ShareThis"May no act of ours bring shame
To one heart that loves thy name,
May our lives but swell thy fame,
Dear old State, dear old State."
Singing the Pennsylvania State University's alma mater may never be more emotional -- more heartbreaking -- than it will be Saturday at Penn State's noon football game against Nebraska in State College, Pa.
I'll be there, and I know I'll be crying; my son Brad will be crying; and probably most of the 100,000-plus Nittany Lion fans in Beaver Stadium will find it difficult to hold back tears.
I hugged my 27-year-old son last night -- he bleeds blue, too -- and told him we'd pick up the pieces. I hope we can.
Penn State is a nation in mourning; there's an awful lot to cry about:
At least eight children allegedly were sexually abused by a former coach. At least two school administrators allegedly covered it up. And legendary coach Joe Paterno has been fired in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal that has shaken Penn State to its core.
We -- the university, students and alumni -- grieve mainly for the victims of the sex crimes allegedly committed against children by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
We pray for them, and for their families.
Words cannot describe how deeply sorrowful we are that children entrusted to one of our revered former coaches were, according to the grand jury report, heinously violated by him.
It's a horrific tragedy that has rocked the very foundation of Penn State.
But we're also terribly saddened that Paterno was fired and disgraced by the university he served with so much dignity for 61 years.
And the idea that at least two school administrators -- athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz -- could have ended Sandusky's 15-year reign of alleged abuse as early as 2002 by merely reporting the allegations to police is incomprehensible.
But it's even more difficult for Penn Staters to come to grips with the idea their beloved, legendary coach, 84-year-old Paterno, won't be on the sidelines Saturday. They wanted one more -- one last home game with JoePa.
The board of trustees caved in to the court of public opinion and to the media. It did not serve the wishes of the student body or the alumni, so the fate of (mostly elected) trustees may, too, have been decided by their vote to fire JoePa.
Paterno has won more games (409) than any other coach in Division I history, and he's done it the right way, because he's lived up to the highest standards and values: his own.
Paterno's football players graduate at a rate that is consistently among the highest in the nation.
It's that kind of achievement that makes us very proud to be Penn Staters and to have had JoePa as our head coach for 46 years.
Paterno said that "in hindsight" he wishes he had done more to protect those children. And I am sure he never would have knowingly jeopardized the best interests of his beloved university.
His persecutors have come out of the woodwork. Glass houses are being shattered all over the place. And now Joe Paterno's unmatched legacy of pride and honor has been shattered by this horrific child sex abuse scandal.
A "devastated" JoePa admitted Wednesday he should have done more when he first learned of Sandusky's alleged abuse in 2002. Instead of going to police with the allegations, he kicked them up to his superiors, Curry and Shultz.
He didn't do anything legally wrong, but made the wrong decision and followed protocol, entrusting higher-ups to do the right thing.
Most Penn Staters will never forget what he's meant to and done for their beloved university, and not just for its football program -- like donating $4 million to the school library.
What's wrong with all of this is that Joe Paterno, one of the most upstanding men you could find on this planet, has become the focal point. The focus should be centered on the person charged: Jerry Sandusky.
The shame so many want to cast upon the entire university family -- in the wake of everyone's worst imaginable scandal -- is what we, as alumni and students, must deal with now.
The healing begins Saturday at noon in Happy Valley:
"WE ARE... PENN STATE!"
(John Tucker is a 1977 journalism graduate of Penn State University. Contact him at jtucker(at)unionleader.com.)
(Email John Tucker at jtucker(at)unionleader.com)
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