PlanetFrnd
Head Coach
So I left Columbus (ok, Dublin) over 10 years ago, and I don't typically regret the decision. This past weekend, however, I said "I love home" out loud at least 4,908,230,498 times. What a great weekend. I brought a college classmate with me from the left coast - he's a big Cal fan, attends UCLA Law now. Hates SC about as much as we do. He's been to a bunch of Cal/UCLA/Princeton games in his life, but I promised him that he needed to see a "real" game. To be honest, I was a little nervous about hosting after I talked up the game so much - nervous because some of "us" out there are self-defeating, woe-as-me fans who think the team owes us something. Confidence has clearly been down lately, and I was nervous that it would affect the mood about town, the Saturday crowd around campus and then the in-game crowd. To combat this, I made sure we did some other cool stuff around town: went to Schmidt's for lunch on Friday, went out with my boys Friday night. Schmidt's was packed and delicious. The Donatos we had later was good too. Out was great, there were many, many talented ladies out and the downtown places we went to were packed. Nice. We at least had one great day for the cost of the trip.
Day one "I love home" count: 329,483
Saturday. Slow start to the day for a couple red-eye flight victims. We finally left my mom's house around 1:30 to catch the High St. bus. Didn't work. High Street was already stopped cold. So we got out and walked; decided to do a mini-crawl to our tailgate area. Good call. Little Bar, to something else, to something else, to something else, to Panini's where we watched the ends of the MSU and Wisky games. Good start. Well over a gallon deep before even reaching the tailgate. Bars were filling up, energy was great. On to Lane Ave. My boys have been tailgating for years right next to Tommy's. Not unamazing to have the same spot for this many years for a bunch of guys just starting to hit 30. Great time, many beers, scUM and the domers battle of futility. Saw the whole gang from high school, plus one of my favorite HS-basketball dads. Great to see you, Judson Sr. Feeling good - for the price of a flight and a game ticket, we've had a GREAT day and a half.
Pregame "I love home" count: 19,803,309
Running count: 20,132,792
Game time. A couple small hiccups to get out of the way. We found our seats with ease, and settled in. Buzzed, fired up. Really fired up. Seeds in mouths. Seeds flying everywhere when we talked. Seeds spraying the people in front of us when we yelled for the Buckeyes coming out of the tunnel. More when we booed USC. Anyways... The people in row 1 in front of us were BORING!! must be band fans - seriously, why do these people get tickets? Why come to the game? I don't get it. The people in row 3 behind us were very nice. I explained when we arrived that we were going to stand the whole game. Explained that we came in from L.A. for the game and we had to stand. And yell. And they had no chance of stopping us. They looked a little sad, but understood. There was a super-nice couple next to me. 60s-ish, affluent, affable. The wife pulled my shirt to get me to sit down. Ha. You and what elderly army, lady? I politely touched my ass cheeks to the seat, and was right back up. The move must have looked like when a dog has a false-start poop. And then OF COURSE, there was the typical angry old man in row 4. Sweet. Shouted "sit-down" at us. My boy shouted back, "It's a game, YOU stand up!" Guy looked angry. Couldn't tell if he had a radio or a hearing aid or ear plugs in his ear. Better not have been an ear plug. Come to think of it, I wish I would have verified that. Again, why do angry, non-cheering, boring fans come to the games? WHY, dammit?!?!?
Back to game time... a pick? A freaking pick... uh-oh... I'm getting nervous. Crowd is a little quiet. I think to myself, "Ok, here it is. The sadness..." But, NO! !!! GREAT JOB FANS!!! Resiliency. Enthusiasm. VOLUME. Great recovery by the fans. I was amazed. Couldn't tell if the team responded to the fans or if the fans responded to the team. It felt like an unspoken understanding between the fans and the team. "F*ck that, we are IN this game. We can get it back." The first half was great. Decibel levels through the roof. The pick, the Dane catch, the TD, the review. YES. So loud. We got our section to stand. What's the best way, you ask? Indiscriminately hi-five people. Old, young, male, female, all colors, all creeds, all income levels. Force people to be as enthusiastic as you. Spit seeds. Hug old ladies. Hug old men.
