Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Should Not Rename Stadium After Joe Paterno

The fine survey folks at Quinnipiac University have found, through a survey, that the support to rename Beaver Stadium after recently deceased coach Joe Paterno is not exactly monumental. Yes, the survey showed a "win" for the people in favor of renaming the stadium after JoePa, but the 46 to 40 number belies the overall uneasiness the public has with making such a strong, public move; especially at this time.

While the university does have plans to do something to memorialize the legendary coach, the stadium is not the answer.

Sorry folks, it's ust not the time or the place to crank out that sort of news in the wake of a scandal, and for a school that is attempting to transition into a new era after a dark ending.

This is not about heaping the blame on to Paterno. This is not about the "diminishing his legacy" which has become the go to line for people who want to pretend nothing happened. Most certainly, this is not about forgetting what good the coach has done for State College, PA.

The fact of the matter is, we live in a world of image, discussion, perception and right now Penn State, regardless of how hard it is for people emotionally invested in the Nittany Lions to digest, have to play the same game as the rest of the world.

That means rebuilding an image. That means fixing problems from the bottom up and the top down. That means it isn't a "screw everyone because we want it" situation it is a "the eyes of the nation are watching us and we have to be smart."

Now, generally I'm not the guy to say people should bend to the whims of the general public or the media, but in this situation Penn State has lost a lot of that right to just do things the way they want. Or the way their fans want. When you drop the ball at the start, you know on the whole child abuse thing, and it blows up in your face, you have to start playing by a different set of rules.

Rules that are not your own.

Every home game is going to draw the eyeballs of millions of viewers and every home game should be a move away from the terrible events that transpired. But rushing to slap JoePa's name on the stadium, most certainly, will not aid in that process.

The wounds are fresh. And for people without the blind romanticism of the former head coach, the move comes across as a push to ignore the bad, champion the good and get back to just being the happy Penn State they've been since, well forever.

That's not to say tear down everything Paterno, the statue is a great way of honoring the coach and his legacy. Down the road, as the Jerry Sandusky situation is "resolved," there will be an opportunity to make a grand gesture of remembrance for Joe Paterno, by naming the stadium after him.

But right now, while the heat is still burning hot and the trial has yet to even begin, is not that time. Most certainly folks will be bothered by that sentiment, and believe you me, I understand. I'm sure the ardent push by big time supporters of Paterno comes from a good place, but I can also tell you that from the outside looking in it is not something that Penn State, as a university not just a football program, needs right now.