page deriding the additions.

I suppose, if you were looking at these additions from solely a football point of view, and if you weren't one to travel to watch games in person, you might ask, "What's the point?".   Penn State has played Maryland in football 37 times.  The record against Maryland is 35 wins, one loss, and one tie.

The last time Penn State lost to Maryland was in 1961.  One might look at this move and say that Penn State had found another team to beat up on every year.  In fact that's what numerous people are saying.  Ho hum.  So what?

Penn State Football at Iowa: It's Time to Win at Kinnick Stadium

It's been a long dry spell at Kinnick Stadium, and I'm not talking about the weather.  In fact, as I write this, it is a misty morning in Iowa City.  The prediction for later today is for clouds giving way to sun and a high of 60, low of 40, winds of 5 mph with gusts up to 7 mph. Right now at 9 a.m. it feels just a bit raw and damp outside.

Yesterday it was windy enough that I started to worry about what I had brought to wear to the game.  So I went to the mall across from the hotel to buy yet another layer of fleece and some light gloves to complement my hooded sweatshirt and light jacket.

With the game starting at 7 p.m. we could be wearing cotton shirts at 3 p.m. and wishing for down jackets at 11 p.m. So layering seems the best approach.

Penn State Football: First Ever Homecoming Game - Guest Blog by Kelly Burns

 I am pleased to introduce you to Kelly Burns, a former student who is a passionate football fan.  Here is her perspective on her first Homecoming game after graduating in May with an MBA from Smeal College of Business.  She is also a good photographer, and shares her new perspective from the Club Seats at Beaver Stadium. Enjoy!  Carolyn Todd

This past weekend marked my first Penn State Homecoming Weekend as a ‘full-time’ alumnus. After completing my undergraduate degree at PSU in May 2010, I jumped right into the MBA Program that August and spent an additional two years as a graduate student in Happy Valley.

Penn State vs. Temple: Did the Rainbows Send A Message?

It was appropriate that my 300^th Penn State football game would be against Temple.  Temple has been Penn State’s most consistent competitor, year in and year out, through the twenty-five years I have been regularly following Penn State.  And every one of those Temple games that I have witnessed has been a win. 

The NCAA would differ, but in these awkward days of describing past games that were wins but not really losses either, something called “vacated”, I know what I saw each year.  And since 2005, I have the scoreboard photos to prove it.

In fact, we haven’t lost to Temple since 1941, other than those vacated wins. Yes, Temple is an in-state rival, of sorts.  Yes, there have been some close games, including last year at Lincoln Financial Field, when Penn State barely got away with a 14-10 win.  Temple made all Penn State fans nervous when they led most of the game.  But Penn State prevailed at the end.

Penn State vs. Navy: "Fumbles" Donchez and a Shaky Chris Bahr

Let me first say I wasn’t a Penn State fan in 1974.  I was clueless about college football, and didn’t know anything about the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

But my husband Terry was a fan. In 1970 he moved from Missouri to Pennsylvania to work at Air Products and Chemicals headquarters in Allentown, PA.  His first Penn State football game was actually at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and he was very upset when Penn State won that game.  He was rooting for Missouri.  Before that, he was an Ohio State fan.

But then he moved to Pennsylvania.  Always college football fans, he and his former wife were convinced by the realtor who sold them their house that they should buy Penn State season tickets.  And so they did. 

Terry has held those tickets ever since, and has attended a total of 435 Penn State games since 1970.  The last 272 games he has seen are in a row, and include all home, away, and bowl games played since September 1990.  Terry was at the last Navy vs. Penn State game played in 1974.

An Open Letter to Penn State Football Players and Fans

Today, we are all astonished by what the NCAA determined as sanctions starting in 2012 for alleged cover-ups by senior leaders in the Sandusky child sexual abuse crimes. 

It is not our purpose here to comment on the appropriateness of those sanctions or formulate an opinion on whether or not the Freeh Report is the right basis for making those judgments.   Others are making those sorts of statements elsewhere.

What we do know, and perhaps it’s ALL that we know, is that none of this had to do with you, the Penn State football players.  And we wish to personally thank you for your great conduct over the past several months.

My Students' Favorite Joe Paterno Memory - THON 2009

After yesterday's funeral procession I wandered back to my classroom to see if any students showed up for class.  I had no intention of cancelling class yesterday but the funeral procession, scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m., didn't really start until about 4:00 p.m.  Class was at 4:15 p.m.

So I called someone in the building around 4:10 p.m. when it was clear I would be missing at the start of class and asked them to put a note on the door stating that if I wasn't there I was at the procession and class was cancelled.

I figured that all my students would have the same attitude that I did.  After waiting since about 2:30 p.m. on Curtin Road for this procession to come by, I wasn't about to miss it.  Judging by the many emails I received from students stating that they missed class because they were at the procession, I think I made the right call.

Walking back to the Business Building from Curtin Road, I broke down into tears.  It was one of those moments where it hits you what kind of loss this really is.

