studlydueright Great job demonizing the greatest man in Happy Valley history. The man who drove hundreds of young men to greatness in their lives both in and out of football. And the man who inspired and led an entire, extended community.All for his tangential part in a horrific, ongoing, ubiquitous evil that is one small corner of the larger, national NAMBLA abuse of young boys by gay men and the progressive establishment that not only enables them but promotes them.Doubt me? Where is the condemnation of the judge who ripped a nine-year-old boy, Matt, from his biological family and presented him to the pedophile Sandusky? Despite the mother's plea not to, including the allegation that Sandusky played mind games with the boy and that he did inappropriate things to him? Why didn't that judge "do more"? Why didn't that judge investigate the mother's accusations? And why, despite the accusations, did the judge award this boy to this man? Why no inquiry, no documentary about the judge? Why no mention of the judge's culpability in this evil during this documentary? Why no inquiry into the role of NAMBLA and the progressives who promote it? No investigation into those who cowed a judge into ordering the Boy Scouts to put gay men into the pup tents of prepubescent boys? And when THOSE lawsuits ensue, will anyone investigate the role of that judge who precipitated the predation, or the progressives who remonstrated for it? Of course not. They'll blame the Boy Scouts for what was forced on them by the progressive establishment. They'll blame the institution that transformed millions of boys into responsible, moral young men for over a century. They'll not rest until they win that scalp for their belt. Mark my words.Always the institution that was forced by the progressives to accede to the NAMBLA agenda. The Catholic Church to allow gay priests. The Boy Scouts to allow gay Scout leaders. Society--including Penn State--to give the benefit of the doubt to the gay man in their midst. Can you imagine if Joe Paterno had come running, yelling "Pedophile! Pedophile!" when first given the ambiguous accusation that "something" "might have happened" in the shower between Sandusky and a young boy? Paterno would have been brought down by the same progressives in the media and culture who claim he didn't "do enough" (especially ESPN and the NCAA and the others in the progressive establishment), as a homophobic bigot without any proof. A Neanderthal who hates gays. Better to keep it "in house" and let the administration vet the charges.But the progressives want The Moral Man's scalp. And they don't rest until they get it. And in doing so, ignore the real culprits.

MovieHoliks I remember all the national headlines from a few years ago concerning Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child sex abuse charges, and of course whether or not legendary beloved head coach Joe Paterno did enough to stop it- and how much he knew or didn't know about the whole thing. This documentary observes the year after Sandusky's arrest in the surrounding community known as "Happy Valley". This is a community that for decades had been a place of pride on Paterno's winning streak, his commitment to the school/team, and his record number of players who actually graduated with degrees. The film contains dozens of interviews with those who knew both coaches, some who were actually molested by Sandusky (including his own adopted son), as well as folks in the community debating about Paterno's actions/inactions involving the abuse. It's just heart-wrenching at times. The scene involving Paterno's statue, as tourists attempt to get photos next to it while this guy holds a sign up (making some not-so-good remarks about the coach) I think is one of the most powerful scenes I've ever seen filmed for a documentary. There was also a lot of debate about whether the NCAA 's punishment of the school was fair. I have some issues with that myself- like should the students have been penalized for it? The school was forbidden from playing in games for FOUR years! WTF?? That's pretty much these athletes' entire college career-?? Well, anyway, this film is one of the best docs I've seen in some time. Definitely worth checking out sometime for sports and non-sports fans alike...

