Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The return of the blog
Oh yes, it's back, ladies and gentlemen....and let's get things started off with an open letter, shall we? Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
End of an era...how should we feel?
May 30th, 2011.
This is a day that each and every member of Buckeye Nation will remember. It was the day that the proverbial shit hit the fan and Jim Tressel was forced to resign from his position as Head Coach of Ohio State.
My question to everyone is this: How should we feel?
Now, I'm serious when I ask this, because every person I've talked has given me one of two answers:
"I will miss him because of the success" or "My ties are to Ohio State."
Well, let's build upon this and figure out some type of consensus, even though that is virtually impossible. First, the positives.
Jim Tressel was the opposite of John Cooper. While Cooper routinely recruited massive amounts of pro talent in the names of Eddie George, Orlando Pace, David Boston, Antoine Winfield, and so on, he never embraced the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. On top of this, he could never seem to win bowl games. Sure, we got the 1997 Rose Bowl, but being 3-8 in bowl games and 2-10-1 against Michigan sealed his fate in 2000, ultimately leading to his firing shortly after the Outback Bowl in 2001. Tressel, on the other hand, has given us a 9-1 record against Michigan, a 6-4 record in bowl games, including five wins in BCS bowl games, not to mention a MNC (Mythical National Championship, because the BCS sucks.) to throw into the mix.
Now, here we sit, trying to absorb the incredible storm that has befallen the program. Tressel has resigned and will get his punishment on his own, which MAY cushion the blow to Ohio State itself, but probably not much. I would expect, at some point, Gene Smith to step down as we draw closer to doomsday, and perhaps even E. Gordon Gee, who certainly enabled this by not enforcing a stiffer penalty out of the gate.
Tattoo-gate aside, the stories that have been coming out are full of speculation and heresay. The Sports Illustrated article written by Dohrmann was not nearly the damning piece of evidence that we were all expecting. It either told us things that we already knew, or speculated as to what else is possible. Still, the information hurt enough for Tressel to have to leave his vacation and sign a letter of resignation. The heat got to be too much, turning a very boring offseason into the prelude to one of the most interesting seasons that Ohio State will ever have.
We will all think of the most recent problems that include Pryor, Posey, Herron, etc. However, I think a lot of people (the same people who don't want Urban Meyer) seem to forget that we have had quite a few arrests in the last ten years regarding football players. While we don't consider arrests to be things that can cause major problems with the NCAA, there have been (officially) 33 arrests while on Tressel's watch at Ohio State, some of which are repeat offenders (Louis Irizarry the most prominent one coming to mind) that are all handled accordingly, so while the team dealt with them as necessary, it still is a black mark on the program. Perhaps we all didn't care because they were handled in a fairly quick manner and swept away, even though there were some pretty harsh charges. Irizarry was sentenced to three years in prison due to violation of probation after being charged and convicted of robbery and assault of a student with Ira Guilford, another person that didn't quite "get it" when he was at Ohio State.
Earlier, I said I was getting two primary responses. I appreciate what Tressel did for the program from a success standpoint, but my ties are to Ohio State. I fear for the immediate future and how hard the NCAA will hammer us, which made me ask the question posed earlier: Just how should we feel? Tressel gave us success, absolutely...but the program is going to get smacked. It isn't going to be an easy storm to weather, and whoever is brought in to fix it, whether it's Luke Fickell or a big name like Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Jon Gruden, Bo Pelini, etc., well, I hope it's someone who will right the ship when it comes to corruption. I feel as though I've been told a long, systematic lie about our program.
How do I feel?
I feel betrayed.
This is a day that each and every member of Buckeye Nation will remember. It was the day that the proverbial shit hit the fan and Jim Tressel was forced to resign from his position as Head Coach of Ohio State.
My question to everyone is this: How should we feel?
Now, I'm serious when I ask this, because every person I've talked has given me one of two answers:
"I will miss him because of the success" or "My ties are to Ohio State."
Well, let's build upon this and figure out some type of consensus, even though that is virtually impossible. First, the positives.
Jim Tressel was the opposite of John Cooper. While Cooper routinely recruited massive amounts of pro talent in the names of Eddie George, Orlando Pace, David Boston, Antoine Winfield, and so on, he never embraced the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. On top of this, he could never seem to win bowl games. Sure, we got the 1997 Rose Bowl, but being 3-8 in bowl games and 2-10-1 against Michigan sealed his fate in 2000, ultimately leading to his firing shortly after the Outback Bowl in 2001. Tressel, on the other hand, has given us a 9-1 record against Michigan, a 6-4 record in bowl games, including five wins in BCS bowl games, not to mention a MNC (Mythical National Championship, because the BCS sucks.) to throw into the mix.
Now, here we sit, trying to absorb the incredible storm that has befallen the program. Tressel has resigned and will get his punishment on his own, which MAY cushion the blow to Ohio State itself, but probably not much. I would expect, at some point, Gene Smith to step down as we draw closer to doomsday, and perhaps even E. Gordon Gee, who certainly enabled this by not enforcing a stiffer penalty out of the gate.
Tattoo-gate aside, the stories that have been coming out are full of speculation and heresay. The Sports Illustrated article written by Dohrmann was not nearly the damning piece of evidence that we were all expecting. It either told us things that we already knew, or speculated as to what else is possible. Still, the information hurt enough for Tressel to have to leave his vacation and sign a letter of resignation. The heat got to be too much, turning a very boring offseason into the prelude to one of the most interesting seasons that Ohio State will ever have.