10-10 at half? I finally breathed - I turned to the guy behind me, "I'll take it." No one mentions last year. Not once. Great work, team. Section 26B, you started slow, but you caught up. Good work.
What's this? Someone offers us two mini Jim Beams! First half WIN. Off to the pisser, then off to concessions for some cokes.
Net halftime "I love home" count: 125,489,623 (had a couple negative things to say at the "hiccup" stage)
Running count: 145,622,415
2nd half. More noise. Great noise. A sense of belief in the audience. A real sense of belief... conversations with the dude behind me moved from "if we win this... Columbus... mattresses... on fire... USC fans... possibly beaten to death..." and advanced to "WHEN we win this... dousing myself in gasoline... robbing kwik-i-marts.... Making several babies.. naming the girls Boom, the boys "Brian Rolle Native"... offering live bulls to the gods in honor of Tressel..." Safety. Ears bleeding. Voice at the brink of giving out. Beam and coke fixes voice. Hole in my gums from eating seeds 10,000 at a time...
Pre last drive "I love home" count: 843,516,546
Running count: 989,138,961
Last drive. Crowd was IN it. Dammit. I mean, the crowd was IN it. Never gave up. Only got quiet when Johnson crossed the line. Is there an official medical condition when you have chills from excitement and overwhelming fear at the same time? Is this what a crack overdose feels like? Well that was me. Maybe everyone. Couldn't stop screaming. Trying to WILL a turnover. Something. Anything... Didn't quite get there. That being said, it was the best the crowd has been. Amazing energy, great job. Too bad.
Last drive "I love home" count: 1,126,568,434
Running count: 2,115,707,395
Walking out. Sad, but more amazed. Should have been a win... should have been a win... should have been a win... Check my phone, and realize that I'm getting the requisite 42 "there was no service in the Shoe" texts from before the game. Texts from all over the place. Random people wishing us luck. Shit. Then the barrage of angry texts from my stupid friends from home. Complaining. Complaining about Tressel. Complaining about not going for it (after texting me during the Navy game about going for it). Ugh. Fire back a few "F*CK OFFS" and other related pleasantries. Can't get any calls to go through - head back to the tailgate hoping to find some friendlies... what's this? Friendlies, indeed! About half the gang is still standing, including Judson Sr. I hug the old man. Find some FCBs amongst the thousands of empties. Drink up. Discuss the game... people are disappointed, but this is a very different feel than last year.
"What's missing?"
"We were THERE. We had this one"
"This team is good. Young, but still good."
"Next year. Mark it down, we're winning it ALL next year."
Etc...
Off to the bars. Hit up Out-R-Inn, home of the famous "Jobby's bloody face" pic from 2007. Genius. Drinks, drinks, drinks, drinks... wandered campus a while longer... found a random house with more beers. Somehow got back to my mom's house. Couch meets face.
Post-game "I love home" count*: 1,985,324,701 (*includes slurred, and incomplete "I love homes")
Running count: 4,101,032,096
Oh boy. Wake up after 1. Flight at 3. No ride to CMH... yada...yada... yada, make it to the airport on time. No need to get into it. Realize at the airport that I am severely hung over. Yikes. I really, really need to stop treating my flights back to LA as detox time. You can agree or disagree, but I think hangovers hurt even more on planes. And F*CK! USC fans are everywhere. Happy-faced douchebags in that weird maroon and yellow. My God, those are bad colors. I guess I should have expected it going back to LA, but DAMMIT this is annoying. I suddenly realize that being badly hungover for this might be a GOOD thing. If I puke, the chances of hitting a USC fan are above 50%. Nice. I contemplate pulling the trigger for some controlled, purposeful puking, but don't execute. Get to my seat, earbuds in, pass out.
