By Marc Thaler
Sports Editor

Spending the holiday outside the bubble that’s Boston sports, 20 miles from the City of Brotherly Love in Newtown, Pa., I fully expected a particular Pennsylvania personality to dominate discussion during my favorite four-day weekend.

Gladly, there was very little conversation regarding the National Football League’s unlovable loudmouth, Terrell Owens.

Basically, talk of T.O. was a no-go. Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles are just as, if not more, fed up with the All-About-Me antics of this athlete. At this point, the only guy in this goon’s corner is Owens’ repulsive representative, sports agent Drew Rosenhaus.

There might not be two people in pro sports more deserving of each other.

Since the Eagles’ receiver had his wings clipped by the organization and arbitrator Richard Bloch the day before the Big Feast, the opportunity presented itself to chat about a 78-year-old man who, in 2005, has guided the Nittany Lions back to glory. Welcome back, Joe Paterno, and Penn State football.

Supposedly, Paterno was all washed up. The previous 10 seasons provided all the proof necessary to demonstrate his time had come and gone.

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From 1995 to 2004, Penn State posted a 43-37 mark in conference play – hardly the record of a champion. But the source of true frustration among the PSU masses was the team’s 16-24 conference record from ’00 to ’04, including 1-7 and 2-6 marks in ’03 and ’04.

Despite winning national championships in ’82 and ’86, Paterno was no longer capable of coaching at college football’s highest level. Anyone daring to support the man who’s spent all 55 years of his coaching career at Penn State – the last 40 as head coach – was committing a tremendous gridiron gaffe.

Then, notching his 353rd career victory on Nov. 19, a 31-22 triumph at Michigan State, Paterno led PSU to its first Big Ten title in 11 college football campaigns. Boasting a 7-1 Big Ten record, 10-1 overall, the Nittany Lions clinched the conference’s automatic Bowl Championship Series berth.

After more than a decade of college football futility, it’s safe to say the site of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium is truly Happy Valley.

And at the center of the program’s success is the senior citizen known as JoePa, who could easily serve as Grandpa to his roster of teen-aged and twenty-something athletes.

Of course, that, for folks who follow college football in Pennsylvania, was the gargantuan gripe with Paterno. He was too old to effectively communicate with today’s young athletes. He was incapable of convincing guys with game-breaking abilities to play for his program.

As a result, Penn State football disappeared from the national spotlight. However, Paterno found himself unable to escape the hot seat.

Call this coach stubborn for opting against leaving his position several years earlier – in the face of tremendous public pressure – for someone half his age and able to attract topflight talent.

Or call him a magnificent mentor. Approaching 80, he still has the ability to teach young men a quarter of his age how to deal with biting criticism, tackle tough times and become the main character in the ultimate success story.

In all likelihood, the Nittany Lions won’t play for the national championship on Jan. 4 in the Rose Bowl. But this year, there’s something more valuable than a national title-game victory for Paterno and his program.

Although Penn State’s 2005 turnaround under JoePa also means millions of dollars for the school as a BCS participant, the biggest impact of the season will likely be made in countless living rooms across the country.

The leader of Penn State’s pack ensured millions of eyeballs will once again watch his program compete on national television against another national power.

There isn’t a more persuasive argument the 78-year-old Paterno can make to any blue-chip prospect wondering why he should suit up for PSU.