There are two memories of legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno that I will take to the grave.
The first occurred in 1987, the night after Paterno won his second national championship with a stunning 14-10 upset of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. I was dumbstruck by the sight of Paterno — nattily dressed in a dark blue suit, his hair still jet black — walking out the hotel lobby and into the Arizona night with his wife, Sue, a glowing vision in a red dress, on his arm.
He was a champion in every sense of the word.
There were no cell phones back then, no pocket-sized 35-millimeter cameras. The only memory card is mine.
The other memory is not nearly as pleasant. It occurred earlier this season after Alabama whipped Penn State, 24-3.
Paterno was as ornery as Nancy Pelosi after Tuesday’s elections. When a reporter politely asked Paterno to clarify a statement he had made about his team’s poor performance, the legendary coached barked, “Get a hearing aid.”
He was a curmudgeon in every sense of the word.
Today, there are cell phones with cameras, cameras with video functions, making every moment a public one.
Which is why I hope Paterno decides enough is enough after this season. Let’s be clear, Paterno, 83, has more than earned the right to be the master of his fate. The Brooklyn native can post his 400th win today when the Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) play host to Northwestern (6-2, 2-2).
“I don’t go home and think about what we’ve done,” he said. “I go home and worry about what we’ve got to get done.”
What Paterno has accomplished should never be forgotten. He embarked on what he labeled “The Grand Experiment,” a mission to prove a college football program could succeed in athletics and academia.
This was Paterno’s gift to his father, Angelo, who had hoped his son would pursue a career in law after graduating from Brown with a degree in English lit. Hidden behind Paterno’s thick-lensed, black-framed glasses was keen vision inherited from Angelo.
“I was fortunate I had that in my father, who was a very unselfish man,” Paterno said. “My father started the Anti Defamation League in New York to go to bat for African-Americans in the service. That was back in 1945. And I still have a speech he gave [against] defamation.”
Publicly, Paterno always has maintained he would coach as long as his health permitted, and he still was having a positive impact. Privately, he has continued to coach because the thought of waking up one morning without a game film to review or a game plan to formulate is terrifying.
But Paterno still has much he can get done. He can follow deeper in his father’s footsteps. He can consult with young coaches who want to win and maintain academic excellence. His retirement doesn’t have to be an end.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com
