JoePa Dies at 85

[FedEx227]

Who goes to a college because of its football program, other than football players?

Well... I can't speak for SEC schools or people in those areas... but probably most SEC schools.

I think that's a huge selling point for a lot of kids. Of course it's not the ONLY selling point but having a good program and the ability to party all day every Saturday for half the year is pretty appealing I'm sure.

[FedEx227]

You're telling me going to NIU because of Michael Turner was a bad idea?

Yes, going for PJ Fleck though?

Great idea.

[nwfisch]

Not quite sure what you're trying to say there.

My point is, despite a school like Penn State or Iowa having great academics, it gets overshadowed by the atmosphere, and the football team.

Even though a school may have great academics, which should be the basis for what students pick for their schooling, it gets overshadowed by football games, atmosphere etc.

[SethMode]

Well... I can't speak for SEC schools or people in those areas... but probably most SEC schools.

I think that's a huge selling point for a lot of kids. Of course it's not the ONLY selling point but having a good program and the ability to party all day every Saturday for half the year is pretty appealing I'm sure.

I was being facetious more than anything (I know that those people exist), but still, it's a stupid reason to go to a school. Also, partying every Saturday for half the year is just as rampant at an "academic" school like UPenn as it is at PSU.

[FirstTimer]

Yes, going for PJ Fleck though?

Great idea.

Him and Dan Sheldon were crazy cool dudes.

[nwfisch]

University of Iowa was the first party I ever went to with an entire basement of people doing coke and meth.

Still the only one as well.

Were you the delivery man?

[NAHSTE]

Except it's universally seen as a "great university" even by those who had a Joe PA death countdown clock going on.

Absolutely, but there is a danger to a university's identity being so closely tied to its football program. Joe Paterno WAS Penn State University, for better or for worse, and the very institution he created served to corrupt the entire university's decision making process.

I realize I am articulating this point poorly, because so much of the focus has been on Paterno the individual and what he should have done. Whenever these scandals arise, we point fingers and shout and assess blame and then go on feeling better about ourselves, but it's more of a societal problem than an individual problem.

We have over prioritized football to the point where our favorite teams' success is more important than individual lives. People like Declen Sullivan, the Sandusky victims, Devaughn Darling, Ereck Plancher and countless of other students, employees, faculty members and human beings have had their best interests superseded by this institution, football, which we all invest too much faith in.

[FedEx227]

No, I think Iowa produces plenty of meth on it's own. Doesn't need Illinoisians bringing it in.

[FirstTimer]

Absolutely, but there is a danger to a university's identity being so closely tied to its football program. Joe Paterno WAS Penn State University, for better or for worse, and the very institution he created served to corrupt the entire university's decision making process.

I realize I am articulating this point poorly, because so much of the focus has been on Paterno the individual and what he should have done. Whenever these scandals arise, we point fingers and shout and assess blame and then go on feeling better about ourselves, but it's more of a societal problem than an individual problem.

We have over prioritized football to the point where our favorite teams' success is more important than individual lives. People like Declen Sullivan, the Sandusky victims, Devaughn Darling, Ereck Plancher and countless of other students, employees, faculty members and human beings have had their best interests superseded by this institution, football, which we all invest too much faith in.

:hulkchamp:

Disagree there but. I see your point.

[FedEx227]

It's definitely something that a lot of universities are going to have to look in the mirror and decide if they want to take that risk.

If you're going to use your football team as a major selling point of the university, you have to understand in the long run it may become a determent to the overall brand. If you sell the team and the leadership then they turn around and get in trouble what does that do to the reputation of the university?

Ohio State seems to have escaped any long term effects but Penn State probably never will. I have no idea about a school like SMU but I'd imagine there were some huge effects in that fallout.

[NAHSTE]

Well... I can't speak for SEC schools or people in those areas... but probably most SEC schools.

I think that's a huge selling point for a lot of kids. Of course it's not the ONLY selling point but having a good program and the ability to party all day every Saturday for half the year is pretty appealing I'm sure.

Well the thing about growing up in the south is that we have very few viable college options in the region. That whole reconstruction thing where the federal government went out if its way to oppress the region economically for a half-century kind of stunted our development. The best universities, and the only ones with any resources, are the giant land-grant state schools. If you grow up in the northeast, you have hundreds of liberal arts and private schools at your disposal, but in the south those are all crazy bible schools.

So anyway, long story short ... you are pretty much resigned to going to a state school anyway if you want to stay in the south, so you might as well choose the one with the football team that you grew up rooting for.

I chose LSU because I knew I would get in, I knew I could get in-state tuition thanks to being a legacy, and they had a nationally prominent program for my curricula of choice.

But I'd venture to guess half of the out of state kids from my incoming class chose to go there because they won a national championship the year we were filling out applications.

[Warner2BruceTD]

JoePa, as far as we know, didn't do any raping.

Its easy to point fingers at one guy and cast judgement on a situation where we can all simply project what we think we'd do and yet ignore the fact that this was an entire institutional breakdown...its deflecting attention from the rapist (Sandusky) and putting the blame on someone that wasn't involved in any of the actual wrong doings. Yeah, the old man had poor judgement in regards to the lengths he should have gone to reporting the crime, but so did dozens and maybe hundreds of people over the years involved with and around Sandusky.

It was poor judgement and a mistake, but lets not replace Sandusky's dick in those children with JoePa's.

Best post in the thread.

All i'm going to say is this, and then you guys can go back to kicking a corpse.

If everybody here was as self righteous and hollier than thou as they expect others to be, we would all be living in the clouds with Care Bears and there would be no sin.

I would simply suggest that before you castigate others, before you make broad and damaging assumptions on someone's character, you look at yourself and ask yourself 'have I ever been tested'? 'Have I ever made bad judgements'?

Does making one bad judgement (or even two or three) make you evil? Even if you may have thought you were doing the right thing at the time? Be careful how you answer.

Sandusky is the devil, here. Misplaced blame, misplaced anger, can be frivolous. Paterno may have made a mistake. I don't hate him for being human. I dont need to hate him to hate child abuse.

[SethMode]

Well the thing about growing up in the south is that we have very few viable college options in the region. That whole reconstruction thing where the federal government went out if its way to oppress the region economically for a half-century kind of stunted our development. The best universities, and the only ones with any resources, are the giant land-grant state schools. If you grow up in the northeast, you have hundreds of liberal arts and private schools at your disposal, but in the south those are all crazy bible schools.

So anyway, long story short ... you are pretty much resigned to going to a state school anyway if you want to stay in the south, so you might as well choose the one with the football team that you grew up rooting for.

I chose LSU because I knew I would get in, I knew I could get in-state tuition thanks to being a legacy, and they had a nationally prominent program for my curricula of choice.

But I'd venture to guess half of the out of state kids from my incoming class chose to go there because they won a national championship the year we were filling out applications.

That'll learn you Southerners to think twice about seceding.

[FedEx227]

I do want to say though I'll be saying the same things when Sandusky goes and really hope it happens when he's in prison and not by suicide or natural causes.

Just want to make that clear. I'm not taking blame away from Sandusky, I totally agree he's the devil in this situation but I also not comfortable ignoring Paterno's place in it.

[NAHSTE]

That'll learn you Southerners to think twice about seceding.

Oh we plan on doing it again soon. We've already pulled a coup on the national championship game, shutting out the rest of the country.