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It is(n't) my university.

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HINYG8

HINYG8

You never come back from Copperhead Road
Carmen Ohio often brings a tear to my eye and I'm never ashamed of that. Seeing images of the campus and all the wonderful things the students, representatives, and fellow alums do to better the world brings me great pride. It is truly core to me, it'a tribal to a degree -a fraternity - and extends far, far, beyond football Saturdays.

I have it pretty dang good and have no real cause to complain, though I occasionally do so anyway. Billy Joel has a song lyric that I've long identified with: You can get what you want or you can just grow old. If I have set my mind to it and focused on something or truly *needed* something: I've pretty much gotten it. I have been very fortunate in life. Certainly there are many reasons for this... but OSU is perhaps the most visible one. It opened so many doors and it brought me so many friends, accomplishments, and great memories. I wear the block O proudly and literally on my sleeve, on my car, and and it flies on the large flag pole in front of my house. It's often part of how I introduce myself to people.

Paying it forward..winning with people; these are not just slogans, but instead they are standards and values that I truly believe in. A term I've used here in the past is that OSU is a part of my moral compass..and this remains true today.

I would imagine some of you here can relate to my love of the Ohio State University. I know there are many fans, and many alums, but I feel as though I personally have a very deep rooted admiration for Ohio State. I know I am not alone, but I also know I have particularly acute appreciation and respect for my alma matter. Given the time we each spend here in this online community I would expect many, if not all of you, share my driving enthusiasm for Ohio State. It isn't just casual..and I suspect many here can relate to what I am trying to convey. It goes beyond the logo, the team, and my diploma... and it is *mine*.

The only stronger bond in my world is family..and earlier this week I had these two guiding markers come together. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday on campus with my wife and my son as he participated in freshman orientation. I was so very proud of how much he *got it*..and is already a Buckeye, already one of us.

During this day and a half I saw the campus with a completely new perspective. Things that have always been there but largely went unnoticed or unappreciated caught my attention. Things that were there during my time as a student were still clearly present... Independence Hall is still a massive lecture hall (Classics 222 - who screwed who, anyone?), Mirror Lake..University Hall.....The Oval, the towers...of course they are still there.

But there was also a lot of new... and a lot of change. For example it was some what surreal to go to the Thompson Library or the Ohio Union to see it was there...but changed. Larkins has given way to the RPac (holy crap...now I realize what a dump Larkins was!). And so it was across all of campus..the tradition still there next to new greatness.

Time and Change..side by side.

Of course I knew this and had seen these changes before...but it was different this visit. Different because I wasn't looking at my Ohio State.

I was seeing HIS Ohio State.

This was a powerful realization..that made everything more remarkable to me than ever. Such a legacy...such a gift..and even now, a day or two removed from the experience, and still in awe of those moments. This thing that has been so important to me is now his. That is a simple sentence to read...but hiding in it is so much pride as a father, so much joy as a Buckeye, and so much appreciation for what OSU has done for me, and the power and potential it holds for him.

I feel as though I have paid something forward to him that I wouldn't dare dream being able to give to anyone. The power of Ohio State..the tradition...the people... membership to the tribe. I could never pay back what it has done for me and what it means to me, and I didn't dare ever imagine being able to give that to someone else to cherish and own. But sometime Tuesday morning when he belted out an I-O in response to the speaker's O-H..it happened. He clearly added 'Buckeye' to HIS compass.

So many challenges and adventures await him..landmark days are just ahead and also on the horizon...and each of those moments will make me even prouder of him, and also an even bigger Buckeye. My affinity for OSU has moved to another level. I love that university. But..it's not my university any more.

It's his.

It's mine.

And still yours.

It's ours.

And my friendship with it has never been stronger. Hey Woody, I've paid my very best forward. Go Bucks and good luck son.
 
I was a little worried with how this thread was going to go at first. Glad it went the way it did.

I have the fortunate ability to be on campus every week, as I still attend the Newman Center on campus.
You're right. It isn't the way it was when we were there. But I love seeing the changes, I love seeing what the university is doing and how it will hopefully bring more of an experience to future students (hopefully my son).

I love the new Union more than the one I went to. I have not been to RPAC, but from what I hear, it is an experience to behold.
 
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I wasn't fortunate enough to go to Ohio State. I didn't even apply, because out of state tuition would have been nuts and I'm sure as a high school senior I wasn't ready to leave my small town bubble and head 6 hours away to a huge city/campus. I sing Carmen Ohio with 100,000+ of my closest friends on game days, but I don't sway. I didn't earn that right. I understand what you mean, and I hold it in high enough regard that I know I don't get to sway. Hopefully my son does, though.
 
