Jeff Lytle: I went to Penn State, so let me put this mess in context

I am from the Northeast.

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania.

I went to Penn State.

I was a reporter for the town paper when Sue Paterno with her little kids in tow came to the zoning board for permission to build a tool shed in the back yard of the home where tearful, supportive students gathered late Wednesday night.

The Penn State memorabilia — including a whiskey decanter with a Nittany Lion top and a coconut painted up as a blue and white football, a gift from the local alumni association — will remain in my office.

But the conversation about those items when visitors come will be different.

The news of the week started out bad and kept on getting worse as a member of Penn State football's inner circle was accused of molesting boys in programs that he ran, and higher-ups at Penn State did less than they could have and should have to stop it.

Rather than go to police, they conferred among themselves.

They, if the charges are true, aided and abetted and obstructed justice.

Let me help you get the full texture of this story.

Understand that Jerry Sandusky, the accused, was not just any former assistant football coach. He was the heart, soul, grit, growl of Penn State's trademark defense. He played his college ball for Paterno and led by example. He was the meanest, most macho bear in the woods.

He had so much mojo that when there was an event anywhere in the Penn State campus system with a speaker from the football program, and it wasn't Joe Paterno — it was Sandusky — everybody was cool with that.

That is why so many people up there feel violated and deceived.

To say nothing of the little boys.

You have to understand this too. Penn State dominates Central Pennsylvania as few institutions can dominate any region in the United States of America.

Penn State is mammoth and steady. It sustains the whole area's economy through good times and bad with state funding, research contracts and moms' and dads' money.

It is nestled among majestic mountains.

That is why they call it Happy Valley.

Sports are huge. Wrestling rocks and football is a culture.

The stadium is easily the biggest thing on campus. Its gray hulk and twinkling night lights give the impression of an aircraft carrier as you approach in awe from the State College airport.

With that scene set, you begin to imagine the wallop of shock, anger and sadness that descended on State College and the extended Penn State Nation.

It took a while for the university to get it, as the athletic director and a vice president announced their resignations.

But their departures would not suffice.

That same they-did-too-little-too-late principle would have to apply to Paterno, who actually tried to finish out the season — until the board of trustees stepped in and sacked him along with the university president.

They were notified via phone.

Sad.

Sad to see Paterno's tenure come to an end this way.

Then again, it was sad to watch him on the sidelines — later that meant the press box, minus headphones and having no visible role in the game below — hanging on as a figurehead as win record after win record piled up. The grandest one came only last month.

At what price?

Now it is clear, as the song goes, he stayed too long at the fair. A younger, sharper man more in touch with his surroundings and with fewer personal accolades at stake may have responded differently.

A guest on the PBS NewsHour the other night, a leading attorney for molested children, went right to the point. He said the Penn State case mirrored what went on with those pedophile priests. The larger institution around the icons rose up to defend itself rather than go to the aid of the young victims.

That is sad too.Everything about this is sad.

My mother would be sad. She was a huge fan of Penn State in general and Paterno in particular. She would get so upset when students would get rowdy. She would send news clippings about all those things.

She passed away in April at age 96. To her, Paterno was a contemporary.

I think my dad, who died a decade ago and took me to my first game at Beaver Stadium about the time that Paterno became head coach, in 1966, would be mad.

In the long run, Paterno's legacy will be fine. The sting of this will fade and his good works and contributions will have their deserved niche. It's only partly about him anyway. It's really about the alleged predatory activities of one man — over a period of 15 years — and an institution's response upon learning about it.

And the kids. Do not forget the kids.

Yet, the blue and white Nittany Lion decal and pewter alumni license plate frame on my car? They're staying.

Despite the heartbreak.