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matt_thatsme
Ain’t nobody got time for that
Earlier this year I drove up from Germany through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Apparently the folks in the Baltics love metal because once I crossed over from Poland to Lithuania every other radio station was metal/Nordic rock. I probably heard Ramstein’s Deutschland two dozens times.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
As Paul Harvey used to say "Here's the rest of the story":
Ex-Buckeye learns lesson tough way
Germany, 37, finally earns his degree
Zero point zero.
For former Ohio State receiver Reggie Germany, the grade-point average from his final college report card stuck with him like two scarlet numbers.
His straight F’s as a senior in the fall of 2000 — the result of skipping classes entirely as he began dreaming of NFL riches — made him ineligible for the Buckeyes’ bowl game, a face of the ills of big-time college athletics, and a national punchline.
“That left a nasty taste in my mouth,” Germany said.
Nasty enough that the story hardly ends here.
Those in attendance at Ohio State’s fall-semester commencement ceremony last month might have recognized a familiar old name.
Nearly two decades after assuring his mother he would get his degree, there was Germany — in a black cap, gown, tassel, and all — among the 3,000 or so newly minted graduates making good on the promise.
Now 37 and an assistant football coach at Ohio Dominican University, Germany returned to school two years ago as part of Ohio State’s Degree Completion Program for former scholarship athletes.
He graduated with a degree in sociology. His GPA this time around: 3.5.
From the graduation-day crowd at Value City Arena, Germany’s mother, Jeannette — in town from his native St. Louis — watched the ceremony through tears. Also there was his wife, Keah, and his two children: Jaelyn Johnson — a freshman at Ohio State who aspires to be a neurosurgeon — and 2-year-old Raelee Germany.
A third serendipitously arrived hours later.
Just after receiving his diploma, Germany looked to the stands for his family, only to notice they were missing. He texted Keah.
“I think my water just broke,” she replied.
Germany, too, left the ceremony and joined the race to the hospital. The next morning, a healthy Reginald Lee Germany, Jr., was born.
“My son must have heard my name being called and thought, ‘Well, I want to congratulate you too dad,’ ” Germany said with a laugh. “It was a great 24 hours.
He called the degree a highlight of his life.
“For me, it was, ‘Is the 0.0 going to be my legacy that I leave behind?’ ” Germany said. “I knew I was better than that, and raising kids, you’ve got to make sure you live by example. I wanted to make sure I led by example and was not just blowing a lot of smoke into the air about what I’m doing. Now I have the rest of my life ahead of me to do big things.”
Germany is the latest in a line of Ohio State athletes who left school with unfinished academic business, only to return later in life for a second crack at their diploma. In all, 173 athletes — from recent graduates to 76-year-old former Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns star lineman Dick Schafrath — have graduated through the 22-year-old degree completion program.
In exchange for community service, ex-scholarship players who have exhausted their athletic eligibility receive up to 45 hours of free tuition and aid from the school’s academic support staff.
Germany is grateful for the assist — even as he wishes it was not necessary.
Looking back, Germany said he banked his future almost entirely on a career in the NFL.
He came to Ohio State in 1997 as a high-profile recruit and enjoyed early success. Germany played as a freshman, then caught four touchdown passes the next year on a Buckeyes team that spent most of the fall atop the polls. Over four seasons, he had 80 receptions for 1,268 yards.
By his final year in 2000, the speedy Germany had one foot out the door.
“I didn't go to any classes,” he said.
“I was spending my time focusing on getting myself prepared for the NFL draft. A lot of it had to do with my immaturity at the time.”
He also had few people to call him on it.
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continued
Entire article: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/01/10/Ex-Buckeye-learns-lesson-tough-way/stories/20160110157
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