Day 28: 1464 days and counting

The best part of this one was that we were not expected to win.

Stuff I found on the internet. 

• Another excellent piece by Ramzy
• Here's a fun fact. Only people born before The Game in 1909 can say that TTUN has a winning record against the Buckeyes in their lifetime.

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

Day 22: The Only Game That Matters

Here we are, fresh off a disappointing but well earned loss to the Spartans, and now we must marshal our team and fanbase to bring the energy we'll need to beat TTUN (That Team Up North). Before yesterday I had already said to my friends and family that the confluence of circumstances would make this game very losable. Here is my list: at Michigan, new coach, new coach is good, we've owned them for the past several years, Michigan is hungry like we were last year, we're not hungry like we were last year. So despite having superior talent and one of the best college football coaches of all time, I felt we had a good shot at losing.

Now I feel differently. Now I feel like losing is almost a certainty. Everything MSU did against us defensively, Michigan will do better. And they will run. And their passing is better.

I'm a little bit happy that Ezekial Elliot called out the coaching and the offense. Normally I think they need to keep that stuff in the locker room but maybe this will be the catalyst they need to get their shit together. Maybe if they put together all of the things they should have been doing all season into one glorious game they will win. I don't even care today about the bowl game. Only one thing matters.

And it matters a lot.

Day 21: The day the bubble burst

It was only a matter of time. The Buckeyes have been winning ugly for a while now and it caught up to them. I don't know what's going on in Columbus, but something doesn't feel right and it hasn't all season. It was masked by the winning, and forgiven in the afterglow of the national championship. And it was downplayed because we believed it would all come together, despite no evidence that it could.

In 1998 we had the number one team in the country and Michigan State came in for a 3:30 game that ended in the dark, and they upset us. It cost us a national championship that year and the loss was devastating and is still among the worst losses in program history. Today didn't feel like that, even though it should have. It felt like we finally got our due, like we finally had to give our pound of flesh for all the success.

And now we keep our eyes and ears open for the snippets of quotes and the rogue tweets and the insider whispers for clues to how this could have happened. And we may never truly know. All that's left is to beat Michigan. I hope they get their shit together and do just that, or it will be a long, long off season.

Day 10: It's Time to Kick Bill Cosby Out of the Buckeye Family

I remember buying Bill Cosby's records when I was in junior high school and playing them over and over, never failing to laugh. 'I Started Out as a Child.' 'Why is There Air?' 'It's True, It's True.' I could recite them line for line.

There was a bit called 'Spanish Fly' that turned out to be a portent of this past year for Cosby. It's about the quest for a mythical aphrodisiac, and as a burgeoning hormonal teen the idea was, shall I say, intriguing. But when the allegations first hit, my mind went immediately back to that bit, and the creepiness factor that didn't exist in 1969, because of my immaturity and the social mores of the time, hit me right in the conscious.

Ever since, I've felt guilty having enjoyed that bit, even though there is no way I could have been expected to understand  the sinister, oppressive, criminal undertones that the allegations cast on it. Still, I never pass on a chance to beat myself up. 

All of this brings me to the news in the Ohio State University newspaper, The Lantern, that the university is considering whether to strip Cosby of his honorary degree. OSU is not the only school considering similar action. 

I know they have to make it not look like they're acting rashly, but this one is a no brainier. The evidence it too overwhelming. The guy is a first rate sleaze and a criminal. Do it. Do it now. Do it without apology. 

It's not like he earned a regular degree. Graduates are forever Buckeyes, no matter what path their lives take. But Cosby's degree was a rescindable bestowment. You have to deserve it and you have to keep deserving it. 

I don't mind them pausing to make extra sure taking it away is the right thing to do. As long as they decide taking it away is the right thing to do. 

On National Championships and Cell Phones

1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014

These are the years that Ohio State can lay claim to a National Championship. Savvy fans know that 1961 and 1970 were not consensus years and some do not count them. I don't think my dad did.

Every championship until last night happened during his lifetime.

In 1942 as a ten year old I'm not sure he was very much into it, what with WWII and surviving the Depression and all. And college football was a minor diversion. In 1942 sports was baseball, and everything else was something to do until baseball season.

Dad was a student at OSU in 1954 and 1957. There is probably nothing like being a student during a national championship year. I got close to seeing that first hand in 1979 but we lost in the Rose Bowl.

In 2002 we were 1200 miles apart but spent a lot of time on the phone and the IM (remember instant messaging?). He never saw another football game.

He would have been so damned happy this year, beating Alabama then winning it all. The only thing that would have made him happier was if we could have beaten Notre Dame to win it.

Several years ago I wrote a piece following a win over Michigan. It was during the Cooper years when a win over Michigan was a precious thing. If you don't feel like clicking over, I'll say that it featured an attempt by me to call my dad from the game, because he couldn't be there. It was a chance to be together for a special moment, and while we couldn't really hear each other due to the noise, we were connected.

I thought about this last night as Urban Meyer raged at an official near the end of the game when he couldn't understand why the clock had stopped. He reminded me of Woody, and Woody reminded me of my dad. My dad would take that as a compliment. In some version of things he and Woody were watching the game together and my dad couldn't wait to tell me about it.

My cell service doesn't go that far so I guess it'll have to wait.  Meanwhile, let's see how many more times we can make him and Woody happy.

TBDBITL

The Best Damn Band In The Land

Has an album called , 'Time and Change' and you can find it on Spotify right here.

Lots of nice Buckeye stuff on the day of the big game. Also some great standards and show tunes and video game songs. Oh! And the Time Warp!

It's Michigan Week

I realize that there are some loyal readers who are fans of That Team Up North, (and I promise I charge you the same $10 monthly fee that I charge everyone else),   But this is the week where I am compelled by the fine print on my Ohio State diploma to take every opportunity to bust your chops. So I will be posting various items in the spirit of the Greatest Rivalry in Sports.

There was this Ohio State fan who liked to amuse himself by swerving his car toward any Michigan fan he saw, then missing them at the last second. One day, while driving along, he saw a priest and, thinking he would do a good deed, pulled over to assist.

 "Where are you going Father?" 

"I'm going to give mass at St. Francis Church, about 2 miles down the road."
"Climb in, Father! I'll give you a lift!" And he climbed into the back seat.  

As they continued on, the driver saw a Michigan fan walking down the road, wearing a maize and blue "M" and instinctively swerved as if to hit him, then swerved away at the last instant. Except this time he heard a loud 'thump' as he passed. Worried, he checked his mirrors but saw nothing, then remembered the priest in the back seat.

"Sorry Father, I almost hit that Michigan fan." 

"That's okay," the priest said, "I got him with the door." 



Thanks for reading.

Potpourri Day

A few items I found interesting:

From the Daily Dish: a small piece about human versus animal consciousness.

From Cleveland.com : Ohio State University perfume? Sign me up, unless it smells like my old dorm then, nevermind.

From the BBC: DNA hint of European origin for dogs 

And finally from my friend Sue, The slowest lawnmower ever.

Have a great Saturday and Go Bucks!


Thanks for reading.