this last week have all but put it out of sight in the rear view mirror. I used to get utterly mad when the men of scarlet and gray lost to that team up north. Believe me; the times have been good in the past decade, not a whole lot to be upset about. But the decade before that, the years of my youth, prime years to be molded, were trying ones.
The two most polarizing images of my early pre-teen years are ones that I want to, but never will forget. Both of them resulted in Buckeye losses, both at the Big House, and both times the Buckeyes were done in by the eventual Heisman Trophy winner. The first image is of the punt return, and that idiot doing the Heisman pose in the end zone. The second, the fighting nuts were done in by a defensive back, an Ohio kid, another punt return, and an interception and just that picture of Charles Woodson with the rose in his mouth is enough to make me want to gouge my eyes out. (I still take joy in the fact that on Sunday Night Football he states his school as Freemont Ross HS, as if it is some plea to OSU fans he was sorry, but I digress)
Then came the golden years, the ten years where “the Vest” absolutely owned that state up north.
His record speaks for itself, 9-1* (technically we vacated the last win, but we all know who won
the game, that won’t change.) Tressel just got it, he understood what it was about, he understood
what “the game” meant, and he didn’t hide it, which is why his players flourished in it. He (Tressel)
also understood what it mean to the fans, to the students, to the alumni before he had even coached a
game, while being introduced as the new coach at halftime of a home basketball game he knew exactly what to say to inject energy and life into a fan base that was desperate for something, anything when it came to the game.
Last Saturday’s version of the game was one I had never witnessed before. I didn’t know how to
approach it. My disgust for that school remained at the levels it had always been at, but my attitude
towards what this game meant was distorted. The 2011 version of the Ohio State Buckeyes was
probably the worst in my lifetime; torn apart by controversy, an interim head coach, no senior
leadership, terrible tackling, and offensive offense, but that didn’t stop me from donning my scarlet
jersey every Saturday, or watching every game up until the last ticks came off the clock, but for the first time in a decade I was actually nervous about the game.
And, exactly what I thought would happen in the game, happened. Our team tackling was just a notch
above non-existent all year, and their scrambling quarterback gave us fits, just like I figured he would.
But, for a flittering moment after they scored what looked like the clinching touchdown I regained hope. Two flags on the same play, negating the touchdown, resulting in a field goal and a six point lead had me hoping that maybe their run of misery had one more chapter to be added. After being dominated most of the game, we had the ball with a chance to score a touchdown and win the game. It didn’t pan out the way I had wanted it to, but the game finally had that feel to it that it had lacked for the last ten years. It had that knock-down, drag out, brawl feeling that was a staple of this rivalry for over a century.
This year has been dubbed “the most trying year” of football at Ohio State. And with everything (off the field, and on) it probably was. A ceremonial bowl game with very little meaning is not something that Buckeye fans of my generation are used to, but it is the reality. But, there is new hope on the horizon. We got our new coach, and we have a quarterback, which is the one thing our new coach thrives at producing.
The loss in the 2011 edition of the game stung, no doubt, but it has been less than a week and it is
practically forgotten. Just days after “the most trying season” we are already headed towards “the
longest off season” in the history of Buckeye football, mostly because we can’t wait to see what’s in
store. In 274 days the next act in the long and storied history of Ohio State Football opens and it is
entangled with optimism, freshness, and renewal…Urban renewal.
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