Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Day 24: Where I talk about an awful day in Buckeye football history

2006 was a magical year for Ohio State football. We were undefeated and number one in the country. Michigan was number two and The Game was an epic, super hyped, event. they called The Game of the Century. To be fair, the century was only 6 years old at the time so it didn't have a lot of competition.

We won and were headed to the BCS championship game to face Florida, who had been low ranked early in the season and snuck in at the last minute with a coach by the name of Urban Meyer. Does any of this ring a bell?

Florida was little regarded and Buckeye nation, and the rest of the regular nation, were as certain as certain could be of an Ohio State blowout. Troy Smith won the Heisman and that sealed it. We were the champions. All we had to do was show up. 

We received the opening kick and Teddy Ginn ran it back for a TD. I swear I said this aloud, "The rout is on."

We all know what happened next. 41-14 was the final score and it wasn't even that close. Urban could have put up 60. I had to leave the house at halftime and just try to start breathing again. I watched the second half in vain hopes of a miracle but none was coming. 

I was devastated, inconsolable. How? How? I spent the next two years searching for clues as to how that happened. I read everything I could read. I asked people. I listened. There were hints of locker room troubles but those went away. In the end there was only one answer. Ohio State came for a coronation; Florida came to play. 

But the longer term effect it had on me was that I no longer invest myself in the outcomes as I once did. There's football and there are things that are important. Which is why Saturday's loss to Michigan State didn't hurt that much. This was supposed to be another coronation season. After last year we were only supposed to be better. The dynasty is rolling. Right. I've been there before. 

There are times when I wish I'd gone to a college where the games are nice diversions on a Saturday afternoon, where losing isn't the end of the world, and where winning is sometimes a surprise. Where a few thousand people shuffle to the stadium on a crisp fall day, take in a sporting event, and then get on with the business of being college students.

But then I'd have probably have just wished I'd gone to Ohio State

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