It's Official: They ALL Knew

The report is out and we who love collegiate sports, football in particular, have had their worst fears confirmed. Joe-Pa knew...they all knew, from the PSU President, to the Vice President, to the Athletic Director, amazingly including a man I held in very high regard until recently, Head Coach Paterno.

The Louis Freeh investigative team released their report today, stating:

"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State," Freeh wrote in his summary of his report. "The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized. Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky's victims until after Sandusky's arrest."

It makes me sick. Find a tall, strong oak tree and use a thick rope. Knot it around Sandusky's hangy-down parts and pull him up, very slowly, from the ground. The others can have the benefit of a scaffolding and trap door, except for Paterno, of course; he assumed room temperature knowing he had abandoned the welfare of defenseless kids in favor of saving face and protecting a profitable sports program. Disgusting.

Since 1965, I've been a raving lunatic Michigan Wolverine football fan. I hold Bo Schembechler in the highest regard possible. He ran, to the best of my knowledge, the cleanest, toughest, best football program in the nation for twenty years. Please God, don't let there be an as yet unknown ugly skeleton in his closet. It's just too damn hard to have your heroes disintegrate into useless dust.

I know their cheer, I heard it time and again while tailgating prior to our contests against them in Ann Arbor: WE ARE...PENN STATE!

I doubt it will be shouted with such volume or conviction any time in the coming years. What a damn shame.