A Texas scouting report on the Shoe
jwinslow said:
Great writeup. Don't BN posts disappear after 30 days or something like that? If so, someone copy and paste that over here (make sure the original poster's SN is copied as well)...
By unichorn:
Ohio State's mascot is a tree called the "Buckeye", and the Buckeyes play their home football games in a fortress called the "Shoe".
For us Texans, that is interesting information -- especially when the folks in the Ohio State camp are telling us that not only are the Buckeyes themselves very tough, but also that just playing the game in the Shoe, by itself, virtually assures Ohio State of victory when the Horns come to town on September 10.
Apparently, a "Buckeye" (for purposes of this discussion) is either the attractive flower or a possibly-poisonous (unless properly respected) chestnut emanating from the State Tree of Ohio. Hence, from the combination, we have the word "Bucknuts" that is used to describe indigenous posters in this forum, and also offers the implication of football zeal that reflects the nationally-recognized strength and tradition of the Ohio State football program.
Rule No. 1: While Buckeyes may be appealing in appearance (and even serve as a symbol for good luck), they can be dangerous to the health of visiting football teams.
That cautionary note alone should have the Horns on notice when we arrive in Columbus this Fall, but what is just as unusual as a team calling itself the "Buckeyes" (instead of using more common team mascots such as Tigers, Wildcats or Lions) is the notion that Ohio State plays its home football games in a "Horseshoe".
And the Shoe reportedly is formidable enough, per se, to give a visiting football team (even a good one) no reasonable chance of winning against the Buckeyes.
Rule No. 2: Willie Nelson should do a sequel to "Mama don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboys" -- entitled "Coach don't let your football players suit up for a game in the Shoe".
During its long and storied football history, the University of Texas football team has won games on the road in the home stadiums of Nebraska, Penn State, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Boston College, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, LSU, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA, Washington and Wisconsin. More than half of those teams never have beaten Texas in Austin.
The Horns also have neutral site wins over Tennessee (three bowl games, and Texas has the 2-1 series lead), Oklahoma (99 regular-season games, and Texas has the 55-39-5 series lead), and Michigan (Texas has the 1-0 series lead by virtue of the Horns' win in the 2005 Rose Bowl).
Texas also has won, under Mack Brown, 21 of its last 22 games on the road when the contest is played in the opposing team's home stadium -- and that includes victories over Arkansas in Fayetteville, A&M in College Station, Missouri in Columbia, Texas Tech in Lubbock, Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Iowa State in Ames, Colorado in Boulder, Kansas State in Manhattan and Nebraska in Lincoln -- plus neutral-site victories over Oklahoma (and the Stoops brothers) in the '99 RRS, Washington (and Rick Neuheisel) in the 2001 Holiday Bowl, LSU (and Nick Saban) in the 2003 Cotton Bowl, and Michigan (and Lloyd Carr) in the 2005 Rose Bowl.
So the notion that a "stadium" could beat us on September 10 is even more intriguing, possibly, to the Horns' faithful than attempting to comprehend the connotation of the word "Buckeye".
In fact, that notion is so interesting that I decided to visit Columbus and prepare a scouting report on the Shoe.
Since I already had a business trip planned this past week for Cleveland, it seemed natural enough to book the return flight out of Columbus -- the work in Cleveland ended around Noon on Friday, which gave me the chance to drive South to Columbus that afternoon, visit the Shoe, and then catch a flight that evening to get home for the Memorial Day weekend.
It was a mixed day, weather-wise, with the sun shining and very comfortable temperatures for the most part -- but with scattered rain showers otherwise punctuating the activities for all of us in that part of Ohio. I enjoyed the drive -- the part of the Ohio countryside that I saw was green and blessed with an abundance of trees and considerable natural beauty (like you had lots of rain) -- and the people I encountered when I made a couple of stops were very polite and kind.
I was really looking forward to seeing the Shoe (for the first time) -- not just because we have the big football game between Texas and Ohio State on September 10, but also because of my genuine interest in intercollegiate football history and tradition. And, of course, Ohio State has played a major role in that regard.
When I eventually arrived at the intersection of "Woody Hayes Drive" and the Olentangy River, there was the Horseshoe -- literally, because my first view was of the North entrance to the Stadium, and my understanding is that the original "Horseshoe" was comprised of the North, East and West portions of the building.
My very first reaction was just pure appreciation both for the Stadium and the fun of not being "let down" (as all of us are so often in this world) when we hear about something really good and then travel to see it, and it turns out to be less than what we expected.
The Shoe really was even more than what I expected.
It looks exactly like a football stadium ought to look, imho -- if you happen to have the best one in the Country.
After parking the car, I walked towards the North entrance to the Stadium.
What caught my eye from the beginning were two aspects of the Shoe -- the striking half-cupola over the front entrance (with, I presume, the buckeyes on the ceiling), and the fact that the configuration of the stadium appears to be consistent (in proportion and personality) with that of the Roman Coliseum. Those two aspects combine to make a very favorable first-impression on a visitor -- at least this one.