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I didn't attend Ohio State. I actually attended another B1G school, but didn't graduate - just got about 20 credits and moved on. I was proud to be a student in Iowa City, sitting in Kinnick Stadium, dressed in S & G, and rooting like crazy for the Bucks to crush the Hawkeyes. I never felt conflicted at all. But I don't have an alum's love for Ohio State. Can't. Frankly, I don't really have a lot of connection to the academic, cultural, or other aspects of the university. As an Ohioan, I have a certain pride in the local kids who go there. I have friends, and the kids of friends, who are alums that are great in their fields of agriculture, veterinary medicine, aviation, business, engineering, and other fields.

Buckeye Nation takes some criticism for having a lot of non-alumni fans. I've never understood this. I will hold my credentials up as a certified member of the Nation next to anyone's. I was born into it. My dad was a very hard-working man, and he worked my arse off on our little farm even as a small boy. We would get up at the ass-crack of dawn on fall Saturdays, and work like crazy - until the Buckeye pregame show came on the radio. Then everything stopped. My dad loved that team, and he passed that love on to me. Radio was the main way we experienced the team in the 1970's. They were on TV once or twice a year. The scUM game or occasionally a big OOC game would be televised. If they made it to the Rose Bowl, we were able to see that. We couldn't get TV reception where we lived, so we had to go to someone's house in town to watch those games. It was always a treat to see the players I had been hearing about on radio. Our emotions were tied to how that football team performed. Losses brought depression. Wins brought elation. When I was 16 I went to Ohio Stadium for the first time, and saw Ohio State defeat Michigan State. It was like being in a sacred place. I was full of wonderment. It was better than I had imagined it would be. I've been back dozens of times, and while I don't have that intense wonderment like I did the first time, it's always an experience I treat as a privilege. So, I have an investment in the Buckeyes, I've paid my dues, and while I don't have the alumni experience, I don't feel any less qualified to love my team as someone who attended and graduated from there. At the same time, I recognize that alumni have a love for the university that I don't have - which was expressed eloquently by HINYG8.

I thought this thread would be about not using "we", "us", "our", etc. when referring to the Ohio State football team. It bothers some people. I have to edit my posts often for writing, "We need to stop the run..." I used to resent what I called "forum-Nazis" who insisted on this protocol, but after thinking about it, I think it's good for fanatics like me to keep in mind the difference between those who watch the games and those who actually play and coach the games.

BTW, my Dad is now 79 and is in the final stage of Alzheimer's. Last Sunday he asked me what time the Buckeyes come on. Dad has forgotten most of his life already, but even in his confusion, he still remembers the Buckeyes.
 
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Sway.

Every time.

Being an alum doesn't make anyone a *better* or more worthy Buckeye. Plenty of alums don't really care or 'get it'. Plenty of people that didn't take a class there are all in.. all Buckeye.

OSUK said:
I didn't attend Ohio State. I actually attended another B1G school, but didn't graduate - just got about 20 credits and moved on. I was proud to be a student in Iowa City, sitting in Kinnick Stadium, dressed in S & G, and rooting like crazy for the Bucks to crush the Hawkeyes. I never felt conflicted at all. But I don't have an alum's love for Ohio State. Can't. Frankly, I don't really have a lot of connection to the academic, cultural, or other aspects of the university. As an Ohioan, I have a certain pride in the local kids who go there. I have friends, and the kids of friends, who are alums that are great in their fields of agriculture, veterinary medicine, aviation, business, engineering, and other fields.

Buckeye Nation takes some criticism for having a lot of non-alumni fans. I've never understood this. I will hold my credentials up as a certified member of the Nation next to anyone's. I was born into it. My dad was a very hard-working man, and he worked my arse off on our little farm even as a small boy. We would get up at the ass-crack of dawn on fall Saturdays, and work like crazy - until the Buckeye pregame show came on the radio. Then everything stopped. My dad loved that team, and he passed that love on to me. Radio was the main way we experienced the team in the 1970's. They were on TV once or twice a year. The scUM game or occasionally a big OOC game would be televised. If they made it to the Rose Bowl, we were able to see that. We couldn't get TV reception where we lived, so we had to go to someone's house in town to watch those games. It was always a treat to see the players I had been hearing about on radio. Our emotions were tied to how that football team performed. Losses brought depression. Wins brought elation. When I was 16 I went to Ohio Stadium for the first time, and saw Ohio State defeat Michigan State. It was like being in a sacred place. I was full of wonderment. It was better than I had imagined it would be. I've been back dozens of times, and while I don't have that intense wonderment like I did the first time, it's always an experience I treat as a privilege. So, I have an investment in the Buckeyes, I've paid my dues, and while I don't have the alumni experience, I don't feel any less qualified to love my team as someone who attended and graduated from there. At the same time, I recognize that alumni have a love for the university that I don't have - which was expressed eloquently by HINYG8.

I thought this thread would be about not using "we", "us", "our", etc. when referring to the Ohio State football team. It bothers some people. I have to edit my posts often for writing, "We need to stop the run..." I used to resent what I called "forum-Nazis" who insisted on this protocol, but after thinking about it, I think it's good for fanatics like me to keep in mind the difference between those who watch the games and those who actually play and coach the games.