"I hate USC" count: Infinity.
Wake up somewhere above the earth, in between Columbus and Houston. F*ck, I hate Houston. I'm very sad that a) I woke up before we landed, b) my head feels like I was in the middle of the Boom / Taylor Mays collision in the first half, and c) the guy next to me sees this as his moment to start talking to me. I hate talking on planes. I don't do it. I hate talking about Buckeye losses. I don't do it. I hate USC fans, hate them... I especially hate talking on a f*cking plane about a f*cking OSU loss to a f*cking USC fan. Are you f*cking kidding me? But he's a persistent f*cker. So we talk. Mind you, we're sitting on the wing, so I can barely hear him, and I have NO voice so he definitely cannot hear me, which is fine because he wouldn't stop talking anyways. F*ck.
Guy goes on to explain that a) he's been going to college football games for 30+ years, b) this was the best game he's been to since their loss to texas, c) it was BY FAR the best football experience he's had. Ever., d) LOVED Columbus, e) LOVED all the people he met in Columbus, f) couldn't understand why everyone was complaining about Tressel, explained the ol' "careful what you wish for" theory to me, g) I agreed, h) we both basically agreed to never discuss college football from the 90's. Seriously. "I love home" is playing on repeat in my head. I'm both proud and thankful for the great weekend performance from the home team and the home crowd. Great times, even with the disappointing loss.
1st leg "I love home" count: 790,521,748
Running count: 4,891,553,844
Plane lands. We shake hands and wish each other well. We actually mean it.
Next leg, I notice that there are some Buckeyes that are on the same flight with me back to LA. We notice each other, give nods. Proud. Feeling ok, all things considered. Make it back to LA recouped enough, and happy enough about the weekend to watch the game on DVR... we look good on TV. Stadium looks and sounds amazing. First pass to Posey looks GREAT on TV. Pick looks more like a miscommunication than just a bad play. Some good runs too. OL looks like its getting some push. D Line looks GREAT on TV. DBs are hanging with the WRs from USC. My God, my feeling at the game was right on. Get through about half of the 2nd quarter and stop watching. Ahh... I love home.
"I love home" count: 807,198,401
Running count: 4,908,230,497
Just got out of our weekly meeting here at work. My boss is a USC guy... he couldn't stop talking about how good the game was, and how amazing the crowd looked and sounded... It hurts to be on the short side of this conversation, but I'm still proud. I get to openly talk about how amazing the whole experience was during the meeting. I love home.
Running count: 4,908,230,498
Day one "I love home" count: 329,483
Saturday. Slow start to the day for a couple red-eye flight victims. We finally left my mom's house around 1:30 to catch the High St. bus. Didn't work. High Street was already stopped cold. So we got out and walked; decided to do a mini-crawl to our tailgate area. Good call. Little Bar, to something else, to something else, to something else, to Panini's where we watched the ends of the MSU and Wisky games. Good start. Well over a gallon deep before even reaching the tailgate. Bars were filling up, energy was great. On to Lane Ave. My boys have been tailgating for years right next to Tommy's. Not unamazing to have the same spot for this many years for a bunch of guys just starting to hit 30. Great time, many beers, scUM and the domers battle of futility. Saw the whole gang from high school, plus one of my favorite HS-basketball dads. Great to see you, Judson Sr. Feeling good - for the price of a flight and a game ticket, we've had a GREAT day and a half.
