Idiot Penn State Fans Plan To Dress Up As Joe Paterno For A “Joe-Out” Game Against UMass Saturday
Not even two weeks after the NCAA reinstated the Nittany Lions into bowl eligibilty so they can be a real college football team again, Penn State fans managed to make their way into the news–by trying to honor the coach who led them for more than 40 years before the child abuse scandal ravaged his legacy.
The plan is to have a “Joe-out” during the football game against UMass on Saturday. Students, alumni, and fans who want the school to honor former coach Joe Paterno will dress up like him, or do something that blatantly shows they support him.
Here is what the leader of the movement says, via Centre Daily:
He will forever stand as a great founder of our university, shoulder to shoulder with Atherton, Beaver, Pattee, Sparks and more. There will be other coaches, other presidents, other trustees and great men in Penn State’s future, but that does not mean we should forget this one man, who made Penn State great. My family and I eagerly await the future — but we will never forget to honor Joe,” said Susan Beck Wilson.
This is a tough one, Penn State fans. On one hand, it seems unfair to judge a man for one mistake he made in a tenure that lasted nearly half a century. On the other hand, Paterno fucked up. Bad. It’s worse than Ray Rice. It’s worse than Adrian Peterson. Paterno had an opportunity to curb the continued child abuse, but opted instead to do nothing. It’s, like, the one thing where you looked at media outrage toward Penn State and thought, “Yeah, that’s a pretty reasonable response.”
It’s hard to pretend Paterno isn’t a part of Penn State history, but you have to. All of Penn State’s administrational decisions to disassociate itself from Paterno are the reasons why you can give scholarships again, and why you are bowl eligible in the first place. Do you think the NCAA wants fans parading around Beaver Stadium in Joe Pa’s thick glasses, protesting to get his statue back? Hell no. The NCAA wants this shit to go away.
Can you imagine how awkward it would be for new coach James Franklin to have to deal with all this Paterno nonsense? We know Bill O’Brien hated it. That’s probably part of the reason he bailed. You never want to be the dude who follows a legend–especially a polarizing one.
So, Penn State fans, get drunk on Saturday. Throw on your favorite Pat McGroin jersey. Do all of the cool shit in Happy Valley I saw out of my hotel room one Friday night when I stayed there in eighth grade. Then go to the game, cheer on your team, and move the fuck on. It’s time.
[via Centre Daily]
Image via Twitter
Honoring the best coach in the history game. Real idiot move, fuck you helmets stickers
10 years ago at 2:47 pmEvery article you write makes me hate you more.
10 years ago at 3:11 pmLOTS of butt hurt Penn St fans on here who just can’t get over the fact that Joe Pa played a role in one of the biggest sports scandals in history. No denying he was a great coach and it’s a tough pill to swallow, but he also made the irrefutably immoral decision to put a football team ahead of numerous accounts of child rape. Give it a rest and move the fuck on you delusional pricks.
10 years ago at 3:21 pmI agree to a point. The only way to let this blow over and clear his image is for all the Paterno nuts to just shut up. Truthfully the best way to honor Joe Paterno and what he built at Penn State is to forget about him for awhile. Because until then football will always take a back seat to the crazies who constantly keep bringing him up and reminding people of all the atrocities that happened during his tenure. The bottomline is that as long as there is controversy about Joe Paterno, the only thing people will think about is Sandusky raping kids in the showers.
10 years ago at 4:27 pmAs a Non Delusional PSU Student, and long time fan of Penn State, this shit disgusts me. I wish everyone could not do this shit and I know a lot of my PSU friends agree. We agree shit was FUCKED the last few years. I get the hatred from everyone and expect that, but I want it known that a huge majority of us don’t agree with this shit this weekend or the rally bullshit from last week. Every person at PSU is not this delusional. You’re going to see on TV all the JoePA gear, but remember that not all of us are that dumb. You’ll see me rooting on my classmates who had nothing to do with this bullshit, but you won’t see me dressed like an idiot.
10 years ago at 3:34 pmI agree with you. The wounds are still open for many of the victims, and I doubt that they will ever be healed. The fans need to wait awhile to coordinates events like this.
10 years ago at 3:50 pmOr maybe, just maybe, you degenerates can stop blaming a man with better morals than any of us will ever have for the shameful actions of an administration and one sick individual. But Paterno is an easy target when he’s six feet under right?
10 years ago at 4:18 pmWho’s Pat McGloin?
10 years ago at 5:10 pm