Ohio State Football Forum

Ohio State Football Forum

Ohio State football fan talk.

Open Letter to Oregon Duck Fans...

+1 HS
Berniebucks78's picture
January 14, 2015 at 10:09pm
55 Comments

Dear Oregon Fan,

If you are the casual Oregon fan that “watches a few games,” this letter is not for you. Don’t take it personal. You just will not understand where I am coming from. This is for the passionate fan that has seen every game (and the good ones twice on DVR). The fan that knows the Duck’s two-deep by name. The fan that is well aware of your team’s last several recruiting classes. In other words, the fan that was completely and utterly devastated during the earliest hours of Tuesday morning.

Let me make something clear. I am not writing to “rub in” a Buckeye victory. I am not the type to tweet or text my Oregon buddies with as much foolishness or as many absurdities as I can fit in 140 characters.

Instead, I would like to say I am truly sorry for the anguish you are feeling. Don’t get me wrong; I am extremely happy with my team’s victory. However, at the same time, I know exactly how you feel. We can both credit my past and your current sorrow to one man – Urban Frank Meyer III. That man singlehandedly ruined my night (and many days to follow) on January 8th, 2007.

My feelings towards him did not start off this way. When I first noticed Urban, he was coaching at Utah. At that point, I really liked him. He was an innovative and relentless coach that was doing great things. To be completely honest, during his first year and through 13 games of his second year at Florida, I actually rooted for Urban as a person and a coach. He was the ultimate underdog! We all know how he fares in that role. All the “experts” stated that a coach from the Mountain West running a spread offense would never succeed against mighty SEC defenses. Within two years, he proved them wrong and I admired him for that.

Then my admiration for him came to an abrupt end. This is where my and your stories become eerily similar.

Just over a week ago, you witnessed your team win one of the biggest games in school history against an undefeated and #3 ranked Florida State team. In 2006, I had just witnessed my Buckeyes win what many Ohioans call "The Game of the Century." We beat the undefeated and #2 ranked team from up north (you refer to them as Michigan).

During the 2014 season, you watched Marcus brilliantly trounce and tease opposing defenses with ease. He led your offense with an amazing 55 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions (are you kidding me!) In a landslide, he brought the Heisman Trophy to Eugene. In 2006, I watched Troy Smith lead our offense with 31 touchdowns – that’s a ton for a Jim Tressel offense – to only 5 interceptions. In a landslide, he brought the Heisman Trophy back to Columbus.

This season, you watched an Urban Meyer team “slide” into the #4 playoff ranking by jumping TCU in the final polls. In 2006, I watched an Urban Meyer team “slide” into the #2 BCS ranking by .0101 points over the team up north (remember, you call them Michigan) in the final poll. Oddly enough, many believed the only reason the team up north did not get the #2 BCS ranking is because their conference did not have a championship game. That sounds all too familiar. Anyway, I digress.

This season, you were left extremely confident going into the game as 7-point favorites and even during the opening minutes of the first quarter. You may have even thought to yourself, “I knew we would blow these clowns out.” In 2006, my Buckeyes entered as favorites (yep, you guessed it, 7-points). After watching Teddy Ginn return the opening kickoff, I had similar thoughts. Soon thereafter, our bliss was replaced with disorientation, confusion, and incomprehension. 

For the remainder of Monday night, you watched in unadulterated bewilderment. You asked yourself, “Why is our offense only able to score 13 points in 58 minutes of football?”  Don’t worry; in 2006 I posed the exact same question. We only got 7 points in 59 minutes of football. I thought Urban was an offensive-minded coach?

During this game, you watched Urban Meyer’s back-up quarterback solidify his name in Buckeye lore by scoring both passing and rushing touchdowns and running over your defensive linemen like they were punters. Don’t fret, I watched an Urban Meyer backup by the name of Tim Tebow do the exact same thing to my team.  

Shortly after the game, you probably saw the widely distributed picture of Marcus in a modified fetal position, with Joey Bosa walking away like a lion that just killed his prize. The caption read, “O-No!” Don’t feel alone. I vividly remember a widely distributed picture of Earl Everett (helmet-less I might add) sacking Troy Smith. The caption read, “OH-NO!”

The day after the game, when you finally built up the nerve to see what the analysts at ESPN were writing, phrases such as “team speed” and “up-tempo offense” were quickly replaced with “not physical enough” and “outmatched.” I’ve been there. On 9 January 2007, phrases such as “team toughness” and “stout defense” were replaced with “not fast enough” and “out of shape.” Did those clowns forget that just several days before, they picked our respective teams to win?

In 2006, Urban told reporters he had his “lucky buckeye” in his pocket during the entire game. Talk about adding salt in the wound. Don’t worry, he does not have a “lucky duck” and if he does, I highly doubt he had it in his pocket.    

Back to my point, I have been there. I understand what you are going through. Every bit of anguish you feel, I felt 8 years ago. We both have the same person to blame. To be completely honest with you, the first time I began to forgive Urban was when I heard he was purchasing a home in the suburbs of Columbus. Needless to say, I fully forgave him several weeks later when he was introduced as the head coach of the Buckeye football team. Trust me…in several years; if you hear rumors of him purchasing a home in the suburbs of Eugene, you will forgive him as well.

One last note, it’s not all bad. You guys will rebound. You have a great program, a good coach, amazing athletes and facilities (and cheerleaders) every football player in the United States covets. Also, you have history on your side. The year after Urban haunted Buckeye Nation, we returned to the National Championship. I could see your team doing the same. For my sake, I hope Urban Meyer is on the opposing sideline if you do.

Best Regards,

A Buckeye Fan & Urban Meyer admirer hater enthusiast. 

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

View 55 Comments