Those of us who knew Joe Paterno through direct and indirect association (in my case, the latter, for nearly 50 years) were well aware of his indomitable spirit. In fact, he was so stubborn — completely intractable at times — that many of us eschewed political correctness in our frustration with his decisions, calling him not so lovingly “that stubborn wop”.
Joe was family to us Penn Staters, so we could talk freely about his bourbon and ginger, his stubborn streak, his Italianness, his Catholicism and such, just as we would have done back in the day on the sidewalks and stoops of his native Brooklyn. Joe grew up in an earthier era when such arguments and put-downs were the spice of life. Moreover, like family, when the controversy of the moment had ended, we’d kiss and make up, many times having to admit that the old man was right.
Thus it was with disdain that following his death on Sunday, that I observed so many commentators choosing the lazy road, opining — nay, pontificating — that Old Joe had died of a broken heart. They didn’t know Joe. They couldn’t have. I attempted to dispel that broken heart notion with anyone who would listen to me, but everyone is entitled to an opinion and few ever change theirs.
“My life has been filled with sunshine. A beautiful and caring wife. Five healthy children. I got to do what I loved. How many people are that lucky?” –Joseph V. Paterno, 1926-2012
You know what “they” say about opinions.
My personal opinion is that Joe’s spirit could not be broken by the Sandusky scandal and the ensuing, undeserved, ignominious knee-jerk dismissal by the Board of Trustees. Joe had been through innumerable tough situations during the course of his long life but he never showed signs of faltering in the face of adversity. In the end, what defeated him was not “a broken heart” but metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung. I would be willing to bet that Joe faced his illness as yet another sturdy opponent to study and defeat. Alas, this one had already advanced too far by the time he was ready to begin his fight. He was flanked by metastases like a quarterback being attacked by a blitz with his pocket collapsing around him. It was only a matter of time before Joe was sacked by the marauding rogue cells. However, you can be certain that he went down swinging, not wallowing in self-pity or grimacing with bitterness.
Writer Joe Posnanski has been immersing himself in Joe’s life — and unexpectedly, his death — for many months as he researches the biography he is writing called “PATERNO”, to be published by Simon & Shuster in September. He spent time with Joe and the Paterno family during Joe’s final days, and wanted to share some details of that time with us via a short piece he wrote for Sports Illustrated. In it, he asserts that Joe Paterno did not die of a broken heart. When Joe entrusted Posnansky to write his biography, he chose wisely.
Let us lay that sorry-ass “broken heart” story line to rest!
One other thing worthy of note here: Thursday’s “A Memorial For Joe” will air live on both the Big Ten Network and BTN.com at 2 PM EST.
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BigAl says
In reality, he probably died so soon due to overly agressive treatment of the metastatic carcinoma. It may have been “treatable”, but he might have lived longer without the chemo and radiation treatments.
The Nittany Turkey says
I’ve been wondering about the timing and scope of Joe’s treatment. When I heard that he was diagnosed with “a treatable form of lung cancer”, I grew skeptical. I know that with aggressive treatment, some survive, but the five year survival rate is around 15% and Joe’s age was pretty well up there. No one said whether the stage was limited or extensive. They played the whole thing close to the vest.
What I mainly wondered was whether Joe had known about his cancer in late summer and put off treatment until after the season. Given the amount of time he had spent in and out of hospitals over the past couple of years, one would think it would have been diagnosed sooner. We’ll probably never know unless Joe mentioned something to Posnansky about it.
So, perhaps by the time the oncologists determined the treatment protocol, it was late enough for drastic measures. He might have lived longer without the radiation and chemo, but life would have been tortured. My father died of the same thing, and fortunately, he went pretty quickly. Radiation treatments probably gave him a couple extra months.
—TNT
Parkeyboy says
Hey Turkey! Long time. My employer, not to be mentioned blocked the NT. Here I am again though to speak to your evaluation of Joe pas broken heart
(this is my first I pad experience, so go easy). Yes the cancer would have gotten him, it always does, however the stress he was going through cut his life short ,no doubt! Joe pa would definitely have lived a bit longer life with out the shit storm.
The Nittany Turkey says
Welcome back, Parkeyboy! Clearly, your employer has something against Penn State. Perhaps the IT manager is a Gator, or worse, a Buckeye.
We all could have done without the shit storm! But I think Joe’s resources were spent dealing with the chemo and radiation. Family always came first with Joe, so his concern about them, along with the illness probably precluded thinking about getting canned without due process.
Just my opinion, and you know I’ve got ’em.
—TNT
Parkeyboy says
And yes, he had to have known ab the cancer with all the hospital. Also, Snapping the pelvis at 85 is the kiss of death.
Parkeyboy says
Peace out Turk!
The Nittany Turkey says
Peace out Bruh!
—TNT
Alfred Hussein Neuman says
Since we know now (from the Freeh report) that Joe only knew about early reports of abuse but also used his influence to stop the reports from going to law enforcement, I have wondered if Joe speeded his own death. He certainly knew the truth was going to come out.
The Nittany Turkey says
If that is true, he was as stubborn as we’ve always knew he was, right up to the end. Being a Catholic, though, you would think that he would want to confess about the cover-up before he died.
Perhaps the statement, “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” was his version of a confession.
I don’t know how devout a Catholic he was, so I could be on a completely frivolous course here.
—TNT