Pregame "I love home" count: 19,803,309
Running count: 20,132,792
Game time. A couple small hiccups to get out of the way. We found our seats with ease, and settled in. Buzzed, fired up. Really fired up. Seeds in mouths. Seeds flying everywhere when we talked. Seeds spraying the people in front of us when we yelled for the Buckeyes coming out of the tunnel. More when we booed USC. Anyways... The people in row 1 in front of us were BORING!! must be band fans - seriously, why do these people get tickets? Why come to the game? I don't get it. The people in row 3 behind us were very nice. I explained when we arrived that we were going to stand the whole game. Explained that we came in from L.A. for the game and we had to stand. And yell. And they had no chance of stopping us. They looked a little sad, but understood. There was a super-nice couple next to me. 60s-ish, affluent, affable. The wife pulled my shirt to get me to sit down. Ha. You and what elderly army, lady? I politely touched my ass cheeks to the seat, and was right back up. The move must have looked like when a dog has a false-start poop. And then OF COURSE, there was the typical angry old man in row 4. Sweet. Shouted "sit-down" at us. My boy shouted back, "It's a game, YOU stand up!" Guy looked angry. Couldn't tell if he had a radio or a hearing aid or ear plugs in his ear. Better not have been an ear plug. Come to think of it, I wish I would have verified that. Again, why do angry, non-cheering, boring fans come to the games? WHY, dammit?!?!?
Back to game time... a pick? A freaking pick... uh-oh... I'm getting nervous. Crowd is a little quiet. I think to myself, "Ok, here it is. The sadness..." But, NO! !!! GREAT JOB FANS!!! Resiliency. Enthusiasm. VOLUME. Great recovery by the fans. I was amazed. Couldn't tell if the team responded to the fans or if the fans responded to the team. It felt like an unspoken understanding between the fans and the team. "F*ck that, we are IN this game. We can get it back." The first half was great. Decibel levels through the roof. The pick, the Dane catch, the TD, the review. YES. So loud. We got our section to stand. What's the best way, you ask? Indiscriminately hi-five people. Old, young, male, female, all colors, all creeds, all income levels. Force people to be as enthusiastic as you. Spit seeds. Hug old ladies. Hug old men.
10-10 at half? I finally breathed - I turned to the guy behind me, "I'll take it." No one mentions last year. Not once. Great work, team. Section 26B, you started slow, but you caught up. Good work.
What's this? Someone offers us two mini Jim Beams! First half WIN. Off to the pisser, then off to concessions for some cokes.
Net halftime "I love home" count: 125,489,623 (had a couple negative things to say at the "hiccup" stage)
Running count: 145,622,415
2nd half. More noise. Great noise. A sense of belief in the audience. A real sense of belief... conversations with the dude behind me moved from "if we win this... Columbus... mattresses... on fire... USC fans... possibly beaten to death..." and advanced to "WHEN we win this... dousing myself in gasoline... robbing kwik-i-marts.... Making several babies.. naming the girls Boom, the boys "Brian Rolle Native"... offering live bulls to the gods in honor of Tressel..." Safety. Ears bleeding. Voice at the brink of giving out. Beam and coke fixes voice. Hole in my gums from eating seeds 10,000 at a time...
Pre last drive "I love home" count: 843,516,546
Running count: 989,138,961
Last drive. Crowd was IN it. Dammit. I mean, the crowd was IN it. Never gave up. Only got quiet when Johnson crossed the line. Is there an official medical condition when you have chills from excitement and overwhelming fear at the same time? Is this what a crack overdose feels like? Well that was me. Maybe everyone. Couldn't stop screaming. Trying to WILL a turnover. Something. Anything... Didn't quite get there. That being said, it was the best the crowd has been. Amazing energy, great job. Too bad.
Last drive "I love home" count: 1,126,568,434
Running count: 2,115,707,395
Walking out. Sad, but more amazed. Should have been a win... should have been a win... should have been a win... Check my phone, and realize that I'm getting the requisite 42 "there was no service in the Shoe" texts from before the game. Texts from all over the place. Random people wishing us luck. Shit. Then the barrage of angry texts from my stupid friends from home. Complaining. Complaining about Tressel. Complaining about not going for it (after texting me during the Navy game about going for it). Ugh. Fire back a few "F*CK OFFS" and other related pleasantries. Can't get any calls to go through - head back to the tailgate hoping to find some friendlies... what's this? Friendlies, indeed! About half the gang is still standing, including Judson Sr. I hug the old man. Find some FCBs amongst the thousands of empties. Drink up. Discuss the game... people are disappointed, but this is a very different feel than last year.
