Brett Ludwiczak
Guest
Column: The Ohio State spring game doesn’t move the needle for me
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
With the college football season still over four months away, it’s hard to care about a scrimmage.
We live in a time where everybody has to have an opinion or a take on everything immediately. The way we consume information and communicate with others is so much different from even 20 years ago. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms have made it so we can react immediately to everything that happens in the world, and share our opinions on anything.
Not that I’m ridiculously old, but I remember the days where I found out sports information from the newspaper, radio, or ESPN. Much like how you used to have to wait to find out if you had snow days in school by listening to the radio or watching the scroll on the morning news, I remember when I tracked scores by watching the scroll on ESPN and other sports networks. Now you can watch games live on your phone.
While the access to information and a platform to express your thoughts and opinions can be a gift, it can also be a curse. Now it feels like you have to have an instant reaction to everything. I’m certainly guilty of this. I remember when I was tweeting constantly about pretty much anything. I will say though, over the last few years I’ve found myself tweeting less and less. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk buying Twitter or anything like that, I guess I’m just tired of always having to be on edge, which is what it feels like you have to be when logging on.
I guess these days I feel like if I’m going to let something really get to me, it better be pretty important. That’s why I could really care less about what we saw in the spring game on Saturday. I know it was a beautiful day in Columbus on Saturday for families to get down to Ohio Stadium, Archie Griffin scored a touchdown, and some players got some cardio. Other than that, I’m not ready to proclaim Ryan Day is on the hot seat, or the Buckeyes are winning the national title this season based on what we saw in the scrimmage.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24597123/usa_today_20469357.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Don’t get me wrong, there are reasons why I think the spring game is important. A big reason is because once the spring game arrives, it feels like it is actually spring here in Ohio. Of course I say that, and a couple days later it was 40 degrees and sleeting here in Columbus. Also, the spring game is a great opportunity for families to get to Ohio Stadium for a little football, since the university is making it increasingly difficult for families to go to regular season games with the prices of tickets going up.
Other than those reasons, there isn’t anything else about the spring game that I feel is important. If you want to dissect every throw Kyle McCord made on Saturday, then have at it. I just don’t see the value in doing so. McCord didn’t have a number of skill position players at his disposal that will be available for the season opener at Indiana. Plus, McCord didn’t have to worry about getting hit on Saturday, and it’s not like he had to worry about out-dueling Devin Brown, who missed the spring game due to finger surgery.
Anybody who says they know either side of the football is better or worse than last year is lying. I’m certainly hoping the defense is better than what we saw at times last year, and it likely will be with some of the personnel changes on and off the field. We just won’t know for sure until at least a few weeks into the season. The good news for the defense is they get to practice against one of the best offenses in the country. Iron sharpens iron.
All this to say, I love Ohio State football, but I can’t get worked up about it all year round. Much like how I haven’t cared to watch any XFL or USFL action, I need a break from football after the college football season and the NFL playoffs are over. After going all-in on football from August until February, I need to take some time off or else I’m seriously going to be burnt out on football.
Last month I was at Ledo’s on the Saturday Ohio State beat UConn in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and somebody asked me how I thought the Bills were looking this year since they knew I was a Buffalo fan. I just shook my head and said “I have no idea since it’s March”. Free agency had just started and the NFL Draft was still a month away, so I honestly have no idea, and I’m not ready to dive into what their season might look like.
In a way it’s the same way I think of Ohio State’s spring camp and the spring game. We don’t know how Ohio State is going to look this year, and we aren’t going to know for months. I know it’s fun to speculate, but there’s too much else going on for me to think about it for more than five seconds. Give me the NBA and NHL playoffs, a few golf major tournaments, and other events around the sporting world instead of months of going over the same questions about this year’s Buckeye team.
One thing you can be sure of is when we hit late August, I’ll be ready to run through walls ahead of Ohio State hopefully making another run to the College Football Playoff. Go Bucks!
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
With the college football season still over four months away, it’s hard to care about a scrimmage.
We live in a time where everybody has to have an opinion or a take on everything immediately. The way we consume information and communicate with others is so much different from even 20 years ago. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms have made it so we can react immediately to everything that happens in the world, and share our opinions on anything.
Not that I’m ridiculously old, but I remember the days where I found out sports information from the newspaper, radio, or ESPN. Much like how you used to have to wait to find out if you had snow days in school by listening to the radio or watching the scroll on the morning news, I remember when I tracked scores by watching the scroll on ESPN and other sports networks. Now you can watch games live on your phone.
While the access to information and a platform to express your thoughts and opinions can be a gift, it can also be a curse. Now it feels like you have to have an instant reaction to everything. I’m certainly guilty of this. I remember when I was tweeting constantly about pretty much anything. I will say though, over the last few years I’ve found myself tweeting less and less. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk buying Twitter or anything like that, I guess I’m just tired of always having to be on edge, which is what it feels like you have to be when logging on.
I guess these days I feel like if I’m going to let something really get to me, it better be pretty important. That’s why I could really care less about what we saw in the spring game on Saturday. I know it was a beautiful day in Columbus on Saturday for families to get down to Ohio Stadium, Archie Griffin scored a touchdown, and some players got some cardio. Other than that, I’m not ready to proclaim Ryan Day is on the hot seat, or the Buckeyes are winning the national title this season based on what we saw in the scrimmage.
Don’t get me wrong, there are reasons why I think the spring game is important. A big reason is because once the spring game arrives, it feels like it is actually spring here in Ohio. Of course I say that, and a couple days later it was 40 degrees and sleeting here in Columbus. Also, the spring game is a great opportunity for families to get to Ohio Stadium for a little football, since the university is making it increasingly difficult for families to go to regular season games with the prices of tickets going up.
Other than those reasons, there isn’t anything else about the spring game that I feel is important. If you want to dissect every throw Kyle McCord made on Saturday, then have at it. I just don’t see the value in doing so. McCord didn’t have a number of skill position players at his disposal that will be available for the season opener at Indiana. Plus, McCord didn’t have to worry about getting hit on Saturday, and it’s not like he had to worry about out-dueling Devin Brown, who missed the spring game due to finger surgery.
Anybody who says they know either side of the football is better or worse than last year is lying. I’m certainly hoping the defense is better than what we saw at times last year, and it likely will be with some of the personnel changes on and off the field. We just won’t know for sure until at least a few weeks into the season. The good news for the defense is they get to practice against one of the best offenses in the country. Iron sharpens iron.
All this to say, I love Ohio State football, but I can’t get worked up about it all year round. Much like how I haven’t cared to watch any XFL or USFL action, I need a break from football after the college football season and the NFL playoffs are over. After going all-in on football from August until February, I need to take some time off or else I’m seriously going to be burnt out on football.
Last month I was at Ledo’s on the Saturday Ohio State beat UConn in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and somebody asked me how I thought the Bills were looking this year since they knew I was a Buffalo fan. I just shook my head and said “I have no idea since it’s March”. Free agency had just started and the NFL Draft was still a month away, so I honestly have no idea, and I’m not ready to dive into what their season might look like.
In a way it’s the same way I think of Ohio State’s spring camp and the spring game. We don’t know how Ohio State is going to look this year, and we aren’t going to know for months. I know it’s fun to speculate, but there’s too much else going on for me to think about it for more than five seconds. Give me the NBA and NHL playoffs, a few golf major tournaments, and other events around the sporting world instead of months of going over the same questions about this year’s Buckeye team.
One thing you can be sure of is when we hit late August, I’ll be ready to run through walls ahead of Ohio State hopefully making another run to the College Football Playoff. Go Bucks!
Continue reading...