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I was there...memories of The Game 2006

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R0CK3TM4NN;666309; said:
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Sweet Pic
 
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Greatest weekend of my life, and the game itself was the best single experience in my life so far.It was just electric in the stadium and it was kind of eary that everybody could feel it.It was like a message that got through to all of us fans and we all cheered our asses off which payed a huge part in this game.It was great to see Bill Willis out there during half time and as i was walking out of the stadium, i turned around and he was making his way out himself. I got a picture with him and we had a little convo and i let him know that the reason Ohio State football is what it is today is greats like him and he took the comment to heart and i think he was emotional.It is stuff like this that made it the best day of my life.
 
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Being There from the FoxSports NFL Blog - An Outsider's Perspective

Thought this was the best place for an outsider's perspective on being there - part of the Fox Sports NFL blog.

Catch the bet that Wheatley made with Eddie George about half-way into the piece :) pantsless and wearing a 27 Buckeye Jersey in AA-MI :tongue2:

Getting a taste of big-time college football

Jay Glazer / FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 day ago

COLUMBUS - Are they all like this one?

Saturday afternoon I received an amazing inside and behind-the-scenes view of the game of games. What a way to kick off my first-ever NCAA Division 1 football game. Yup, first one of all time!

Photo gallery ...
This week's best


Analysis ... GameDay Blog | Instant analysis
Stream of consciousness notes
Ohio State-Michigan musings
Boards: Ohio State | Michigan Also ...
Buckeyes punch title game ticket
Smith tightens Heisman grip
Wolverines honor Bo's memory
Hart's big game all for naught
Michigan's defense fails
No. 1 vs. No. 2: A brief history


Having gone to college in New York City, I never bothered with Columbia or Fordham and never bothered with Rutgers before that while growing up in Jersey. So this past week when my fellow studio mate on FSN's Pro Football Preview, Eddie George, invited me to stand on the sidelines at THE Ohio State, how could I pass that one up?
For those who boasted it's unlike anything else out there ? how right you were. The noise was deafening to say the least. Making my first experience even more incredible were the extra-curricular activities involved with attending the event with an Ohio State alum who, as Ron Burgundy put it, "is a pretty big deal around here, ya know?"
The following isn't a game story or a statistical account of No. 1 vs. No. 2. Instead, this is a quick rant on the first of firsts in a sports career that can often get in a rut.
We started with a couple of pints of Guinness at Eddie George's Grill while hundreds of crazed draped-in-red fans chanted with George leading on the microphone. They're singing fight songs and songs about Michigan and anything else he can say to lead the crowd into a frenzy. We didn't do this stuff at Pace U, folks, trust me.
On the way to the game I called former Michigan Heisman hopeful and former Wolverine RB Tyrone Wheatley, an old buddy from his days with the Giants, and enticed him to make a friendly little wager with his former Big Ten counterpart.
Here is the bet, folks, and let's hold them to it ? if the Buckeyes won (which they did), Wheatley has to wear George's No. 27 jersey in the middle of the field at The Big House. Oh yeah, there's one more little stipulation to it ? Wheatley can't be wearing any pants and must take a photo to prove it. The same would have held true for George at the Horseshoe had Michigan pulled it out.
When we got to the game it was a who's who of those trying to feel the excitement ? Archie Griffin, Derek Jeter, Cris Carter and Tara Reid were among those on hand. Ohio State also had too many former players to recount flooding its bench area before and during the afternoon/evening.
At that point the Guinness started to catch up so I needed to make a pit stop. Where else would George take me to handle my business? Ohio State's locker room, of course. The atmosphere was similar to the pregame locker rooms in a huge NFL game ? quiet. It's not like the world sees in the movies ? guys aren't spitting into each other's mouths and screaming and smacking each other. Heck, guys are hardly talking.
Just then coach Jim Tressel walked over and after talking with Eddie, turned to me as George introduced me and said, "Aren't you the guy with the scoops?" Oh, my goodness did George want to puke. (Coach, I'll give you those two hondos next week.) Forever and ever, George will have to hear me boast about such a compliment. I mean, I will make him as sick of this as I am making the rest of you reading this.
However, Tressel's compliments quickly dissipated as a mere 15 minutes later the dude kicked me out of his locker room. George and I had gone back in for the pregame speech but when the coach saw me using my text messaging on my phone it was, "Sorry Jay, you can't be in here for this."
BUT I'M THE GUY WITH THE SCOOP COACH!?! Sorry chump, I was out! Heck, getting kicked out was worth the price of admission. But getting kicked out also allowed me to wait outside the door and actually walk down the tunnel with the team and take the field. Take that, Rudy Ruettiger!
I burst through with the Buckeyes and was immediately greeted by thousands upon thousands of maniacal red crazies. My goodness, what a scene. The sights and sounds beyond what the television shows were magnificent.
During the game, with the assistance of the pass that George gave me, I stood in the Ohio State bench area. Often I stood just behind the guy who appreciated my scoopage enough to kick me out of his locker room. Walking the sideline for the NFL on FOX as a sideline reporter and simply chillin' with the silver and red could not be more different.
I've been trained never to cheer, only to follow a story, so even on this day I found myself incapable of celebrating. However, behind my fa?ade the energy was bone-rattling. Then, when the game had ended and thousands swarmed the field I realized I would likely never catch a moment like this again in my life.
To call it a classic moment in the life of a sports reporter who fails to take himself very seriously would be the understatement of my career.
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Some compare Troy Smith to Seahawks backup QB Seneca Wallace. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Oh, by the way, somewhere inside this column there needs to be an NFL angle, right? That angle is Ohio State's Montana-esque QB Troy Smith. Montana-esque? Two guys who maybe don't look like Dan Marino or Peyton Manning but all they do is win. Their intangibles outweigh their physicals.
So where does Smith rate for the NFL draft this early?
In polling several NFL scouts, they all agree that Smith will be a first-day pick. Where on that day has some discrepancies. One NFL GM believes he'll be the third QB selected in the draft and likely late in the first round. The others, however, disagree and believe he'll end up somewhere in Rounds 2 to 3.
"He reminds me of Seneca Wallace, but he's a much better passer than Wallace, although not as fast," said one NFC personnel director. "Both guys will be hurt by their lack of height but this kid is clearly a winner. He's got good mobility, he's smart, he's got a strong arm."
Should Smith walk away with the Heisman, which he should, that should actually help his cause only because an owner or two may pressure their front office to grab a Heisman hero such as Smith. Those owners love to buy shiny new toys. The bottom line is that Smith will likely not be rated as a first-round prospect due to his height but could still sneak into the late first round.
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