You wrote:
“I didn’t know who Joe Paterno was.”
Okay, but he was a national icon. I have been all over the USA and have seen his image and name on bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc. The guy has been famous since the 1960s. I suppose if someone knows nothing about college football, he might not know him, but he also was involved in Republican politics too.
The extent to which the POS in question was an “icon” reflects the undue (dare I say perverted?) attention given to games/sports in this society.