The Rhetoric of Tragedy

            The passing of Joe Paterno this week has exposed the complexity in the rhetoric of tragedy. While there are still undertones of anger and disapproval surrounding the end of Joe’s career, this week focused more on the sadness of his departure from this life, and the joy he created in the lives of so many others. From the thousands upon thousands of students, alumni, and fans that paid their respects in the last few days at the vigil, viewing, and the funeral procession through state college, it’s become apparent that JoePa was much more than a football coach to so many.

The complexity of the emotions that stem from his passing, however, was most evident to me as I sat in my living room watching the Joe Paterno memorial in the BJC. There was the still present feeling of resentment towards the Board of Trustees. Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, stated that “if there is a villain in this tragedy it is in the investigation, not in the response of Joe Paterno,” and continued to rhetorically ask, “Who is the real trustee at Penn State University?” After which statements, he received a standing ovation from the audience. In a similar vain, Jay Paterno told the audience “Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience.” Although the references to the scandal were limited, a few of the speakers still felt the need to address them; to tell the audience and the world that JoePa is not the villain the media had made him to be before his passing.

Most prevalent, of course, were the overtones of sadness and grievance for the loss of such a great man. The University has lost their idol and continues to grapple with how to move forward from such a loss. Speakers often found themselves needing to pause to breathe and regroup, the cameras frequently cut to the grieving family as they held each other, and each video montage played a song that reminded us of what we have lost. Most surprisingly, however, was the undertone of joy – joy for Joe’s life, for his contributions, for his dedication, whether direct or indirect, to every student on this campus. As one of the speakers said, “the greatness and the legacy of Joe Paterno lies within each of us.” The light in all of this is that, although he is gone physically, he lives on eternally through each and every one of us.

That’s the rhetoric of tragedy and of loss isn’t it? A confused, jumbled, rollercoaster of words and emotions. There’s no right way and no wrong way to go about grieving. But, if you ask me, the Penn State community has handled the passing of Joe Paterno with a measure of great dignity, respect, and grace in light of the disparaging eyes of the rest of the world. The rhetoric since his passing has been based on mutual support, mutual respect, mutual shock, and mutual love for JoePa and his family. As he created a team on the football field year after year, he created the team that is this great Penn State University.

Jay Paterno's final words to his father, Joe:
"Dad, you won. You did all you could do. You've done enough. We all love you; you've won. You can go home now."  - RIP Joseph Vincent Patero, 12/21/1926-1/22/2012. Legends never die.