Tressels, Fickells, Urbans, Days, Johnsons and Days,
Just as it was fifteen years ago, I still haven't been able to lessen my guilt.
My first weekly prediction was game 1 of the 2002 season – Texas Tech. I predicted an OSU loss, but little did I know a freshman RB would run for 175 yards and the magical season would begin. It was kinda fun, so I just kept doing it and stopped predicting losses. Since then, the Bucks have won three National Championships, had three other Championship game appearances, 9 BCS Bowl appearances, and 5 CFP appearances.
This is the third time Ohio State is playing my alma mater since the weekly prediction tradition began. The first matchup in 2008, a fellow OU grad asked if I would be cheering for the Bobcats against the Buckeyes. I said "no" a little bit too emphatically and felt a twinge of guilt. I spent the next ten minutes explaining myself to him and me.
I was never emotionally invested in OU football. In my four years at Ohio U., I went to exactly 1 ½ games. I'm emotionally invested in the education I received from the Scripps School of Journalism at OU. My oldest son is following in my footsteps in the Scripps School now. I'm emotionally invested in the utopian college experience Ohio U. provides. The music scene and the hills were outstanding. The people were all genuinely nice and typically interesting. The in-state tuition is one of the best values in the country. I started dating my wife there. But, I couldn't name one starting player for the Bobcats from my four years there. The football team won 6 games TOTAL while I was there - they went 0-11 one year. Annually, they were one of the worst teams in Division 1 football. The only emotional, sports-related issue that surfaced while I was at OU was when the AD changed the school logo from the "paw" to the "Attack Cat." Very tenuous - I still prefer the "paw." If anyone has any contra-band, authentic OG "paw" garb, let me know.
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio State football was everything. For a long time, Columbus was the largest non-pro city in the country – slightly larger than Austin TX and Knoxville TN (where the Longhorns and Vols are the singular focus). Our team was the Buckeyes...that's it. Also, it's an extremely easy team to support. I've had a few die-hard Browns fans remind me of this. Even in a mediocre year, OSU has only a couple games go sideways and our team will never move to Baltimore. It's like putting the winning tradition of the Yankees with the fanaticism of the Packers in a sizable sports-crazy city with no distractions or dissention. Very simple.
It's engrained early. When I was a kid, I would draw pictures of Keith Byers and display them proudly by the front door of my Grandpa's family grocery store -- Johnson's Oakland Market. I would hang out by the front door and point out my art to the customers wearing a Buckeye jersey or OSU shirt -- which were many. Addicts love young addicts. As soon as I would take a break from showcasing my work, my Grandpa J. would take them down and put them behind the counter. He ran a very tight ship and things were always meticulous.
When I was a little older and working at the market, we had a very special customer -- Mr. Gwinn. He was always a very kind and warm gentleman. Mr. Gwinn would come in early Saturday gameday mornings wearing his son's Ohio State jersey -- #49. He would get hot Italian sausage to cookout at halftime of the game (back then, we had the best meat department in the city) and lottery tickets that were variations of his sons' OSU jersey numbers. Mr. Gwinn's eldest son, Jayson, was killed in a car accident his sophomore year. He had a younger son, who also played for the Bucks -- Anthony. It was as if we were part of Mr. Gwinn's coping routine.
Ohio State football is a life-long fanaticism. I remember about 15-years ago, moving my Grandma from independent to assisted living at Knightsbridge in northwest Columbus. As I walked the hallways and back paths with moving boxes, I took it all in. These are folks who had to downsize from five-bedroom houses to 500 square feet. So, only prized possessions make the move. You can probably tell where I'm going with this. Every 10 feet there were Buckeye flags, Buckeye weather-vanes, Buckeye wall-hangings, doormats, pictures, on and on...I debated printing out my predictions and leaving them in the mailbox slots. I think there were a handful of fans there.
So, I'll be rooting for the Buckeyes, but thinking fondly of Athens, Ohio.
There are a lot of things that feel like a long time ago...and I think that's OK. Keith Byers seems like a long time ago. Ohio U. seems like a long time ago. 2002 seems like a long time ago. But, this season feels like it's right on top of us, the 2025 Buckeyes look talented and hungry...and I have a twinge of guilt for not looking back.
Touchdowns: CJ Donaldson, James Peoples, Max Klare, Jeremiah Smith, Jelani Thurman, Bo Jackson, Carnell Tate
OSU 49 OU 10
Go Bucks! Beat OU! Harry Miller and Eddrick Houston for Heisman!
Stout Pops
