“We’re going to get JoePa to appear in this video.â€
My husband, Jason, was a sophomore at Penn State the first time he was diagnosed with cancer, and his friends had put together a get-well video with one common mission: Have Penn State football coach Joe Paterno make an appearance. It was a running theme throughout the “film,†and they pulled off the perfect ending.
There was Paterno — a slightly younger version than the 83-year-old who will take the field for a 45th season as head coach this year — promising Jason he’d be in his prayers and encouraging him to keep fighting.
Best pep talk I’d ever heard.
Recently, Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Howard, nominated Paterno for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award is given, according to a White House news release, “to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.â€
