Sports Center Saturday - I Will Remember You, Joe Paterno

This week a great a legendary coach passed away and was laid to rest.  Joe Paterno died on Sunday, January 22nd at the age of 85 after a brief battle with lung cancer.  While the end of his life was marred by the scandal at Penn State, I am not going to be going into that here except to say that while we all wish more had been done, I believe that Paterno thought he had done enough at the time.  Many ask how people like me can hold Coach Paterno in such high regards considering the Penn State scandal. Perhaps I can explain...

I was born in 1972.  I'm going to be 40 years old this year.  Joe Paterno had been the head coach for Penn State University for 46 years, and he had worked with the Penn State football team for 61 years. I am from Pennsylvania, and while I didn't become a football fan until I married a man from Green Bay I still grew up knowing Joe Paterno's name.  Pretty amazing since no one in my family watched football. There has never been a time in my life that Joe Paterno's name was not around and associated with Penn State Football. He was loved and respected by all, whether or not you gave a rat's butt about football.

Additionally, those of us from Pennsylvania (and probably the neighboring states) would look at Joe Paterno and we would see a sweet, cuddly man.  Sorry, but I see a picture of Paterno and I just want to hug him.  He is very much a grandfather figure to many of us, and who doesn't love a grandpa?

Is it natural to feel this way about someone you've never met?  From a college that I didn't even attend? No...it's not, but he was no ordinary man.  His coaching record was no ordinary record.  And his tenure at Penn State was of no ordinary length.  He truly was one in a million and I would say that most people that live/lived in Pennsylvania or that attended Penn State probably feel like a little piece of them is gone right now.  A piece of sports history and Pennsylvania history has written it's final chapter, and it's sad when such an epic tale ends.

Sports Center Saturday - It's in the Wedding Vows

My two little Packer fans before Super Bowl XLV

"...To love, honor, obey, and raise little Packer fans as long as you both shall live."  I do.

Our 2007 Family Christmas picture

It sounds so silly, but being a Green Bay Packer fan is no part-time job.  Fans live up to the term "fanatical", but in the positive meaning of the word!  Wisconsin Packer fans are even more passionate about their team (which includes those from Wisconsin that end up elsewhere in this great world!).  My husband is from Green Bay.  Born and raised.  So you know what that means...it was an unspoken part of the wedding vows...

I never watched football growing up, so I became a Packer fan by marriage in 1999 and never looked back.  It's easy to get caught up in the love of such a team.  When I took my Packer vows they were not far off from 2 Super Bowls, a win and a loss.  Losing seasons and the Brett Favre drama lay ahead, but we enjoyed the ride!

Outside Lambeau with our 1st born.  It....was...COLD!

Packer fans don't abandon their team when they are losing.  They support them during the best and the worst of times.  They are extremely loyal...and why wouldn't they be?  The Packers aren't owned by any one person.  They are owned by, well...their fans.  They are a non-profit organization and unique in the NFL.  How could the fans not be proud of that?

Both of our sons had their hospital pictures taken in Packer gear and if we have another child that one will be too.  Our oldest son was born and we flew from Hawaii to Green Bay to have him baptized in my husband's church.  After the baptism we drove to Lambeau Field and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  My second son was born, we drove from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to have him baptized in my church and then drove a few days later to Green Bay, stopped by Lambeau and put him on the list for season tickets.

Family photo by the Lombardi statue

Why you may ask?  It can take 40 or more years to get season tickets.  You used to be able to bequeath your place on the waiting list to someone in your will, but no more, so you've got to get on the list ASAP!  You're still permitted to pass your season tickets on in your will, but you need to get them first!  Hopefully, someday our kids numbers for tickets will come up and they'll have their own.  For now, we're blessed to have family members with tickets and usually get to make the pilgrimage to Lambeau once a year for a home game.  We'll brave the frozen tundra any time to watch our team play!

Needless to say Super Bowl XLV was a big deal in our house and we celebrated!  Super Bowl Champions one more time and the Lombardi trophy is back in Green Bay where it belongs.  Yeah, I guess you'd say I'm a full-on convert.  You kind of have to be when you marry into a Packer family!

Thanks to Wendy Muha-Cayemberg for the inspiration for this post!

Son, nephews and S.I.L. tailgating and staying warm

Packers vs. NY Giants game - 26DEC2010

Great action shot! Go Pack! Packers vs. Giants 26DEC2010

The Packers' rivals "Da Bears" who, I'm told, suck