The thunderous applause was only muffled by pairs of gloves as more than 100,000 people watched Joe Paterno win his 324th game on a cold, sometimes snowy October Saturday.

Penn State won in grand fashion, overcoming an 18-point deficit and blocking a last minute field goal attempt by Ohio State.

Joe was quick to steer the attention from his monumental accomplishment to the team's effort.

In the end, Penn State won with heart, determination, and grit — by emblematizing the characteristics of their coach. In his 36-year tenure as Penn State head coach, Joe Paterno has conducted himself with integrity and compassion.

In today's world of intercollegiate athletics, those words are seldom spoken rarely deserved. But Joe Paterno, despite his best unselfish efforts to remain anonymous, has inevitably become an icon.

Joe Paterno's legacy will ultimately not be measured on the football field. He is a molder of men and a "teacher of generations."

Watching the list of letterman he has coached, one can only begin to grasp the number of people he has touched and taught.

After the game, the university announced that they were constructing a life size statue of Joe, to be placed outside Beaver Stadium. His stony visage will now be forever enshrined in Penn State.

With all that we have taken for you, its time for us to pause and say thank you, Joe.

Thank you for winning 324 games; thank you for donating money to the university for a new library; thank you for graduating almost all of your students; but most importantly, thank you for being a man of integrity; thank you for living by principles and thank you for teaching us all a little something about life.