HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE PA

By Jared Trexler

Words, poetic or otherwise, would not do Joe Paterno justice. He's an honest man. A kind man. A hard-working, family-oriented man. He really didn't have the time to sign two footballs for ANOTHER charity golf tournament.

Then, he realized they were for an intern of Steve Jones, the voice of Penn State football. He realized they were for that Trexler kid.

So, he actually hung up the phone, ran to grab a Sharpie and placed his "Joe Paterno" on a pair of pigskins for an event honoring my deceased uncle.

I've only met him a handful of times. I feel like he's family. But that's a common emotion if you are or were a Penn Stater. Along with an ice cream flavor and a multi-million dollar library, Paterno gave students every Saturday in the fall.

The following is a rehash of my first meeting with Paterno:

As a junior in college, I stepped into the media room on the inside of a concourse at Beaver Stadium. I was there as part of Mike Poorman's sports journalism class. As a side note, Poorman is one of collegiate journalism's finest teachers, a real-world journalist who I owe a lot to in terms of passion and professionalism.

It was Tuesday. It was Joe's turn to speak, which was an event in itself. A legendary football coach within a 10-yard curl route of my pen and paper. I don't remember a lot about what Paterno said that afternoon.

He sighed and laughed. He shot off some one-liners and made references to his Italian heritage. What I do remember is something I'll never forget.

Twelve wide-eyed journalism students standing in the freezing cold outside the media room waiting for Mike to finish talking to a few industry friends. Our fearless leader walked out with Paterno by his side.

I hovered around Joe as he spoke about life, college, priorities and Penn State. I noticed his thick legendary coke bottle glasses. I was in awe of his stature as a grandfather figure, a man leading a university with wisdom and strength.

His dialect was heavy. His hair was gray. He drove a nice car.

But when asked what I'll always remember about that encounter, I never waver.

He, as always, was wearing black running shoes. One was from Nike, the other from adidas.

Penn State's title sponsor would not have been happy.

Maybe he was in a hurry. Maybe he had a senior moment. Maybe Sue Paterno couldn't find the other Swoosh in the coat closest.

Yet, I won't remember that moment for the humor. I'll remember it because I didn't care. I was in the presence of college football's greatest coach.

Happy 80th Birthday Joe.