tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
A columnist for the State College newspaper raises some interesting questions in view of the fact that Paterno, during halftime of the Northwestern game, asked to meet with Pat Fitzgerald's three young sons.
Is Paterno handling his duties?
The real issue is that Paterno hasn’t won enough games for the fans’ liking these last few years. They wouldn’t care if he were coaching from a wheelchair or from the Goodyear Blimp if the Nittany Lions were 8-0 and had beaten Alabama. They wouldn’t care if he never came to practice if the Nittany Lions beat Ohio State every year.
What those fans need to ask themselves is what have the major bugaboos have been with this team the last few years. Is it who is doing the playcalling or what the calls have been? Is it who is recruiting the quarterbacks or how the quarterback situation has been handled this season? Is Penn State losing star recruits because the coach is too old, or is it gaining star recruits because they want to play for Paterno or his well-regarded assistants? And would the answers to those questions be much different if Paterno were 48 instead of 84? If he was still walking six miles a day, as he did before his encounter with Devon Smith this summer?
Every story has more than one side. A recruit might have seen the Fitzgerald story on Akouris’ blog and said to himself: “Why would I want to play for a coach who isn’t in the locker room at halftime?†But the parent of another recruit might have seen the blog and said, “Joe didn’t have to talk to those kids, but he did. I want my son to play for someone like that.â€
Then there’s this sentiment, which was offered up on the Internet by a few astute fans (the unfortunately silent minority) this week: Paterno’s career, though it might seem otherwise, can’t continue forever. His days of coaching from the press box, or anywhere, are numbered. Fans who follow his program are left, then, with two choices: Wait for the end, hope Penn State can win as many games as possible in the duration, and soak in the final days — the good as well as the bad — of what has been an incredible career; or complain until the end arrives. Which choice will you make?
Is Paterno handling his duties?
The real issue is that Paterno hasn’t won enough games for the fans’ liking these last few years. They wouldn’t care if he were coaching from a wheelchair or from the Goodyear Blimp if the Nittany Lions were 8-0 and had beaten Alabama. They wouldn’t care if he never came to practice if the Nittany Lions beat Ohio State every year.
What those fans need to ask themselves is what have the major bugaboos have been with this team the last few years. Is it who is doing the playcalling or what the calls have been? Is it who is recruiting the quarterbacks or how the quarterback situation has been handled this season? Is Penn State losing star recruits because the coach is too old, or is it gaining star recruits because they want to play for Paterno or his well-regarded assistants? And would the answers to those questions be much different if Paterno were 48 instead of 84? If he was still walking six miles a day, as he did before his encounter with Devon Smith this summer?
Every story has more than one side. A recruit might have seen the Fitzgerald story on Akouris’ blog and said to himself: “Why would I want to play for a coach who isn’t in the locker room at halftime?†But the parent of another recruit might have seen the blog and said, “Joe didn’t have to talk to those kids, but he did. I want my son to play for someone like that.â€
Then there’s this sentiment, which was offered up on the Internet by a few astute fans (the unfortunately silent minority) this week: Paterno’s career, though it might seem otherwise, can’t continue forever. His days of coaching from the press box, or anywhere, are numbered. Fans who follow his program are left, then, with two choices: Wait for the end, hope Penn State can win as many games as possible in the duration, and soak in the final days — the good as well as the bad — of what has been an incredible career; or complain until the end arrives. Which choice will you make?