Of course, the sheer size of the edifice also is impressive; however, we have big buildings in Texas, where sheer size sometimes (not always) gets in the way of the quality of the project -- and here, with the Shoe, to your credit, you have a combination of size and quality that is worthy of your goal.
When I went inside the Stadium, the first thing I noticed were the stained glass artworks that depicted The Ohio State University and its intercollegiate football program. Those are remarkable, at least in my experience, and again made a very favorable impression.
When you combine the stained glass artwork with the cupola over the North entrance and the Roman Coliseum-like architecture (not to mention again the size of the stadium and the significant role that Ohio State has played in the history and tradition of intercollegiate football), it is easy to see why the Shoe has been called "the Sistine Chapel of college football" -- the title is, imo, well deserved.
We are, of course, in the off-season -- so the Stadium, for all practical purposes, was empty.
There was a crew of a few men power-washing the bleacher seats, and it was surprising to me how much noise just the power-washing apparatus made in the Stadium. I tried to magnify that sound a thousand (or more) times over, and it was difficult to imagine how a quarterback would hear the signals in a game at the Shoe.
And my guess is that the home crowd for an Ohio State football game likely has no difficulty in voicing its reaction to what is transpiring down (way down -- since the stands are very high, and the field apparently has been lowered significantly from its orginal elevation) on the football field.
In that regard, on the way in, I had passed by an empty food stand that apparently will be in use at the Shoe this Fall. On the food stand, there were labels for four products: "Onions", "Yellow Mustard", "Stadium Mustard" and "Ketchup".
Inside the Stadium, my view (from the North end zone) was drawn first to an enormously long flag pole -- how tall is that flag pole? -- at that end of the field, and then to the giant scoreboard in the South end zone that has the Ohio State emblem on top -- appearing, as it were, to preside over the Buckeye football Empire.
It is interesting in that regard that apparently the original motto for the State of Ohio was "Imperium in Imperior" -- an Empire within an Empire.
At that point of my visit, the sun was shining brightly, which motivated me in part (along with the attraction of the "Shelly Family Press Box") to move to the West side of the Stadium, where I sat in the neighborhood of the 50-yard line at Seat One of Row 16. From there, I imagined watching a game in progress and how much fun that would be.
Across the way, there were two smoke stacks rising high enough to clear the top of the East-side stands -- so whatever it is (that serves as the inspiration for those smoke stacks) must be quite an operation itself.
To my left, looking back at the North endzone (where I had entered the Stadium), it seemed clear that the original Horseshoe still existed there at least in part -- with very thick walls and a kind of solidity that seemed to be more pronounced at that end of the Stadium than at the newer (South) end of the building.
In fact, the South end of the Shoe was not completely enclosed -- which surprised me a little, although no doubt there are good reasons why the corners were left open at that end of the Stadium.
Anyhow, although the newer South end is very well done and fits the overall ambience of the Shoe -- the fact that it is not connected to the remainder of the Stadium at the corners gives it more of a temporary-bleachers aura (speaking purely from an aesthetical, and not a practical, standpoint) than the rest of the Shoe -- which would be the only observation I would offer that might be construed (even in a very minor way) to be critical of any aspect of the Stadium.
And, as I mentioned earlier, there probably are very good reasons why the Stadium was not completely enclosed at that end.
In any case, the University of Texas football Stadium (albeit a very good one) is not even comparable to the Shoe in this regard -- because that end of our Stadium is not enclosed by bleachers at all, which not only lets a good deal of the noise escape, but also detracts from the overall impact of the connection between the crowd and the players -- since it's like one end of the theater is missing.
There are plans in the works to enclose that end of the UT Stadium, which would be great -- but it obviously is not going to happen before Ohio State visits us next year.
Otherwise, the configuration of the Shoe is, imho, as perfect as you can get -- even if you were trying to imagine something better that has yet to be built.
As I sat there on the West side, it struck me that the Stadium has a way of "bringing the sky to you" -- because apart from some minor exceptions in the South end, you really don't see anything else (besides the sky) but the Shoe itself, with the football field as the center stage.
It's like the artificial skies painted on the high ceilings at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (just to draw another Roman parallel) -- except the skies over the Shoe are for real. You're there in the Shoe, and the backdrop for the football game consists of the other friends who are with you cheering on the Bucks in that great setting -- with the real sky above you serving as the only boundary for your enthusiasm.
It can only be even better, in some ways, at night -- when you have just your friends, the football game and the stars above to keep you company.
Along with the names of the Buckeye stars listed on the wall in the North end of the Stadium: Harley (47), Horvath (22), Cassady (40), Griffin (45), Janowicz (31) and George (27).
Five Heisman Trophy winners (one who did it twice) and the first three-time All-America selection in Ohio State football history, Charles "Chick" Harley.
It's the "House that Harley Built" ...
... and, by any objective standard, the Shoe truly is a great football House.
