Paterno and the media

mchammer · Post by **mchammer** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:37 am

I listened to Joe on the Charlie Rose show last night. He said that today's media tends to emphasize the negative, to the detriment of sport. "It used to be that every game had a winner, now every game has a loser." He didn't believe that this is what the fans want, but rather what the media wants, and that it won't change. Is it possible that we are being conditioned to dwell on the negatives in sport? I am in awe of the teamwork required for teams to function and perform well together. Our sports are a model for what our society needs to grow.
By the way, my brother is an airline pilot, and he has flown Penn State to some games. He was very impressed with the way that their football team conducts themselves in public. He said that they were outstanding in every way to the last man. Now he's a Penn State fan.

Mike Carignan

94VegasCat · Post by **94VegasCat** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:41 am

Winning or losing, I have always had a great deal of respect for "Joe Pa"

bozbobcat · Post by **bozbobcat** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:55 am

Joe Paterno seems to run a classy organization, I think. It's a very traditional type of style and it still seems to work. I also think he's right about certain portions of the media. A lot of people have questioned him and his age, but this year was a nice "in-your-face" from JoePa to those who doubted him. I also believe that some media try to find the most negative thing to talk about.

BobcatLionFan · Post by **BobcatLionFan** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:45 am

I think it was more Joe had to change. He always had a style of playing seniors/upperclassmen. This discouraged some great High School players from going there because they knew they would not play for 2 or 3 years (counting red-shirt). This past year, they told incoming freshmen they would play if they came and they did. (This is what USC does so well). Thus they picked up players they did not get the years before. This is the skill position kids.

It was refreshing to see him do well, but it only came with change and it was good

mchammer · Post by **mchammer** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:21 pm

Something else he did was visit Texas. He and his staff visited the UT staff for an exchange of ideas, and they were particularly interested in the Texas offense. He said that the exchange was very helpful to his program in 2005. So he wasn't too proud to ask for advice. He has great respect for the Texas program for their willingness to share. Paterno doesn't sound like someone unwilling to change or ask for help.