According to one survey, a large segment of Pennsylvanians favor renaming Penn State's football stadium in honor of Joe Paterno. It's currently named Beaver Stadium and formerly Beaver Field, after a former state governor and school president. This idea will not at all be controversial:
The Quinnipiac University survey found that 46 percent of those polled thought the school should rename Beaver Stadium, while 40 percent were opposed.
The idea was more strongly backed by those who described themselves as "very or somewhat interested'' in college football, and by those over age 65.
It's kind of ridiculous to think of the stadium being named after anybody besides Paterno. When he took over the Nittany Lions, its capacity was 46,284. It's now the world's second biggest American football stadium, once packing in 110,000.
Even though he left with his reputation in question, there might never be anybody who defines a college program more than Paterno defines Penn State. And that's not to say Paterno's mistake should be forgotten. You can't tell the story of Penn State football without Paterno, and you can't tell Paterno's story without Jerry Sandusky.
Calling it anything but Paterno Stadium would feel like a lie, and I don't even mean that as any kind of endorsement of Paterno's legacy one way or the other. He was Penn State, for better and worse.
For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.
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