In football, there are times when a coach instructs an offensive player—usually the quarterback—to go backwards, that is, take a loss in yardage. The ballcarrier might run through his own end zone to record a safety to protect a large lead while the clock runs out, or run backwards a couple of yards towards the middle of the field to give a kicker a better angle for a field goal.
After 46 years as the Head Coach of Penn State University football team, Joe Paterno knew when it was time to take a loss on the football field. But unfortunately he couldn’t transfer that know-how into real life situations, and ultimately it cost him everything: His job, his dignity, and most likely, his life. Because it’s obvious now that his job was his life. He just couldn’t live without being the coach.
In the months since the horrible allegations against Jerry Sandusky were dug up and then blown up, the dynamics of the community surrounding Coach Paterno and Penn State has ebbed and flowed, starting big and strong but shrinking as more details were revealed. And now, with his death, the community can’t help but grow again.
Even the people who felt anger and disgust for Coach Paterno and his program when the Sandusky story developed, while still repulsed, couldn’t help but feel tremendous sadness for Coach Paterno and the amazing things he accomplished. Not only did he wind up as the all-time leader in coaching wins, bowl appearance and bowl wins, Penn State was time and again rated #1 in graduation rates for their football players.
So now many of the same commentators who skewered Coach Paterno just weeks ago are spending at least a little time admitting that the larger picture paints him as a pretty incredible guy. In light of everything he accomplished, it’s hard to be angry now that he’s gone.
Crowds of his supporters lay flowers and memorabilia at his statue and stare at the bronzed feet of the coach they loved, trying to figure out exactly how they feel about him.
Unfortunately, those people might still be cheering him and he might still be Coach if he realized a long time ago what it took his death to prove: that a community may be strongest when it has something to overcome. It’s a powerful lesson for anyone in the business of building one.
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