Joe Paterno: Life After Football Will Be a Downward Spiral for Penn State Legend

With former Penn State University head coach Joe Paterno away from the game that he was a part of for nearly his entire life, one may wonder what will happen now that he isn’t involved. We have seen signs of his life going downhill already, but it’s only going to get worse.

Some people believed that the only thing keeping Paterno going was his love for football and the university. But what will keep the juices flowing now? As a fan of Penn State or as a fan of the great coach, you should be very worried to where this man is going in the coming years.

Soon after the allegations that torn Penn State at the seams, we learn that Paterno has lung cancer. Even though it is in the early stages, cancer, as we all know, is nothing to be overlooked. It’s treatable, that’s the great sign, however, cancer is cancer and it still is life-threatening if not taken care of properly.

"Last weekend, my father was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness," Scott Paterno said in the brief statement. The medical exam came the same weekend the school played its first game since the 1960s without Paterno leading the Nittany Lions—a 17-14 loss to Nebraska.

"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment," Scott Paterno said.

Age also has a factor in dealing with cancer. The older a person is the more it may be an issue. His age (84 years) will only make it more difficult to fight. Only 15 percent of lung cancer patients survive, according to a study.

Football and Penn State is what kept this guy going for decades. How is he going to fare when he isn’t with the team, isn’t on campus and isn’t part of the normality with the university? I don’t know, but it is very concerning. Compile his health trouble, age and lack of what kept him going and it isn’t looking bright.

I believe Paterno will be okay in the long run because of how early his doctors caught the cancer, but this is probably the worst start anyone could imagine to his post-football career.

Let’s just hope that Paterno can fight cancer the way he orchestrated his teams for four decades. His kids would never quit in any game, no matter the score. If we have learned anything about Paterno’s career, it is that he will never give up. He’ll fight to the end.