The Lions' Pride

His legacy is us. He lives on through each of us who love him. His legacy is a world-class university. It's the spirit of the 2012 football team. It's the spirit of the school that makes it a Happy Valley. We're blessed to have had him, but he'll be with us always. We Are.

RIP to one of the greatest men this country has known. Putting academics and humanity ABOVE football is why we loved Joe so much, which is truely why the end reads like a greek tragedy.

One of my favorite memories of Joe, just due to the surprise of it all, was in West Lafeyette, IN for Purdue game. I used to live in Chicago, so all of PSU's away games were well within reach. I decided to go to Purdue bc I had never been there. After tailgating, we headed in the game. We punched our ticket and went in the stadium (PSU section was the endzone there). Only after we were inside the entrance, did I realize the four of us were standing on the other side of the gate than the rest of the fans entering the game. Confusion was soon replaced by joy and excitment.....someone shouted out..."STAND BACK, the LIONS ARE COMING THROUGH.......I turned around to see Joe leading the team out of the tunnel, and directly at us!!! He gave us a quick nod and a smile, and along with about 15 other PSU fans, the players came by, Tony Hunt, Odrick, ect.....whooping it up. Some High fives, some should pad pounds, and the team was amped and running onto the field. Pretty cool expereince for someone who loves JoePa and PSU, and something I will never forget...........the game was a bit of a dud, I believe we won 14-9 or something like that. Those were the Morelli years, so Tony Hunt was about all there was to be excited about on offense.

So tough to believe it's been a year, even though it's been a long and often very dark year.

It'll never be the same, but we're better, I'm better for having known him, even at a distance.

Here's a good article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

I have three fond memories of JoePa that will always be with and make me laugh:

1. I was a senior in college and was heading back to my apartment after a workout on campus on a warm winter day. I was at stop light near Beaver Stadium with a car in front of me and a car behind me. I looked in my rearview mirror and Joe was in the car behind me. The light turned green and the car in front of me didn't move for a few seconds. Since it was warm out I had my windows down which allowed me to hear Joe blow his horn and yell, 'C'mon I've got somewhere to be!'

2. A friend and I were going to cover media day in August 2007. Because it started early on a Saturday our boss said we could go out the night before if we wanted. It was my friend's first trip to Penn State so I wanted to make sure we hit up some of my favorite bars. Needless to say we drank a bit too much and the next morning were running late to catch the bus that would take us from Beaver Stadium over to Holuba. We drove over, found a spot and walked toward the practice field. From a distance we saw an older man walking toward and figured it was probably a security guard coming to yell at us. As we got closer we noticed it was Joe and just before ducking into the building he said, 'Hey fellas, thanks for coming.'

3. Since I worked at a small shop I was told I needed to write three stories to justify them sending me to PSU games. I'd write a column and notebook on the game and a follow-up story that would run in Monday's paper. It was the Oregon State game in 2008 and if you remember Mickey Shuler had three great catches, two for touchdowns, a week after catching nothing which included a horrible drop in the end zone against Coastal Carolina. I knew Joe didn't like to single out players in the post-game press conference but I figured I'd ask anyway. I asked him how he thought Shuler bounced back after a tough game against Coastal Carolina and here was his response: "It looked as if he played well. I don't see things. Everything that you guys see. You're probably from Harrisburg Area. I can't just watch for some things that are happening in the game and stick my two cents in there once in a while. Shuler had a couple good catches. And I think he played well. But he'll get better and better. I like him. I think he's a good ball player." I'm from the Poconos (nowhere near Harrisburg, where Shuler was from) and just wanted to write a follow-up on Shuler's game.

Many see Joe in many different lights. Some are good and some not so much. What matters to me is the way I see him and how all those who knew what he was about and what he stood for see him. RIP Joe. You're missed more than you'll ever know.

RIP Joe. We love and miss you. Thank you for all you did and the influence you had on all of us. We are all better because of you. Success with honor. 409 forever.

Miss the man a lot. Here's a picture of him at Paternoville for Iowa weekend in 2009. We left the bars for a couple of hours to check out Paternoville. Next thing we knew, Joe and Sue roll up and start handing out pizzas to all the students. Was a great moment I'll never forget.

Wear those 409s proudly today, boys