Congratulations Buckeyes

Congratulations Buckeyes !!

Please excuse me for going off topic with this one. But I’d be remise if I didn’t take a moment to tip my cap to the one and only sports team I follow with serious interest.

I believe I’ve elaborated before about what Buckeye Football means to me and my family & friends. Its very serious stuff and is as much a part of our family culture and identity as our last name. You see my hometown of Farmer, Ohio as the name suggests is very much an agricultural community and my high school last I checked, is one of the last that still has a FFA (Future Farmers of America) program and 4-H clubs still abound. THE Ohio State University was formed as an agricultural college and still has one of the top AG (Agricultural) programs in the nation. So with such ties, its only natural that if you grew-up in that area and intended to go to college, OSU was the most logical choice. Many of those alumni came back home to roost after graduation, so while there are far fewer kids from the area intending to go into an ag related field, large numbers of them still end-up going to school at OSU. Thus the tradition continues.

Counting aunts, uncles, cousins, Dad, and myself, eight members of my family graduated from OSU. Contrary to popular belief, my mother did not. But not by choice. Her father didn’t want her to go so far away from home because she was a woman. If you ever ask her about it (and I wouldn’t), tears still well-up in her eyes as she explains why Grandpa would only let her attend Bowling Green.

But when it comes to Buckeye Football, mom is their most passionate fan. If the team is down, better stay off the land line phone least Coach T calls her for advice. He better not get a busy signal when he dials !! So intense is her love of Buckeye football it’s a (very affectionate) joke within the family. She literally got kicked out of her own home one day for being too obnoxious during a game. An uncle told her to get out !! She was three steps out the door when she realized “This is my house. Why am I leaving ?”, went back in, and had a curt talk with my father who very laughingly told his in-law that he’d been overruled Mom was staying. If she was too much, Dad would be willing to drive him down to the local bar to watch the game but NOT before half time. Ironically that Uncle’s daughters would both end-up graduating with all manner of academic accolades from THE Ohio State University. One of his daughters scheduled her wedding on opening day of OSU Football season several decades later. At one point during the reception, Dad asked my sister and I to find Mom for some sort of dance. We both laughed till we cried when we found her. Among the 35-40 men crowed around the small TV at the bar, was my 5ft 90lb mother in the seat closest to the TV. We went back and told Dad he’d have to wait till half time to dance, the score was too close !!

As for this game. Don’t worry, I’m going to tone down the comments I’ve been making on my Facebook page. Those were reserved only for fellow Buckeye fans who wouldn’t be turned-off by them. However like most Buckeye fans, I’m certainly no fan of ESPN’s college football commentators either. Boom there it is, off my chest, I feel much better now.

Congratulations to THE Ohio State Buckeyes. Terrelle you did us proud today ! The talking heads and people who called in to their talk shows have been hard on you this year. The media in Columbus has run you ragged. So much so that if you read and listened to everything, you’d have thought they were talking about an NFL quarterback not an unpaid student athlete who isn’t even old enough to drink !! I personally was taken back by it all and can only imagine how it made you feel. You handled it much better than I would have had I been in your shoes, and I applaud you for how you dealt with it all. Now no one can criticize you for your play. To make all those runs on a bum knee, WOW !! You had more grass stains on your jersey at the end of the game than the running backs and linebackers combined. You played with passion, you played with heart, you showed the fire of a true competitor. High school and Jr. High football coaches should show their teams the tape of this game and point to your performance as an example of how to play the game. A grateful Buckeye Nation is in your debt !!

Coach Tressel A grateful Buckeye Nation is also in your debt !! You too have been under constant criticism this year. They clobbered you in the media the one time you barked back and you didn’t even bark that much. It reminded me of how Mr. Rodgers might respond after stubbing his toe and wasn’t remotely close to the big deal the media made it to be. Thank you for showing us yet again why the State of Ohio loves you. Thank you for how you represent Alma Mater and how you respect the rich traditions of our great university. Thank you for reminding us why we say “In Tressel we trust or In T we T” anytime the game is on the line. I also compliment you for showing some emotion out there. When the Ducks took over on that key down in the fourth quarter, they cut to you and I saw the eyes of a determined competitor out there and knew everything was going to be okay. You looked like you could go out there without pads and take their defense on by yourself !!

To every young man who suited-up for the Scarlet and Grey this season, thank-you for giving us another fun filled season of Buckeye Football this year. You’ve done the tradition of Buckeye Football and THE Ohio State University proud. Its been a real privilege watching you this year !!

Until next time, RedHeaded Rambler signing off 

 

Photo Gallery: Ohio State vs. Oregon Rose Bowl Photo Gallery - The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site - OhioStateBuckeyes.com