#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay
Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you are all having a great day, and that you didn't have the same NFL Conference Championship picks that I did. At the start of the playoffs I picked Baltimore to make it to the Super Bowl, along with my other pick the Packers. After the Packers got eliminated last weekend, the Ravens were making their last stand for me on Sunday. Sadly, they lost to the Patriots after their kicker missed a relatively easy field goal that would of tied the game 23-23; instead of the final result that was 23-20. My impromptu bandwagon pick once the Packers lost was the 49ers. They battled in a great game against the Giants that was also decided by a field goal and ended 20-17. I have to admit I am disappointed, but both games were extremely close and could of gone either way. The NFL has once again provided a great show for it's fans, and the Super Bowl is once again going to be the biggest sporting event in the United States. My next post will be all about the upcoming Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, and the path both teams have taken to get to the holy land. I'm looking forward to it!
Besides the awesome action that the NFL playoffs provided over the weekend, the sports world has been a very somber one. Early Sunday morning, the college football world lost a true legend and icon. Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State University, passed away at the age of 85 due to complications from lung cancer. “Joe Pa,” as his loyal fans knew him, coached the PSU Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 to 2011. In a harsh college football environment where coaches of all kinds struggle to hold a job for more than a year, Coach Paterno was able to break multiple NCAA FB records due to his longevity and huge success.
Joseph Vincent Paterno holds the record for the most wins by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football coach after winning 409 games during his incredible career. He is also the only coach that has ever reached the 400 victories mark. While he coached for the Nittany Lions he was responsible for 5 undefeated teams that went on to win major championship bowl games. This may already seem like enough to make Mr. Paterno the best coach in NCAA FB history, but it doesn't end here.
Joe Pa also owns the record for most bowl victories as a college football head coach with 24, and the record for most bowl appearances with 37. When referring to a “bowl game” in college football, it is a postseason game that vary in quality. There is 1 championship game, and 3 other championship games that hold slightly less value than the title game. These championship games are known as BCS games, and these are the goal lines for all teams. On top of the BCS games are many other “bowl” games, but I will go into more detail about that when the college football season begins...stay tuned! He is the only coach that has won all 4 BCS bowl games – the Sugar, Fiesta, Orange and Rose bowls. Of course, the final and most true sign of a coaches greatness is how many National Championships he has lead his team to. At the end of the Paterno's career he had 2 National Championships for the PSU Nittany Lions. While the number 2 may seem underwhelming, the level of competition and difficulty in college football higher than any major league.
Not surprisingly, Joe Pa was elected into the college football Hall of Fame in 2007, and in my opinion and in the opinions of many he is known as the greatest NCAA head football coach in history.
As many of you may have heard, there has been a whirlwind of conflict surrounding Penn State recently. An old assistant coach for PSU by the name of Jerry Sandusky was charged with child molestation charges on many different accounts. Unfortunately, these acts all allegedly took place in 2002 and due to actions by Paterno and other members of the PSU staff none of this information was revealed until November 5, 2011. After all of these allegations hit the media, and the hurricane of epic drama began, Joe Paterno was quickly relieved from his position as head football coach and his reputation was forever tarnished. I am not going to go into much detail about all of these alleged actions, and I have not written anything about PSU for two reasons...#1 I generally do not like to speak about such horrific and despicable acts. #2 Joe Paterno is the greatest football coach ever, and I do not want to tarnish his entire history because of some mistakes that he made.
These mistakes were of epic proportions, but everyone makes them. The old cliche that nobody is perfect is a cliche for one reason, it will always be true. Paterno wasn't just a part of the culture at PSU, he was the culture at PSU. He donated over $4 million dollars to his school, and committed more time to his community than any coach could. Joe Pa is the epitomy of a hard and loyal worker, and prior to November of 2011 had no blemishes on his record of any significance. This man fought his whole life to be the best at what he did, and be the best person he could be while he did it. In the end, Mr. Paterno was fired by the school that he loved, and for the last two months of his life his name was surrounded by the words “Sandusky Child Molestation Scandal.” He passed away while surrounded by his friends and family. Judging by the man he seemed to be, that was probably all he needed.
This post isn't meant to be depressing, but rather a way to spread the respect a great coach and person deserves. LMK what you think of Joe Pa by tweeting me @DerekJ_AllDay, and keep an eye out next Tuesday for my all Super Bowl post! See you guys next week!