Likely a double slap in the face after tcun was allowed to blatantly cheat, on the field, and get barely a slap on the wrist. Fuck them.
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scarletngray
Gold Pants
I've been a Buckeye fan for about 60 years. Tress is my all-time favourite coach. Love that guy and he is well deserving of this prestigious honor.
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Buckeneye
I lead, you follow.
Coach was visiting some of the school systems in NEO about 15 years ago.
My grandma was a long time employee of the school district and was voted to the school board after she retired.
Long and short, I come from a big family where everyone played sports. None bigger than wrestling and football; but this was a 'football family' first and foremost. Dominated a lot of family talks at get-togethers.
So here's Coach Tress, giving a speech to the school and this poor woman, who walked around with wallet-sized pics in her purse of her favorite players (Carlos Baerga & AJ Hawk) was too scared to introduce herself. We tried to give her some encouragement but she just couldn't muster up the courage.
Coach saw this from our small group huddled around grandma and, as well natured and calmly as you'd expect - he walked right over, politely cut into the group and introduced himself. Shook everyone's hands, then talked with grandma for a good 15 minutes. Explained how she has a big family, the Irish-Catholic Cleveland roots, 1 child graduated from tOSU, with 3 more having attended (1 of the 3 graduated) etc etc.
Coach listened intently, had a wonderful exchange, along with his own funny quips, thanked everyone for their time and their love of all things Ohio (Buckeye)
Grandma asked for a picture and, fighting through near tears, composed herself enough to take one with Coach Tress.
I don't have enough words. Gracious, humble, selfless, lacking in any and all ego. A man of the people, if there ever seemed one. Coach has shook hands with tens of thousands of people, but it felt like he could tell how much it meant to her and took a little extra time to make the interaction special.
She bragged that, apart from her family, that meeting was one of the high points of her life. Grandma passed in 2018, but I have the pic on a mantle in my home office.
I said all that to say this - nobody is perfect, and how his tenure ended was a shame. But I'll defend Coach Tress to anybody who would otherwise speak to the opposite of the character I saw him show, not only in that moment, but the near endless collection of high character moments he has shared with thousands more.
I'm forever grateful to him taking the time to make one of the greatest memories a small-town, football loving Grandma could ask for.
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Remember When: Jim Tressel Fulfills a Promise Made 310 Days Prior
In November 2001, Jim Tressel made good on a promise made 310 earlier by beating Michigan, 26-20, in the Big House, kickstarting a dominant run against the Wolverines.
Remember When: Jim Tressel Fulfills a Promise Made 310 Days Prior
With this week's news Jim Tressel will be enshrined in Ohio Stadium's Ring of Honor during Ohio State's season opener against Ball State, it felt right to revisit one of his greatest victories in our latest installment of Remember When.
Ohio State football was in a bad place at the conclusion of the 2000 season. Head coach John Cooper's program was struggling in the classroom, appearing in court with alarming regularity, looking undisciplined on the field and failing to stack enough wins - specifically against Michigan and in bowl games.
All of that came to a head in a season-ending 24-7 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on January 1 as the Buckeyes racked up roughly 47 personal foul penalties, allowed Ohio native Ryan Brewer to carve them up for three touchdowns and generally looked like a rudderless program to cap an 8-4 season.
Cooper was let go the next day and the search began for his successor. Names like Glen Mason, Fred Pagac, Jon Gruden (of course) and Mike Belloti, among others, were bandied about but just over two weeks later, on January 18, 2001, Jim Tressel was announced as the 22nd head coach in Ohio State football history with a 5-year contract worth $4.6 million.
A fair amount of OSU fans weren't blown away by the hire, questioning if Tressel could make a successful leap from the I-AA ranks where he powered Youngstown State to four national titles. But even those who approached the hire with caution were elated Tressel was an Ohio guy and had served as an assistant coach at Ohio State for three years before heading to YSU. That meant he understood the importance of The Game and holy smokes was that needed after Cooper, for all his great teams, could only muster a 2-10-1 mark against the Wolverines (not to mention a 3-8 record in bowl games).
And of course even the lukewarm fans jumped fully onboard after Tressel addressed the crowd at halftime of Ohio State's basketball game that night saying, "I can assure you that you will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan.”
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