We will all think of the most recent problems that include Pryor, Posey, Herron, etc. However, I think a lot of people (the same people who don't want Urban Meyer) seem to forget that we have had quite a few arrests in the last ten years regarding football players. While we don't consider arrests to be things that can cause major problems with the NCAA, there have been (officially) 33 arrests while on Tressel's watch at Ohio State, some of which are repeat offenders (Louis Irizarry the most prominent one coming to mind) that are all handled accordingly, so while the team dealt with them as necessary, it still is a black mark on the program. Perhaps we all didn't care because they were handled in a fairly quick manner and swept away, even though there were some pretty harsh charges. Irizarry was sentenced to three years in prison due to violation of probation after being charged and convicted of robbery and assault of a student with Ira Guilford, another person that didn't quite "get it" when he was at Ohio State.
Earlier, I said I was getting two primary responses. I appreciate what Tressel did for the program from a success standpoint, but my ties are to Ohio State. I fear for the immediate future and how hard the NCAA will hammer us, which made me ask the question posed earlier: Just how should we feel? Tressel gave us success, absolutely...but the program is going to get smacked. It isn't going to be an easy storm to weather, and whoever is brought in to fix it, whether it's Luke Fickell or a big name like Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Jon Gruden, Bo Pelini, etc., well, I hope it's someone who will right the ship when it comes to corruption. I feel as though I've been told a long, systematic lie about our program.
How do I feel?
I feel betrayed.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Five days to go...
This morning, I sent off Stephanie at the airport at roughly five in the morning. If there is one person who can truly understand what I'm going through, it's her. You see, last year on my birthday, while I was in the midst of still passing through medical in order to just qualify to take the physical at MEPS, Stephanie told me that she was considering joining the Peace Corp. She told me because she knew I would understand the situation: Dropping everything that is going on in one's life to basically make a sacrifice and a drastic change in lifestyle. I told her to go for it.
She did just that, and now she is in Dallas at Peace Corp Staging. Tomorrow, she will fly to Belmopan, Belize, which will be her home for the next 27 months.
It was a little odd this morning as I dropped her off. Having spent almost her entire last day in Columbus with her, it felt a lot like foreshadowing to me. Here she was, sitting in an empty house, just doing some final cleaning and packing. She had loose ends to tie up but, for the most part, she was ready. I watched her go through the highs and lows of the process, from selling her car and getting more than what she expected all the way to saying goodbye to friends as well as her pet, which is as much of a part of her family as anyone.
I sit here, now, roughly 120 hours from reporting to MEPS on Tuesday. I have been going through much of the same issues that she did. My nights have been locked up with meeting with friends for the last time, people calling me, and just trying to finalize every last bit that I can before I head out. My mother will be here on Friday night to get my car as well as my dog, which I know will be one of the harder things to deal with in this process. In essence, her situation and mine will be mirror images as I approach the final days of civilian life.
I've found myself wondering what it's all going to be like next week. My mind continues to remind me that this is, in fact, happening. It's not just a dream or an alternate reality. This is going to happen, and perhaps I still don't understand the sacrifices that I'm making in order to do this. Kyle posted on my wall earlier tonight that my "life changes forever in a few days."
He couldn't be more right. It's not just about changing my career. This is about changing my very way of life. I've enjoyed my time in Columbus, but for the longest time, I've been complacent about my future. There are a few things I would change if I could go back, for certain. Perhaps even change things that would have made my life far different now. However, one cannot dwell on the past. Your eyes must remain forward at all times, looking into the future.
My future takes me to Great Lakes, Illinois, in under a week.
She did just that, and now she is in Dallas at Peace Corp Staging. Tomorrow, she will fly to Belmopan, Belize, which will be her home for the next 27 months.
It was a little odd this morning as I dropped her off. Having spent almost her entire last day in Columbus with her, it felt a lot like foreshadowing to me. Here she was, sitting in an empty house, just doing some final cleaning and packing. She had loose ends to tie up but, for the most part, she was ready. I watched her go through the highs and lows of the process, from selling her car and getting more than what she expected all the way to saying goodbye to friends as well as her pet, which is as much of a part of her family as anyone.
I sit here, now, roughly 120 hours from reporting to MEPS on Tuesday. I have been going through much of the same issues that she did. My nights have been locked up with meeting with friends for the last time, people calling me, and just trying to finalize every last bit that I can before I head out. My mother will be here on Friday night to get my car as well as my dog, which I know will be one of the harder things to deal with in this process. In essence, her situation and mine will be mirror images as I approach the final days of civilian life.
I've found myself wondering what it's all going to be like next week. My mind continues to remind me that this is, in fact, happening. It's not just a dream or an alternate reality. This is going to happen, and perhaps I still don't understand the sacrifices that I'm making in order to do this. Kyle posted on my wall earlier tonight that my "life changes forever in a few days."
He couldn't be more right. It's not just about changing my career. This is about changing my very way of life. I've enjoyed my time in Columbus, but for the longest time, I've been complacent about my future. There are a few things I would change if I could go back, for certain. Perhaps even change things that would have made my life far different now. However, one cannot dwell on the past. Your eyes must remain forward at all times, looking into the future.
My future takes me to Great Lakes, Illinois, in under a week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)