SuePa: Paterno Will Coach Saturday

By Josh Moyer Collegian Staff Writer After refusing anything more than one Tylenol a day since his operation, Joe Paterno is ready to get back to coaching and should return to practice today, his wife said last night.

Plans are already being finalized for him to attend this weekend's game, albeit from a coach's booth. It may not be the sideline, but Sue Paterno said it's better than watching her husband stare at a television screen while his team takes the field just a mile away.

It was too risky, she said, for him to attend last Saturday's game. So, there he sat, furiously scribbling notes from his modest house on McKee Road.

"I knew it was killing him, it was killing him," Sue Paterno repeated. "He just said, 'I can't believe I'm doing this.' "

When her 79-year-old husband addressed the team from his home, Sue Paterno was overwhelmed and had to leave the room for a moment. The coach apologized for not being there and told his team he loved them.

"I just started crying," she said. "I'm emotional at times -- and I'm not even Italian, right?"

According to Sue Paterno, Joe didn't seem the same in those first two days after the surgery -- "He couldn't focus," she said -- and he required morphine that Sunday. But, last Tuesday night, he was back to normal.

And when asked if the injury will prevent him from coaching next season, Sue Paterno almost had to stifle a laugh.

For now, he'll be back in a motorized wheelchair -- although Sue Paterno said he refuses to say that word -- and is experimenting with a walker that has an immobilizer, so he won't have to put pressure on his left leg.

Eventually, he'll be able to use a cane. And, at practice, a special golf cart was donated so he can keep his leg elevated on the practice field.

"He's very upbeat. Last week, for a couple days, he was a little down because he's never had -- I think the most he was ever in the hospital was once when he had a hernia," she said, adding that was just for a day, and it was 33 years ago. "This is a whole new experience."

Saturday's game seemed surreal to most fans. Joe Paterno didn't run out of the concrete tunnel, smiling and pumping his fist in the air. There were no chants of "We are ... Penn State!" breathing down the back of his neck. And there were no Coke-bottled frames staring back at the student section.

Something just didn't seem right -- and, for Joe, it felt the same way, Sue Paterno said.

But if there's one thing that did feel right, Sue said, it was her family. Not just her husband, sons and daughters -- but the entire Penn State family.

When asked how many "Get Well" cards they've received, Sue said "a lot" at least five times in a row. She said that's one thing in particular that's really hit home. She was overwhelmed by all the sympathy.

Beaver Stadium was decorated with posters and rolled-up pant legs. And one sign, "After 41 years, JoePa can still take a hit. Get well soon!" was tied to a tree outside her home. One class, Finance 100, even delivered a card -- four feet by six feet. And the gauze and signs around the coach's statue left Sue Paterno with a feeling of gratitude.

"Everyone's been kind and sweet -- and how much they care. Sometimes you forget people care, but I just really want to thank everyone for everything because, well, you couldn't ask for anything better," Sue Paterno said. "This is really Happy Valley and -- you always know it -- but sometimes you're reminded in a big way ... Now, I'm going to start to cry again."

Go get em' Joe. And thank you Sue for all you do for the Penn State Nation. From tutoring freshman football players to "standing by your man", you are one class act.

For about three years I had the opportunity to observe Sue Paterno on a regular basis. She is one of the most generous, kind, and self-effacing celebrities I can imagine. Both Paternos are outstanding people, who have chosen to live in a small house and give millions to build a library on campus.

Agreed nittany...they both are "one of a kind." We have been so blessed for all these years.

3 posted on 11/14/2006 7:16:36 PM PST by FlJoePa (Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good.)

This is truly great news; it's going to be a great day of college football all around!

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