It's hard to describe.   Joe Paterno was such a patriarch for Penn State.  So very much loved.  And so as the hearse drove by and I shot photos while fighting back tears, it reminded me of losing my father, and I couldn't help but think of my mother as well.   For the students, losing Joe is like losing a grandfather.  We felt like we knew him that well, even if our interactions with him were few and far between.  He had that much impact on each of us.

As I got closer to the Business Building, I ran into one of my students.  He, too, was fighting tears, and was headed to my classroom.  I told him we weren't having class, but I was headed there to see if anyone wanted to just sit and talk about Joe.  I asked him if he wanted to do that and he said yes.

Three other students also arrived at the classroom, and also wanted to just stay and talk.  It was about 4:30 by this time. 

So we sat and reminisced and I asked them what was their favorite moment with Joe Paterno.  They mentioned the speech he gave at Thon 2009.  It was the first time in a long time that Joe and Sue Paterno had attended Thon, and it was a surprise visit at the height of Thon weekend.

So we found the video and played it, along with a clip of JoePa's 324th win.  I had already shown the 400th win tribute in class the other day.

And so here is my students' favorite memory, and a reminder, if you haven't done so already, that Sue Paterno and her family had asked that donations in Joe Paterno's memory be made to either THON or to Pennsylvania Special Olympics.

Video:  Joe Paterno's speech at THON 2009.

Penn State Football: Remembering Joe Paterno

I hung up the phone stunned. I had just asked the Reverend Charles MacEachern (Charlie) to officiate at our wedding. He was the retired pastor of my family church in Massachusetts, a family friend. The year was 1987.

Charlie asked about Terry.  I started with, “Terry is an avid Penn State football fan.” 

His response was “Carolyn, that’s all I need to know.  Anybody who’s a fan of Joe Paterno will make a great husband.” He immediately agreed to marry us.

Charlie explained, “Joe Paterno is my hero.  He doesn’t compromise academics to win.  He does college football the right way.” 

And so my marriage to Terry Todd started on that note nearly 25 years ago.  After that phone call, I figured I had better learn more about Joe. 

And what I learned as I observed and came to love Penn State football was how precious an individual he really was.

  

I remember the first time I met Joe Paterno.

Penn State Football: God Bless You Joe Paterno!

Penn State Football: Twelve Prayers for the Year 2012

Last year I created a little ditty based on the Twelve Days of Christmas about going to the Outback Bowl.  This holiday season, I’m in a less frivolous and much more serious mood.   

In fact, I would just as soon pray for Penn State University and its football team.  I guess I’ve been inspired a bit by the last home game against Nebraska on November 12th, when both the Penn State and Nebraska teams prayed on the field before the game. 

I look to prayers in this context primarily as a healing mechanism.  It doesn’t matter the religion you profess. If you prefer to substitute the word “hope” for “prayer” then that works as well.

Either way, there is a lot of healing needed right now when it comes to Penn State University and the situation we are confronted with given the allegations by up to twelve reported accusers who claim that they are victims of child sexual abuse by former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. 

Except for perhaps Prayer #1, there is no order to these prayers.  They are all important, and I don’t want any reader to think that somehow one has priority over the other.    And so I will mix it up a bit.  Please don’t read anything into how I have ordered the thoughts.

Be forewarned, this is a very long blog post.  But there is a lot to pray for. 

Penn State Football: JoePa's 409th Win Delights; Fan Behavior Disappoints

The Pre-Game Warm-Up

When it comes to weather, yesterday's game forecast was about as bad as it could be.   So bad, in fact, that my husband Terry threatened to stay home.  Really?  End a 265-game attendance streak at Penn State football games because of a little snow and inconvenience in October?  At a home game?

He actually thought about watching Joe Paterno's record-breaking 409th win on TV? Assuming, of course, we won?

Penn State at Northwestern: It's Time to Believe!

It would have been an okay trip without the win because the game was in Chicago and Chicago is always fun, a favorite big city that we could visit often and never tire of its offerings.   

But it became a fantastic trip with a win over a team that is better than its record, one that we were very worried about.  That gave Penn State all it could handle last year in Joe Paterno's 400th win.  This year it was tying the late Eddie Robinson of Grambling State for the all-time Division I-A lead in wins that was at stake.

Last night's game against the Northwestern Wildcats was reminiscent of yet another adventurous trip to Evanston, at the beginning of the 2005 Big Ten season, when for the first time in a long time I felt that a Penn State team had a chance to be something really special.

Penn State Football: Purdue is Undone; Lions Find a Way to Win

"Undo Purdue" was the Citizens Bank button this week.  And the Nittany Lions obliged.  In a game that had as many twists and turns as a Tom Clancy novel, and was, in many respects, just as unnerving, the Penn State special teams finally exerted their influence in making big plays.

This game was also entertaining, in a weird sort of way, with its back and forth, anything can happen, nature.  Nick Sukay's first of two interceptions occurred at the end of the first half and put 7-6 Penn State on Purdue's 24-yard line with 14 seconds left in the half.