.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Growing up in Pennsylvania every kid had to make a choice, and once you made it, there was no turning back. You had to choose your colors, your mascot, and in some cases, your coach. Your two options: Penn State or Notre Dame.
At age 10, with Tony Rice and Raghib ‘The Rocket’ Ismail leading the Irish I chose the Blue and Gold over the Blue and White.
At age 18, I chose to lace my spikes up at Pitt because we played both Notre Dame and Penn State.
And after each season as a Panther my disdain, along with every other Pitt student or alum, grew for Penn State, their coach and everything that occurred two hours due east in Happy Valley.
But years later, as the assistant quarterbacks coach at the University of Southern California, in what would be my final game coaching football; we faced off against the mighty Nittany Lions and Joe Pa in the Rose Bowl. A fitting game for my final time on the sideline against the team I grew up hating, until a dinner two nights before kick-off.
It is a Rose Bowl tradition that both staff’s and their families meet for dinner and it was there at a swanky Los Angeles venue that I arrived with no place to sit. Thus, I sat alone at a table. When I returned with a plate of food there was a man and his wife sitting down at that circular table—that man was the legendary Joe Paterno.
Below is an excerpt from my recent book, From PA to LA , where it detailed our dinner together.
I am in love with Joe Paterno.
Tonight, our staff had dinner with Penn State’s in Los Angeles at a very cool venue. As dinner was starting, I began to search for a seat. None were available, so I sat at a table alone.
When I returned from getting a plate of food from the buffet, I noticed that Coach Joe Paterno was sitting at my table. Assuming he had an entourage with him, I asked if he wanted me to leave.
He snapped back, “No, you’re sitting right here. What’s your name, son?”
At that moment, I fell in love with Joe Paterno.
For the next ninety minutes, I ate dinner with Joe Pa, his wife, Coach Carroll, Coach’s wife, and a few others. But this was not an ordinary dinner. Joe Pa was asking me questions about Dalton, PA, busting my chops about Pitt, and having a blast with the entire table.
I have to tell you, I was so impressed with how sharp he was, how witty he was, and how genuine he was. I never thought this would come out of my mouth, or my fingers on this computer, but I am in love with Joe Paterno.
This past weekend, the iconic Coach Joe Paterno won his 400th game on the sideline and did it with quarterback Matt McGloin, who walked-on to his program. McGloin chose the Blue and White as a child as he grew up 10 minutes from my hometown in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He led a heroic comeback that will go down in Penn State lore as the Nittany Lions were down 21-0 before scoring 35 unanswered points behind McGloin’s 4 touchdown passes to beat Northwestern 35-21 in front of over 100,000 of Paterno’s closest friends.
What we were able to witness will never happen again in sports, my dinner with Joe Pa will never be re-created again and his impact on college football is much larger than the stadium in which he fills each Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley. And that is a beautiful thing.
Joe Paterno is a legend.
Joe Paterno is the blueprint for class.
Joe Paterno is college football.
Thanks, Coach.
