Its with a sad heart that write saying tonight’s last minute Buckeye loss was one of the toughest pills to swallow in all my years as a sports fanatic. There have been some more prominent losses, more embarrassing losses, and more disappointing losses but this one just sticks out.
Recently I got send some advanced copies of the upcoming documentary Across The Field. The movie’s point is that there is no fan-base in terms of quantity as well as sheer emotional involvement that is on par with Buckeye Nation. For many that sounds ridiculous, but its something I believe to very true.
Across The Field Trailer
The footage for this movie was taken a little over two years ago when Ohio State stood a top the football world. Since then its been a pretty bumpy fall marred by high profile losses, media bashings, fan cynicism, and unrealized expectations and goals.
It’s with this in mind, I wrote on Bucknuts yesterday how the fan base needed a win now, more then ever (will paste on the bottom of this). Through out the day I tried to talk myself into believing a perfect storm of circumstances would occur that would lead us to an unexpected victory. When the smoke cleared we literally came up inches short.
First Half-
We flat out dominated this half yet only showed a 6-3 lead. We almost blew the lead via a dumb late penalty. Still it was one hell of an effort. Only gripe is that we didn’t seem to have the offensive urgency that we were going to need a lot of points to win. That type of defensive effort was not going to be able to be sustained in the second half and it felt like an opportunity lost that we were at halftime with a 3 lead despite such a dominating half of football.
I was very happy…..
3rd Quarter
It started to slip away. The fake punt…Chimdi Chewka getting abused…..Absolutely No offense…..The defensive ineptitude with penalties and the no huddle.
The pride I had in the first half evaporated and was replaced by an ulcer growing at the pace of the Texas lead.
4th Quarter
Down by 2-3 scores Boeckman made one of the most memorable plays in recent memory on third down bomb to Robiskie. It got us back in the game and rekindled all things Buckeye.
The Pryor touchdown pass from Boeckman made me believe and despite the missed 2 point conversion (wtf was that?).. I was so damn proud of these guys once again.
Another defensive stop and a drive for the ages to take the lead. 3 Scores in one quarter? Absolutely amazing!
Texas got the ball back needing a TD down by 4 with 2 minutes left. At that moment it was like going all in before the flop with pocket jacks and getting called with Ace King which as all poker players know is essentially a coin toss.
We had them on the ropes but couldn’t finish them off. They literally have two scoring drives that were dependent on 4th down conversions that they squeaked out by mere inches.
When they say football is a game of inches, its no joke and its something anybody that has played the game understands as a realistic truth of the inner workings of football.
The Dagger to my Heart
A lot of Buckeye fans are pretty peeved at the no safety man on man call that led to Texas’ last minute touchdown. I definitely question it, but I can tell you I question a lot more things that occurred in that game then an aggressive defensive play call.
When we returned the kickoff to midfield I had some renewed optimism, but the sack on Boeckman served as a bullet shot to the head for good measure.
Why it Stings So Much
My Bucknuts post should lend some light to why it hurts, but here it is at a high level.
We’ve played in 4 monumental football games and one monumental basketball game since “The Game of the Century” in 2006. We’ve lost all 5. The media, blogosphere, and college football fan eco system, has bended us over and took their turns mocking the fall from grace.
The conference we play in has dramatically slipped as I mentioned a month ago and while I think we’ve officially bottomed out as a conference, it won’t feel that way until we start winning some big games and more importantly earning the respect of all the naysayers who hopped on the let’s shit on Ohio State and the Big Ten bandwagon.
Tonight could have been that turning point and for 59 minutes and 40 seconds it was. In the end, it wasn’t enough and its a damn shame.
The legacy for a lot of departing players are now tied forever to the the 5 high profile losses suffered the last 2 years. Included in that bunch is one of the best cornerbacks, running backs, and linebackers to have ever put on a Buckeye uniform. They fought so hard tonight to reverse that legacy and I know it stings them a hundred times more then it stings me. The Boeckman revival story was something you couldn’t have dreamed up and only made it seem that more special.
Unfortunately the storybook upset fell short and now Buckeye Nation turn their attention back to everything else going on like the recession, cold winter, and string of bad breaks the Basketball team has suffered over the last 2 weeks. I honestly struggle to find anything really positive going on at this moment in time.
Blah….Just an unbearable loss, that I probably would have cut of a toe to avoid although I have said that now 10x or so which would make me quite a physical freak.
My Bucknuts rallying cry from the day before the game…which was well received (most of my stuff is)
It’s in my humble opinion that Buckeye Nation has never been in need of win as much as now during the Tressel era.
There have been landmark wins and turning points during the resurrection of the program, but never has morale been this low. The combination of high expectations, high profile losses, and languishing program and conference prestige at the national level has really soured the mood in here.
Throw in the fact that the basketball team has suffered a string of setbacks along with a god awful economy making the winter seem colder and longer and you get the current state of this board where everything stinks including our team, the coaches, the conference, the announcers, Bucknuts staff, the website, the posters, and any opinions they may have.
The state of this board has grown toxic. It started after USC and it seems to have hit a critical mass of late. The joy of being a Buckeye fan seems to have been completely lost and been replaced by cynicism, poor manners, exuberant negativity, and an enthusiasm for divisiveness and bickering.
That being said, good god could we benefit for an unexpected win against a worthy foe. I am not advocating that it is likely but it certainly is plausible.
Tomorrow you shouldn’t be turning on the television skeptically ready to make a mental note of everyone responsible for a negative outcome.
It’s the last Buckeye game you are going to see for 9 months and the last one you are going to see one of the best corners and linebackers this university has ever seen. Most likely it will be the last game for our best running back and a hoard of other great players who have done this program proud during their time here.
I hope I speak for the seemingly silent majority of this board when I say that I can’t wait for kickoff and Let’s Go Bucks!
