We'll Miss You, Joe Pa

On this sad day, as a college coaching legend departs our cruel world, I am once again reminded of the impermanence of life and of speed at which our only true gift can be taken away from any one of us. What is even more sobering, possibly, is the fickleness of prestige, the fleeting nature of the public's opinion, and the modern desire to pulverize the mystique of the past.

I, for one, am sick and tired of our disposable society. Have we become so attached to the rapidity of a drive-thru lane or the immediate gratification of a Twitter post that we've forgotten that the benevolent acts of a lifetime actually take....a lifetime? Are we such slaves to the me-first, me-now attitude that a man and his remarkable body of work spanning at least four decades can be dashed by some second-party hearsay, a few weakly-researched news clippings, and the fall-guy mentality of a puzzled trustee base?

Unfortunately there are still many days of speculation ahead of us, but on this day, let us pay our respects to a great man and admire some of his epic triumphs:

My heart goes out to the Paterno family and the entire Penn State community during these tough times. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.