start of college football season.
Joe Paterno was the head football coach at Penn State University for 45 seasons and was an assistant football coach there for 15 seasons prior to that. In total, he won 409 games, three Big Ten Championships (1994, 2005, and 2009) and two National Championships (1982 and 1986). He was easily identifiable on the sidelines with his black shoes, white socks, and Coke-bottle spectacles.
Paterno also, of course, became a polarizing figure in light of the November 2011 arrest and subsequent prosecution of longtime assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, on charges of child sexual abuse on the PSU campus. Paterno was fired by the PSU Board of Trustees less-than a week later (this followed his announced resignation) and, fewer than three months later he was dead from lung cancer at age 85.
The Paterno family later sued former FBI director and lead investigator for PSU, Louis Freeh, over his report that – the family claimed – unjustly connected Paterno to Sandusky’s actions.
To say it was soap opera-esque does a disservice to daytime television.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.