"What's missing?"
"We were THERE. We had this one"
"This team is good. Young, but still good."
"Next year. Mark it down, we're winning it ALL next year."
Etc...
Off to the bars. Hit up Out-R-Inn, home of the famous "Jobby's bloody face" pic from 2007. Genius. Drinks, drinks, drinks, drinks... wandered campus a while longer... found a random house with more beers. Somehow got back to my mom's house. Couch meets face.
Post-game "I love home" count*: 1,985,324,701 (*includes slurred, and incomplete "I love homes")
Running count: 4,101,032,096
Oh boy. Wake up after 1. Flight at 3. No ride to CMH... yada...yada... yada, make it to the airport on time. No need to get into it. Realize at the airport that I am severely hung over. Yikes. I really, really need to stop treating my flights back to LA as detox time. You can agree or disagree, but I think hangovers hurt even more on planes. And F*CK! USC fans are everywhere. Happy-faced douchebags in that weird maroon and yellow. My God, those are bad colors. I guess I should have expected it going back to LA, but DAMMIT this is annoying. I suddenly realize that being badly hungover for this might be a GOOD thing. If I puke, the chances of hitting a USC fan are above 50%. Nice. I contemplate pulling the trigger for some controlled, purposeful puking, but don't execute. Get to my seat, earbuds in, pass out.
"I hate USC" count: Infinity.
Wake up somewhere above the earth, in between Columbus and Houston. F*ck, I hate Houston. I'm very sad that a) I woke up before we landed, b) my head feels like I was in the middle of the Boom / Taylor Mays collision in the first half, and c) the guy next to me sees this as his moment to start talking to me. I hate talking on planes. I don't do it. I hate talking about Buckeye losses. I don't do it. I hate USC fans, hate them... I especially hate talking on a f*cking plane about a f*cking OSU loss to a f*cking USC fan. Are you f*cking kidding me? But he's a persistent f*cker. So we talk. Mind you, we're sitting on the wing, so I can barely hear him, and I have NO voice so he definitely cannot hear me, which is fine because he wouldn't stop talking anyways. F*ck.
Guy goes on to explain that a) he's been going to college football games for 30+ years, b) this was the best game he's been to since their loss to texas, c) it was BY FAR the best football experience he's had. Ever., d) LOVED Columbus, e) LOVED all the people he met in Columbus, f) couldn't understand why everyone was complaining about Tressel, explained the ol' "careful what you wish for" theory to me, g) I agreed, h) we both basically agreed to never discuss college football from the 90's. Seriously. "I love home" is playing on repeat in my head. I'm both proud and thankful for the great weekend performance from the home team and the home crowd. Great times, even with the disappointing loss.
1st leg "I love home" count: 790,521,748
Running count: 4,891,553,844
Plane lands. We shake hands and wish each other well. We actually mean it.
Next leg, I notice that there are some Buckeyes that are on the same flight with me back to LA. We notice each other, give nods. Proud. Feeling ok, all things considered. Make it back to LA recouped enough, and happy enough about the weekend to watch the game on DVR... we look good on TV. Stadium looks and sounds amazing. First pass to Posey looks GREAT on TV. Pick looks more like a miscommunication than just a bad play. Some good runs too. OL looks like its getting some push. D Line looks GREAT on TV. DBs are hanging with the WRs from USC. My God, my feeling at the game was right on. Get through about half of the 2nd quarter and stop watching. Ahh... I love home.
"I love home" count: 807,198,401
Running count: 4,908,230,497
Just got out of our weekly meeting here at work. My boss is a USC guy... he couldn't stop talking about how good the game was, and how amazing the crowd looked and sounded... It hurts to be on the short side of this conversation, but I'm still proud. I get to openly talk about how amazing the whole experience was during the meeting. I love home.
Running count: 4,908,230,498
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LOL
