Like many of you, I came away from Saturday's rendition of the game in disbelief. Ohio State was beaten by TTUN in the same fashion we have become accustomed to seeing our Buckeyes leave little doubt when the clocks strikes zero on the last Saturday in November.

It changed from disbelief to raw anger when Jim Harbaugh had the audacity to throw daggers at his post-game press conference:

"Some people were born on third base and think they hit a triple."

But now being one day removed from that atrocity that was The Game, I thought about that comment with more perspective. This may have been intended for our coach, but it also struck me for what it meant to me as a fan... I was born in 1990. I was raised in the Cooper years. Raised during a time where I not only wasn't born on third base, I was reminded annually that I was merely a middle class citizen when it came to my favorite football team. The glory years were Woody, and those times were no more. I am too young to remember 1993, but have been told of the infamous 28-0 beatdown. My first real memory of The Game was 1995. My (first) favorite Buckeye Eddie George who couldn't be stopped all year. Then it was like Life itself was manifested in the form of Biakabatuka and said I wasn't meant to get ahead in the world. The very next year Brian Griese came off the bench to step on my throat and remind me that some people are meant to have nice things, but not me. Of course 1997, 1999, and 2000 was like the life lesson of the "haves" and the "have nots," and I knew which social class of college football I belonged to...

All this to say that in January 2001, it was like I was given a scholarship with no strings attached to attend the most prestigious university in the country in the form of Jim Tressel. He would immediately remove me from a life of poverty and instantly change my socio-economic standing as a college football fan. Not only would he immediately change The Game(s) and their outcomes, he would win a national championship against what was considered one of the best teams in college football history in Miami, and go on to play for another two.

And then when it appeared I had botched my interviews in 2011 to the tune of "tattoogate" and a 6-6 record, I was given a dream job I didn't earn in Urban Meyer. Undefeated in The Game, recruiting was at an all time high, defeated Alabama and won the first Undisputed championship in the College Football Playoff. Things were going great. Then when it seemed a little cloudy and I was involved in what some would call a scandal, I received a promotion in the form of Ryan Day. Recruiting maintained its high level, TTUN was decimated in AA when Justin Fields went down and came off the bench to immediately launch a dime to Wilson and Dobbins had four TD's. Back to back CFP's with revenge against the Clemson Clowns after that questionably officiated game in 2019. Played for the national championship in a season that was literally cancelled until it wasn't. Then 2021 provides the most Elite WR I have ever seen at one school along with a QB who went from never throwing a pass in colleg to probable Heisman with one regular season game to play... then the 90's called and it was that long lost feeling all over again.

So I was born and raised in what some would call The Great Depression of Buckeye Fandom. But just as heavily a bad hand was I dealt early and had to overcome John Cooper, it was made up for with an undeserved scholarship in Jim Tressel, dream job in Urban Meyer, and promotion in Ryan Day.

So no, I wasn't born on third base and thought I hit a triple. But man, I have been living on third base for 20 years and I thought the mortgage was just about paid off. But the mortgage bill went up on Saturday, 11/27/21 and it was EXPENSIVE. To the amount of, our team has to get back to work or we could be evicted next year. And this all is to say the same of our players, coaching staff, grad assistants, and anybody related to this program. We've had it real good lately. It's time to go back and remember what brought us here. Cuz I might not have been born on third base, but I'd like to die there.

It's Always Good To Be A Buckeye