Penn State Football: The road ahead

In an instant the Penn State community was shocked, hurt, angry, upset, confused, at the situation that unfolded before their very eyes every minute of every day. One man, Jerry Sandusky, and the horrible crimes he committed, tore down a tradition of excellence that had stood for the better part of 60 years under another man, Joe Paterno. It was like a bad dream many said, something you never thought you'd see from such a strong university. A place that stood for nothing but the best, a place that whenever you heard its name you heard nothing but positive things. Doing things the right way, showing everyone what it meant to be great, on and off the field. In the blink of an eye, that was all gone. People forget all about that and now when they think of Penn State, the negative thoughts come racing out of peoples minds. The road ahead for Penn State University is going to be the biggest challenge any school has ever had to overcome. No one could have predicted what was going to happen, and no one could have imagined that Joe Paterno, the man who built Beaver Stadium from a 30,000 seat stadium to a 110,000 seat cathedral for college football, could be fired with the snap of a finger it seemed. A man who had so much power, so much love for the school he coached at, a man who he and his wife have donated countless dollars to the school to ensure that doing well in the classroom and graduating the student-athlete was the number one goal. On January 7th, 2012, the school introduced its new head football coach, Bill O'Brien. O'Brien knows the task at hand, and that the road ahead and the rise to greatness for a fallen program is not going to come overnight. He has assembled a staff in which he hand-picked guys who he feels will benefit the university and Penn State community. "He is a Penn State guy without being a Penn State guy" runningback Silas Redd said after meeting Coach O'Brien. The fact is that Penn State has a long road to travel before they can reach the top and regain its status of being the school known for everything good you want to see in a university. Yes things might be different, yes there is a new head coach, yes there will be new faces, but the fact remains that "We Are...Penn State" will still ring through every seat at Beaver Stadium. Penn State will not fall, Penn State will overcome the obstacles placed in front of them, and Penn State will be back at the top because We Are...Penn State.