O-mama - Opinionated Moms

Joe Paterno’s passing marks the death of an era.  An era when coaches were kings who ruled benevolently.  When we all believed that our kids were safe in locker rooms.  When adults were trusted and kids were trusting.  When we were innocent.

“JoePa” will go down as one of the greatest football coaches in history.  His mantra was “success with honor.”  He was known as a devoted family man, and a teacher who upheld high academic standards and had a tough work ethic.  His legacy, however, will be tainted because of the recent scandal surrounding his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky who allegedly sexually abused children.  The university’s Board of Trustees fired Paterno over the scandal, and the coach passed away only 74 days later- some will say, in part, of a broken heart.  For Paterno, honor was everything and to have it questioned was devastating to him.  Of course, the abused kids and their families, couldn’t care less about Paterno’s honor, and justifiably so.

MOMism: “We are die hard fans.”  We put our trust and faith in celebrities and expect perfection of them.  We follow them and put them on pedestals.   But every once in awhile, something happens to shake us up and make us realize that nobody is perfect.  We are all flawed to one extent or another.  Even the great ”JoePa” is not perfect. He was a great leader and family man, who positively impacted the lives of young people for decades.  However…there will always be a “but” at the end of everything written about him, because, at the end, he let some kids down by failing to protect them.  So, let’s teach our kids that being a fan is good, but not to the point of blind admiration.