Life after Paterno at Penn State
Joe Paterno's grave is about halfway between Mount Nittany and Beaver Stadium. In nearby Bellefonte, Jerry Sandusky is inmate No. 12-0529 at the Centre County Jail. Penn State is set to begin a season like no other in its storied football history.
Saturday's game (noon ET, ESPN) against Ohio University once would have been viewed as simply a matchup with that other Ohio school — not Ohio State. But this is no typical year in "Happy Valley," where roars of "We Are … Penn State!" have echoed through past falls, a distinct, unified and thundering voice known across the college football landscape.
"We know what we're going through is tough … but we also know the power football has to bring people together," says senior fullback Michael Zordich, whose father played for Penn State in the 1980s. "We know that it can't heal everything, but we know that it can help."
The healing Zordich speaks of will continue this weekend in a stadium packed with roughly 100,000 fans — die-hards who have witnessed the Penn State football program's stunning and swift fall from grace after a child sexual abuse scandal, and alleged coverup, that dominated the nation's headlines for months.
In interviews with dozens of students, merchants, business people, faculty and alumni, USA Today encountered common themes: displeasure with stiff NCAA sanctions, fatigue over news media coverage of the scandal, disgust with the crimes committed — and enduring support for Paterno and the football program that he built.
"I hope it's a year in which we can demonstrate to everyone how important it is for all of us to be respectful of one another … and to reflect the best of the university and the community as we move forward together," university President Rodney Erickson said Monday before an event to build relationships between students and local residents.
In the company of the Nittany Lions mascot, Erickson joined in the fifth annual Lion Walk, visiting homes to chat with students and locals.
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