BTW, my Dad is now 79 and is in the final stage of Alzheimer's. Last Sunday he asked me what time the Buckeyes come on. Dad has forgotten most of his life already, but even in his confusion, he still remembers the Buckeyes.
Click to expand...
 
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OSUK said:
I didn't attend Ohio State. I actually attended another B1G school, but didn't graduate - just got about 20 credits and moved on. I was proud to be a student in Iowa City, sitting in Kinnick Stadium, dressed in S & G, and rooting like crazy for the Bucks to crush the Hawkeyes. I never felt conflicted at all. But I don't have an alum's love for Ohio State. Can't. Frankly, I don't really have a lot of connection to the academic, cultural, or other aspects of the university. As an Ohioan, I have a certain pride in the local kids who go there. I have friends, and the kids of friends, who are alums that are great in their fields of agriculture, veterinary medicine, aviation, business, engineering, and other fields.

Buckeye Nation takes some criticism for having a lot of non-alumni fans. I've never understood this. I will hold my credentials up as a certified member of the Nation next to anyone's. I was born into it. My dad was a very hard-working man, and he worked my arse off on our little farm even as a small boy. We would get up at the ass-crack of dawn on fall Saturdays, and work like crazy - until the Buckeye pregame show came on the radio. Then everything stopped. My dad loved that team, and he passed that love on to me. Radio was the main way we experienced the team in the 1970's. They were on TV once or twice a year. The scUM game or occasionally a big OOC game would be televised. If they made it to the Rose Bowl, we were able to see that. We couldn't get TV reception where we lived, so we had to go to someone's house in town to watch those games. It was always a treat to see the players I had been hearing about on radio. Our emotions were tied to how that football team performed. Losses brought depression. Wins brought elation. When I was 16 I went to Ohio Stadium for the first time, and saw Ohio State defeat Michigan State. It was like being in a sacred place. I was full of wonderment. It was better than I had imagined it would be. I've been back dozens of times, and while I don't have that intense wonderment like I did the first time, it's always an experience I treat as a privilege. So, I have an investment in the Buckeyes, I've paid my dues, and while I don't have the alumni experience, I don't feel any less qualified to love my team as someone who attended and graduated from there. At the same time, I recognize that alumni have a love for the university that I don't have - which was expressed eloquently by HINYG8.

I thought this thread would be about not using "we", "us", "our", etc. when referring to the Ohio State football team. It bothers some people. I have to edit my posts often for writing, "We need to stop the run..." I used to resent what I called "forum-Nazis" who insisted on this protocol, but after thinking about it, I think it's good for fanatics like me to keep in mind the difference between those who watch the games and those who actually play and coach the games.

BTW, my Dad is now 79 and is in the final stage of Alzheimer's. Last Sunday he asked me what time the Buckeyes come on. Dad has forgotten most of his life already, but even in his confusion, he still remembers the Buckeyes.
Click to expand...
You, my friend, are a true Buckeye.
 
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I graduated undergrad from Ohio State. I'm very proud of that fact. I also know that I have benefitted greatly by my affiliation with a university that has grown, in no small part, due to the support it and its football team have received from the many many people who did not attend school there. I am grateful for all Buckeyes.
 
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Born and raised in a Buckeye crazy family (with one defector cousin who went to UC for engineering and now is possibly more anti-OSU than a lot of TSUN fans I've met, makes for fun family reunions during basketball season :lol: ) in north central Ohio, but unfortunately didn't have the best opportunity to live the dream and actually attend OSU, as I moved across the IN border to the west just before high school. Moving away from everything helped me realize just how much I loved where I used to live, and everything that went with it. OSU sports became a way for me to still feel connected to everything Ohio, and through the years the connection has probably become stronger than it would have had I just continued to live in Ohio since I realize just how special that connection and Ohio (State) are. I got to go to my first game in the 'Shoe in '09 with my mom (her first game in at least 20 years), and the experience was just phenomenal and a memory I consider one of the most important. I stepped back on campus for a few hours last year and it felt like stepping back onto personal sacred ground. I got to peek inside the 'Shoe and stood there for a few minutes soaking it all in with a giant grin on my face, staring at the ramp imagining the band making their entrance, playing Le Regiment in my head as I stared at the block O at the 50 imagining Script Ohio. I'm really hoping to make it back up for the Oklahoma game and properly introduce my wife to Ohio State football and the amazing experience that is.

I identify myself as being from Ohio, never anywhere else, they're just places I lived. Ohio State represents the great state of Ohio for me, and so I am a Buckeye by birth, and very proud to be one. Every time I get an O-H, I respond loud and proud with an I-O, and a smile on my face because it reminds me of the great University and the state that it represents.
 
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