Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno Dead

A sad day in the world of sports. Legendary football coach Joe Paterno has passed away at the age of 85.

Paterno died Sunday morning at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania from lung cancer.

His family would later release a statement:

“It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today. His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled. He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players and his community".

It is a sad ending to a legend who coached Penn State football for nearly 60 years only to have been disgraced in a scandal involving assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was arrested for 40 counts of sexual abuse performed among young boys. Paterno, who knew about one case informed his boss, was later fired. Sandusky awaits trial and is out free on $250,000 bail.

Joe Pa will go down in history as having the most wins at a Division 1A school at 409, and winning two national titles. He would take the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and be honored five times as National Coach Of The Year. For that, he is legend.

Yes, Joe Paterno made an err in judgement by not doing more, when more really counted. Football was his life, his real focus, and now he is gone.

Rest in peace, Mr. Paterno.

About Kerry Kobashi

Kerry is the founder of KerryOnWorld. He lives in Silicon Valley and has worked as an engineer and project manager. He owns Kobashi Computing a consulting company.