"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things" — Joe Paterno
I felt it was appropriate to start with a JoePa quote because he is Penn State. Whether he knew about the Jerry Sandusky scandal or not, Joe Paterno lived and breathed Penn State. Not only that, but he also was a great football coach. He coached from 1966-2011 and in that time he won 409 games, 24 bowl game wins, 5 undefeated seasons and one national championship. He also coached 1, 077 letterman, 254 players that ended up on the NFL roster, 79 first-team all-Americans, and 33 first round NFL picks. He is still ranked the number-one winning coach in history. That accomplishment is huge to Penn State. Big enough to even give him his own statue. However just a few years ago, JoePa and Penn State were stripped of 112 of those wins and had the statue taken down that was outside Beaver Stadium. Why? Joe Paterno worked so hard for those wins and that record, and then to just have them stripped. Then, a turn of events happened and the 112 wins were restored and there has been petition after petition to put his statue back up.
However, Joe Paterno is not the only reason I stand with Penn State. It's also for everything Penn State stands for and everything they do.
Penn State University is one of the biggest alumni associations around. Not to mention the amount of Penn State alumni that went on to become famous such as Adam McKay (writer and producer of "Stepbrothers" and "Anchorman"), Mark Parker ( President and CEO of Nike), Herman Fisher (one of the co-founders of the Fisher-Price Toy Company), and Keegan Michael Key. Most everywhere you go, you run into either a Penn State alum or a friend of a Penn State alum. Having a big alumni association makes it easier to find a job, too, because you hope your interviewer is a fellow alum. So when they say blue and white for life, they really mean it.
On top of all that, can we just talk about our fans? Just this year over 100,000 people accomplished yet another stadium stripe out. Also, in 2016, Penn State played Ohio State and had their annual white out. The whole stadium roared with pride all four quarters and Penn State ended up winning — thus ending Ohio State's 20-game win streak. There are so many football game traditions that make going to a Penn State game worthwhile. Although football isn't the only sport that our fans are true too. Penn State fans are loyal through and through at all kinds of PSU sports and always show their pride.
Penn state has 24 campuses, and over 97,000 students enrolled. I am a proud Penn-Stater and gladly wear my blue and white.
The scandal with Sandusky and JoePa made Penn State lose some fans along the way, but that's okay. True Penn State fans stay loyal to their school through thick and thin. You don't have to stand with Joe Paterno when you stand with Penn State, but you have to realize JoePa has and will always be a huge part of Penn State.
And as for those who want to erase his name from everything associated with Penn State, just know that you may be able to tear down what was built for him and his honor but you will never be able to tear down what he built for us.
