The 2011 football season has yet to begin, and it's already been tough on coach Joe Paterno. As reported over the weekend, JoePa suffered a hairline fracture to both his pelvis and shoulder after an accidental run-in with junior wide receiver Devon Smith during a team practice.
Though University officials are claiming Paterno was able to walk away from the collision, the severity of his injuries would obviously necessitate a trip to the Nittany Lion Medical Center. Given the circumstances, Paterno should consider himself pretty lucky. After all, the 5-7, 157-pound Smith, who was running a drill at the time of the incident, could have been an O-lineman.
Taking into account Paterno's history of on-field mishaps in recent years, fans, university reps, and even the coach's own family have to be worried about the continued viability of his presence on the sideline. Though moving Paterno to the coach's box has been an option in the past, its suggestion and execution hasn't been well-received.
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As such, the guys over at Everyday Should be Saturday have come up with the following ways to protect Paterno while still giving the coach both the protection and control that have eluded him in his later years.
Yes, he's standing in an over-sized plastic bubble. No, these aren't serious. And, yes, we have pictures after the jump.
As they've only provided three options, including the bubble pictured above, my vote is for suggestion #1—placing Paterno is his very own terrarium. That said, the "hand of God" solution would certainly resolve some existential issues.
While we've posted two of the images here, we do recommend you head on over to EDSBS to check out their full write-up.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to visit the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field on September 17 of this year. Come kick-off, which of these options will you hope to see protecting "our national treasure?"