Well, the news today isn't good. Turns out the 79 year old has a broken leg and damaged a knee ligament. Even worse, team officials say surgery is being considered.
But what's most amazing about this story is, right after he was hit, Joe Pa didn't go anywhere, instead standing for several minutes on the sideline -- with a broken leg and knee damage -- before having to be helped to the bench.
Even then, he sat there most of the third quarter surrounded by trainers and police.
Finally, after proving once and for all that he's tougher than most coaches
Gee, who'd'a thunk that crapping his pants during a game was only going to be the second worst thing that happened to Joe Pa this season?
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17 comments:
hey, at least he didn't have to watch the entire game from the sidelines. man, that psu offense is pathetic.
That is what you get for putting an 80 year old man on the sidelines.
Sounds like Anon 5:20 has the class of a tOSU fan. My guess is that the same fan would agree that if you put a queer sweater-vest on him, suddenly JoePa would become the greatest coach in the history of the Big 10- oh wait, he already has that claim without the sweater vest.
I think one of the posters on Deadspin's "Hugh Johnson Project"
said it best:
Joe Paterno just about lost his leg below the knee when a player's helmet directly collided with it. The whole thing bent backwards, and he's still on the sidelines, looking no more irritated than he does on a day-to-day basis. You know who else can take a complete inversion of the kneecap? Corpses. - Pete
I wish Joe a quick and full recovery, but will admit when I saw the play my first thought was that he's too old to be on the sidelines. It's not pleasant to see a septuagenarian (not 80 until December, I think) get run over by a collegiate athlete. I know the story, he's earned the right to retire on his schedule, but hopefully he'll soon realize the limitations of age. I also think he showed a bit of disconnectedness with the game when he so vociferously argued the time running off the clock at the end of the first half. That's the rule Joe, nothing the refs can do, and as head coach you should know that.
Anon 8:09...See that is the thing. There was something the ref's could have done, and that is what Joe was arguing for. Per the Big 10 Director of Officiating, the refs could have put time back on the clock after both penalties or assigned an unsportsman like conduct penalty after the second offsides. Per NCAA coaching rule book, it is unsportsman-like to coach a player or players to purposefully commit a penalty.
JoePa had surgury today and appearently everything went well...
"the surgical team accomplished all of its objectives and that Coach Paterno is resting comfortably with a full recovery expected. Dr. Sebastianelli anticipates Paterno's left leg to be weight-bearing within approximately six weeks. Coach Paterno was fitted for a temporary brace and had several screws inserted in the leg."
I love Joe Paterno as much as any college football coach out there. I hope he makes a full recovery and is back on the sidelines soon. But to claim that he is the greatest coach in the history of the Big 10 is very funny.
His teams have two Big 10 titles since they joined the conference in 1993. That is only two championship titles in 13 years. If a Michigan (or Ohio State) coach delivered that type of performance, they would have been fired years ago with no guilt. If anything -- Paterno has guided the Penn State football program thru a long glide into mediocrity.
The nice thing about the game this week against Temple is that Penn State football fans get to re-live how things used to be in happy valley.
[joke]
At what point do you treat him like a horse with a bummed leg and just euthanize him on the spot?
[/joke]
Andy, I think it would be a little silly to base Joe's legacy on the last 13 years. He has accomplished more than what most major programs have done in their entire history.
- 5 undefeated, untied teams
- 7 undefeated regular seasons
- 32 bowl games with 21 victories (both records)
- 4 time AFCA coach of the year
- only coach to win all 4 major bowl games
Then when you throw in the # of all-americans and academic all-americans, it's kinda hard not to say that Joe should not be included is a little silly.
As far as I know, PSU has only been in the Big Ten for 13 years. To examine whether JoePa is one of the greatest coaches in the Big Ten history, we can only look at what he has done in the last 13 years.
As far as his legacy goes, I'm more than content to let the Penn State faithfuls argue that he is in the top five all-time.
js, I think you can look at Joe Pa's legacy as the "greatest coach in the history of the Big 10" and not restrict it to just his Big 10 years. He is in the Big 10 afterall, what he did before joining the Big 10 still goes down under his name as a coach who happens to be in the Big Ten now (not necessarily as Big Ten wins, but as coaching wins). So, when someone says name one of the greatest coaches in the Big Ten, I think you can equate that to anyone that happens to coach in the Big Ten now, or someone that enjoyed tremedous success in the Big Ten previously but isn't there now. I don't think they have to be conflicting statements. They can be though... suppose someone said name one of the greatest coaches in the NFL. Spurrier's name wouldn't come to mind because he didn't have success as a coach in the NFL, but he is one of the greatest (college) coaches of all time. So maybe you and anon 2:05 and 'class bitches' can all be right.
How about this...JoePa is one of the best coaches in the history of college football. He has delivered many wins, fielded undefeated teams, and graduated a lot of players. However his greatness and legacy were diminished once he started playing the Big 10 schedule and started losing Pennsylvania recruits to Michigan.
I'll drink to that, Andy.
To: the ironically named "class bitches, class".
You're a dick. Also, you suck at grammar, because you're missing a comma.
Correction...that's the 3rd worst thing to happen to JoePa this season. About a month ago, during practice before the Northwestern game, he got sandwiched between a safety and a tight end at full speed and suffered three cracked ribs. The guy didn't miss even ten seconds worth of coaching as a result! That's one tough ol' bird.
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