This Is Not News

There are a lot of angles to the Penn State case, but one thing that keeps coming into my head is how almost no one saw this particular ending coming. I wonder, did Joe Paterno, at any point in the last decade, think about what his final game as head coach of Penn State would be like? Did he imagine that moment as a final recognition and culmination of his career? Maybe he didn’t care. Maybe he didn’t want that final moment. Maybe he wanted to keep going until he dropped, so he would never have to think “This is my last moment as coach.” I don’t know. But whatever he thought, whatever he hoped for . . . I wonder how many times in the last ten years (at least) he’s known how quickly that vision would fall apart if the truth ever came out. I wonder if he ever thought about what it would take to truly go out on his own terms with his reputation and integrity intact.