I'm an OSU grad, but I was born and raised in Boston. Hence, I wasn't around for the brunt of the Cooper years. I want to get some other people's perspective on the culture in Columbus surrounding the football team. One thing I noticed right away was the almost acceptance of inevitable underachievement (again, due to Coop). There's also the bluehaired "Go State! Fight! Win conference!" contingent who doesn't realize that college football is now much bigger than they could comprehend. Now, I'm completely aware that every fanbase has its own unique makeup. However, the acceptance of underachievement has always pissed me off. We're not the Little Engine That Could. We're m'fing Ohio State. I'd like to hear your thoughts...
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i could go on and on about this, but put simply: i think Ohio State and OSU fans absolutely are enamored with the idea that we are disrespected and that we're the scrappy hardworking team that punches the pretty boys in the mouth. i don't think it's so much an acceptance of underachievement (think of all the grief Tressel has gotten despite being easily the second best or even the best coach in buckeye history), i just think OSU fans like being the underdogs and are more comfortable in that role, rather than that of the juggernaut dynasty a la USC or ND or michigan or alabama or whatever
I agree. I'm sure Bama fans have have their contingent of fans who are wrapped up in how things were done when the Bear was still around. "An acceptance of underachievement" was a bit strong. Rather, I still get the vibe that when things are going well, people are still always expecting the other shoe to drop.
There is an element of truth to this, as many of us also grew up as Cleveland sports fans, which means that we have frequently experienced the proverbial "other shoe" dropping.
I think the poor performances lately in big games have added to that under-achieving status quo. And the 0-9 bowl record against SEC schools still tarnished our reputation as an ELITE program.
"We have a quarterback, obviously, that's kind of ridiculous running the ball." - Urban Meyer
That's definitely contributed to the psyche of our fanbase. That was most evident after the Texas game when a lot of fans were celebrating a "moral victory." While games like '98 Michigan St. are infamous, we deserve to/should walk with a swagger outside of Columbus whenever we wear the S&G. We're a top 5 program from a historical/year in and year out standpoint. I wish more of our fans acted like it.
I am always confident about my Buckeyes (even in basketball now). But I am never arrogant and always praise the other team. I left that Fiesta Bowl game PISSED. That was the ONLY Fiesta Bowl I have been to that we lost. Glendale has not been nice to us like Tempe was. I couldn't afford tickets to the Florida thrashing (TFG!)
P.S. I sport my Buckeye colors atleast 3 times a week at work in Phoenix all year. People know me by my colors at work....lol
"We have a quarterback, obviously, that's kind of ridiculous running the ball." - Urban Meyer
i know some fans are all about da swagga but frankly i think it is pretty stupid and it really doesn't matter if we "act" like we have it. the team certainly doesn't, as i don't know if a greater talent to showoff ratio exists in the country, and we'd be irritated if they did (plus, we rag on other schools/fanbases for acting arrogant or superior all the time).
You can't have people's definiton of da swagga and Jim Tressel at the same time.
I'll take Jim Tressel.
EDIT: What I mean is that I wouldn't want TP or DeVier to come out and say "When we beat Miami. I don't want to say if because it's not an if." Especially if our team was about to go into a game in front of 105,000 opposing fans to play the number two ranked team in the country who happens to have a Heisman canidate quarterback and a ridiculous defense.
October 20th: National Kenneth Guiton Day
Exactly. If we walk around talking about our team's greatness constantly, we come off more like ND fans than anyone else. Let the team do the talking.
Great points Jake and Sam. There's a fine line between having confidence in your team and just sounding like a dumbass/resting on your laurels (ND). However, we always talk about "Evil Tressel." I just wish that, for once, JT would channel his inner-Woody and say, "We're OSU, and we're going to show you why..." The Marshall game was a good start towards this end.
Someone needs to tell Berry we aren't FIU...I have images of Big Dex breaking that little man a few times for that comment.
BTW I Larimoeex Larimore is one of the most under appreciated and least recognized Buckeyes of all time. Dude is ALWAYS around the ball. And always makes key plays for us.
"We have a quarterback, obviously, that's kind of ridiculous running the ball." - Urban Meyer
"We're m'fing Ohio State. I'd like to hear your thoughts..."
Damn Right! Things are cyclical and in the long run, the Cooper years or any short span of "down" years means nothing compared to the Buckeyes long tradition world beaters. The OSU has the highest I-A Winning Percentage in the last 100 years. Here.
If that is underachievement, I'd like to see what they could do if they put forth more effort.
You are going to play Tressel Ball whether you want to or not.
You Just wouldn't understand
Love that.
And
You are going to play Tressel Ball whether you want to or not.
I wrote 3 paragraphs outlining Ohio State's miscues over the last 40 years that lend itself to the general feeling of caution (I wouldn't call it an acceptance of underachievement) that pervades our fanbase. But I deleted all of it because it's seriously too depressing to rehash every single one as we're getting psyched for Miami. Trust me OH-KEE, it's BECAUSE of how solidly consistent Ohio State has been each decade for pretty much 100 years that has made the close calls and debacles that much more heartbreaking. It's not just because of recent history. Woody Hayes was hanged in effigy more than once on campus throughout his tenure.
But perhaps we can blame a lot of this on our heritage. German/Irish descendents aren't necessarily known for being chipper or hanging our hats on the positives. That's not to say Ohio State fans are depressed lunatics, just that they're not stupid. How many times in a row can you roll through the Big Ten schedule like it's butter, then get your ass handed to you on a silver platter by a fellow elite team and not start feeling like your team might not be as good as you think? If you're elite, as in ranked in the top-5/NFL talent calibur elite, you make it competitive. You don't find yourself in a 34-14, 31-10, 28-3 hole by halftime in 3 straight seasons against other top-5 competition. In our universe of success, those things don't compute.
We're not stupid. We know that we should not be getting beat by elite teams like we're Indiana, or Washington State, or Baylor. It's the fact that we're Ohio M'Fing State that makes us emotionally cautious.
Very well said. Based on history, I've already accepted the fact that regardless of who our coach is, we're always going to make things harder for ourselves than they should be.