For the Love of JoePa

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things.”

– Joseph Vincent Paterno

Some people discount him because he worked in the medium of football. Something that in so many people's lives is so meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Others are tied up in the recent controversy of the university, unable to look past details of a grand jury report, internal and external investigations and a crime so horrific they want nothing to do with anyone remotely involved, no matter the extent.

Maybe it was the way I was raised. Maybe it was being fans of a college or a football team that formed my original love for a man that was so amazing. But whatever got it started, I know there is not a doubt in my mind that he was one of the most amazing people to ever walk this earth.

I’ve never seen nor heard of a more selfless person. Joe Paterno touched millions of lives with his coaching, his leadership and his giving nature. He put academics before the sport, pleading for all, on the field and off, to have “Success with Honor.”

In December 2011, Paterno and his wife gave back $100,000 to a school that just weeks before fired him on the telephone after more than six decades of dedication.

From the library named for his honor and donations to a statue bearing his likeness and a Paterno Fellowship Program he created to give back to academic achievers – the school grows and will continue to grow from the seeds he planted.

Why am I using the space in my weekly mothering column to explain this all to you? In truth, I write it because it is precisely, for me, most about my children. I can think of no better role model for my children than a philanthropist that gave himself completely – not just for an institution, but more importantly to thousands of college students, their friends and their families. He inspired greatness on and off of a football field. He was much more than a coach – in our house, he was a hero.

As conversations around the man’s legacy, what memories and lasting impressions he’ll leave on the next generations, continue, I know one thing is for sure – his impression will not be forgotten in my house, not by my children.

My son, at age 6, will always be able to say he was at . He knows the love and passion our family has for not just a football team, but an icon. Joe was not a great man in football, he as a great man. Period.

I’ve this legend, before, and I’ll do it until the day I die. I’ll teach my children of his amazing ways of giving, all he did for a school we love, for athletics, for academics, for philanthropy.

We’ll miss you, Joe. We love you. We hope somewhere, somehow, the way you coached us in life will live on forever. I know I’ll do my part to be sure that message is passed on.