He has always been about respect. Early in his career, when other schools began to adorn their helmets with stickers, it was disrespectful. Later, when he donated $4 million to expand the PSU Library, an act that constituted respect.

And so, last Saturday against, after being treated to several ovations and an especially warm greeting by the fans and media, JoPa took the sidelines to face Ron Zook’s Illinois Team in a highly anticipated event. As it turns out, it was another adventure in disrespect.
“I cannot believe the way I was treated by ESPN,” Paterno fumed while changing in a private tastefully decorated dressing room, far away from his players. “Just because we were throwing some meatball passes (a reference to his Italian Heritage?) out there, do we have to drop them? Show me some respect and send Ron Franklin to call the play by play instead of Pam Ward. It makes me so crazy I can’t even remember where to throw the ball in a Cover 2. After all that I have done for the College Football, they send a woman announcer to cover a Paterno team? Do they send a woman broadcaster when Bobby Bowden’s team plays on National Television? ESPN, You do not treat Joe Paterno like this.”

Paterno was reminded that ESPN did have an obligation to broadcast the game as they saw fit, and that he was treated very warmly by the Sports Network, who showed a touching video montage of JoPa to the fans. “That’s the least they could do,” he sniffed. “Where was the salsa band? Why would they send a female announcer? Why didn’t they play the national anthem of Peru? I had to send somebody out to get me a mango, for goodness sakes, they didn’t even leave me a basket in my dressing room. I am Joe Paterno. There must be special treatment…don’t they remember?”
“Oh, we remember,” whispered former Penn State QB Todd Blackledge, watching from his CBS Broadcaster Booth. “Ohhhhh…how we remember. Joe will eliminate Pam Ward’s use of double negatives when she speaks.”

After ranting on for several more minutes, JoPa walked outside Beaver Stadium, where hundreds of loving fans waited for him and cheered. Finally, he smiled. “Now, that,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye, “is respect.”