Joe Paterno dies at age 85

[jjkoestler]

It's too bad such a legendary career had a tragic ending. It seems like football was the thing that was keeping him alive.

[thumperden]

It is just a sad day to learn of Joe Paterno's passing.

[RockCoCougars]

It's like a Shakespeare tragedy or something. I'm not saying that he was a saint, but it's very sad that he took more heat for one bad decision than the pervert pedophile did for a pattern of years of abuse. Did I ever mention that I hate ESPN?

[miggs721]

It's official

[Glennron]

It's too bad such a legendary career had a tragic ending. It seems like football was the thing that was keeping him alive.

Not sure if this is what you were alluding to, but this is pretty crazy.

 

http://deadspin.com/58782...-paterno?tag=joe-paterno

[hawing]

The Deadspin report linked above makes total sense. I have no doubt, or as little doubt as I can have given that I did not know the man, that football + PSU combined to be Mr. Paterno's life. I can only imagine the void he must have felt once that ended - especially as abruptly and badly as it did. To go from beloved-for-decades icon to perceived (a word I use because opinion is split and we now may never know his full side of the story) scandal participant in a matter of days had to be a terrible shock. Add to that the physical shock of contending with cancer, and that seems like a steep challenge for anyone.

 

It could be my XX chromosomes talking, but I feel especially bad for Mrs. Paterno. She's gone from wife of beloved icon to wife of (perceived) scandal participant to widow in under three months. There's really nothing about this chain of events that isn't sad.

[razzzorsharp]

I believe it to be the lung cancer that killed him as I think no matter what happened this past year, the end was coming because of this nasty disease. Also, I would fall short of calling him a great man. You lose that title of "great" when you let the actions of others around you go on the way he did. Greatness is bestowed upon those who take the adversity that faces them and does something about it. With that said, he also did a lot of great things for others so it's a shame to see his legacy go down the way it did.

 

I do feel bad for everyone involved though, it sucks, the situation as a whole for the kid most importantly, others who who were unwilling/too scared to help for whatever reason, and the families hurt or torn apart because of this, all because one sick and disgusting man.

[Brewtacular]

It's like a Shakespeare tragedy or something. I'm not saying that he was a saint, but it's very sad that he took more heat for one bad decision than the pervert pedophile did for a pattern of years of abuse. Did I ever mention that I hate ESPN?

More accurately, he made one decade-long bad decision.

[brwrsfan]

I believe it to be the lung cancer that killed him as I think no matter what happened this past year, the end was coming because of this nasty disease. Also, I would fall short of calling him a great man. You lose that title of "great" when you let the actions of others around you go on the way he did. Greatness is bestowed upon those who take the adversity that faces them and does something about it. With that said, he also did a lot of great things for others so it's a shame to see his legacy go down the way it did.

 

I do feel bad for everyone involved though, it sucks, the situation as a whole for the kid most importantly, others who who were unwilling/too scared to help for whatever reason, and the families hurt or torn apart because of this, all because one sick and disgusting man.

While the cancer obviously did kill him, there is something to be said about a persons "will to live". And as others have talked about, the last few months had to be pretty rough on Joe Pa and potentially seeing everything he built slipping away...he very well might have not had that will any more and simply just gave up.