Jeff Rollins he titular "Happy Valley" that director Amir Bar-Lev's fascinating documentary about the Penn State sexual abuse scandal focuses on sits right in my back yard. Growing up the son of a rabid college football fan (go Temple!), I spent dozens of freezing cold Saturday afternoons watching my father's pitiful Temple Owls get their asses handed to them. Several of those beatings came at the hands of Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions (that's pronounced "Nit-knee"). My father hated Joe Paterno. "He's an a**hole," he would tell my 10 year old self. My grandfather, a Temple alumni and highly regarded high school football coach, actually knew Joe Paterno personally. He was much more diplomatic. "He thinks he's God," is how he put it, if I recall correctly. And so, my opinions on Joe Paterno, Penn State and their fans have been likely influenced since the day I was born, making me an easy mark for Bar-Lev's slyly biased documentary.For those unfamiliar with the horrific events that surround Happy Valley, it goes like this: in 2011, Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was accused and convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse to minors that occurred between 1994-2009. Sandusky met his victims through a non-profit charity for wayward youths he funded called "The Second Mile," earning their trust through various predatory means (free games, meals, attention they weren't getting at home). As if that weren't horrible enough, it was eventually revealed that someone had caught Sandusky raping a boy in the showers, alerted head coach Joe Paterno who in turn alerted his superiors. And then nothing. No police. No disciplinary actions. No justice. And that's what Happy Valley takes aim at. We can all agree that Jerry Sandusky is a monster, but what of the revered man who played a part in just letting the monster roam free, enabling him to damage more lives than he already had? Shouldn't he have to answer for his part in all of this? The answer, if you're a Penn State football fan, is a resounding, "NO!"Bar-Lev populates his documentary with folks who are varying degrees of pro-Paterno. From his own immediate family who will defend their father's legacy and character to their own graves right down to the flustered Penn State football fan sitting in front of his bedroom wall scrapbook of Penn State pendants, posters and plaques complaining about everyone getting bent out of shape about this whole thing and not focusing on what really matters: football. Rather than force a reaction from his subjects, a la Michael Moore, Bar-Lev takes a page right out of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's book and simply lets them talk and talk and talk until they hang themselves with their own words, not even realizing it in most cases. It's a funny trick, for sure, but after the 5th time you see it unfold you kind of get the point. These people are blinded by their fandom, biased by their own admiration for Joe Paterno. From the fans who traveled to take a photo with the since removed bronze Joe Paterno statue to the fans who rallied and then rioted when Paterno was fired from his head coach position in the aftermath of the FBI report that detailed his involvement in Sandusky's web of nightmares, these people will not stray from St. Joe's side.But who is Joe Paterno and why does he have this effect on people? Happy Valley does its due diligence to give a little bit of history on Paterno and his good deeds throughout the years. That juxtaposed with video of the frail, fragile coach during his last few months make a case that he was a good man, flawed, but rooted in good intentions. Of course, we all know the old adage about good intentions and where the road they're paved in lead to. I believe they lead to the Orange Bowl, according to this gentleman with the Penn State logo painted on his naked torso.In the end, Happy Valley is a fascinating look at this culture of fandom that even my own football-obsessed father can't reconcile. To be so blinded by winning at all costs that you'd sacrifice the innocence of a child… it's tragic and infuriating. And that's the feeling you'll get while watching this film. I only wish that it wasn't as one-sided, albeit ever so subtly, so that the other side's case wasn't presented in the condescending tone it is. Of course, how are you supposed to defend someone embroiled in a conspiracy of this nature without looking like a complete asshole? These are the kinds of problems us Temple fans never have to worry about.

jdesando "St. Joe": What Penn State, College Station, and the world called Joe Paterno before the Jerry Sandusky indictment.No one ever called my town, Columbus, "Happy Valley," but when Ohio State defeats Michigan, it's a happy valley indeed. That euphoria over a football program as successful as Penn State under head coach Joe Paterno with its spell cast so widely is the engine that drives a community to miss the signs of crime such as assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's abuse of young boys.Amir Bar-Lev's documentary, Happy Valley, covers the historical bases of Sandusky's conviction on multiple counts and Paterno's eventual firing (and death a few months later) for not doing more to bring justice for the abused boys. Even Sandusky's adopted son, Matt, who is the most talking head in the doc, waits until boys have testified against Sandusky to confess he lied—he was abused.That confession is at the heart of this slowly competent documentary, for it encapsulates the ambivalence of a community so mesmerized by football and its cast of characters that it takes a while to acknowledge some of the actors have feet of clay. Sandusky is easy—he was seen in the showers with boys—but Paterno, the beatified coach (the statue on campus is now gone, as if he were Hussein or Stalin), challenges their understanding of a morality that extends beyond just legally telling a superior about an incident, as Paterno did.Bar-Lev's is as even-handed as could be: the media is held up to harsh light with its aggressive, predatory pursuit of the sensational; the NCAA is never fair enough; and the University, from president on down, can't get it just right.And so it goes—this well done doc, despite the sometimes vacant talking heads, shows few participants not caught up in the hoopla. It sure makes me think Ohio State's Jim Tressel dust up was just a skirmish in an enduring battle for the hearts and souls of students and the communities where they live.