November 10, 2011

• Guest Blogger: Penn State Tragedy

  I've had guest bloggers in the past because sometimes I think that having a guest explain current affairs is better because I tend to have a slant on my views and it's always refreshing for you to hear what others have to say.  In the past I've had guest bloggers cover the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, The Economy, Swine Flu, The Nobel Peace Prize, The Times Square Bomb Scare, Xanga Suicide Hoax, The BP Oil Spill, The Crisis in Egypt, and The FBI Seizing Online Poker Sites.

  So to keep the tradition alive, here is a guest blogger to cover the tragedy at Penn State.  The guest blogger's views do not necessarily reflect my opinions.

  

  Guest blogger...legendary head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi.

  Thank you, Godfather, for bringing me to Xanga to talk about this horrible state of affairs at Penn State University.  It was a sad day in Pennsylvania when legendary football coach Joe Paterno was fired for his alleged covering up and mishandling of child sexual abuse accusations.  Joe Paterno was fired after 61 years of coaching at Penn State.  People may give Joe Paterno too much credit for his run at Penn State because it's not like he was the only one at the school or on the coaching staff.  Joe Paterno didn't play every Satruday.  The achievements of an organization are the combined effort of each individual.  Joe PAterno was a coach, and they call it coaching but it is teaching. You do not just tell them…you show them the reasons.  Joe obviously showed Penn State and the nation why he needed to leave.
  I once told my team, the greatest team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers, that winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.  Joe Paterno didn't act right all the time.  He allowed a pedophile to infiltrate his team and facilities.  People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society. The people at Penn State weren't working together in this matter and now they have to face the fall out and watch their program crumble to the ground. 
  I can understand why Joe Paterno didn't want to quit.  Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.  He was an admirable leader for many decades at Penn State.  Having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it.  It's a shame Joe Paterno didn't use this his leadership to squash the problems when they first arose.  His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.  A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the community.  You can not begin to tell me that the community wants to harbor pedophiles.  Then we have to remember that this is Joe Paterno who once said in an interview that if you put his team against another team, his team would win 4 out of 5 times and because he lost he'd have to go home to beat his wife.
  To be successful, a man must exert an effective influence upon his brothers and upon his associates, and the degree in which he accomplishes this depends on the personality of the man. The incandescence of which he is capable. The flame of fire that burns inside of him. The magnetism which draws the heart of other men to him.  That fire in Joe Paterno must've burnt out when he first heard that accusations against his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.  You could tell that this was Paterno's last season because he wasn't fired up on the sidelines.  If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.  Last night, Paterno was fired enthusiastically although the way he was fired left a lot to be desired.  Now Paterno will have to go home, lick his wounds, beat his wife, and collect unemployment. 
  Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will all be judged on one thing: the result and the result for Joe is he lost his job. Basically, in all of this, you have to live by the old Italian saying, "You fuck up, you lose your teeth," and it looks like my paisan, Joe Pa, needs to have his teeth knocked out.

  Remember, the views of the guest blogger do not reflect those of GodfatherofGreenBay.

  • 5:27 PM
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