Brandon Zimmerman
Guest
One Moment in Time
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Life is full of moments in time. In many instances, it is that one moment which you will be judged by. It’s the one interaction with a stranger at the grocery store, the simple greeting you give to a co-worker walking down the hall, or even the holding of a door for another parent at your child’s school. These little moments throughout the day define what impression you are giving off of who you want to be.
This weekend, two of the most prestigious universities in all of college football will come together and meet in Norman, Oklahoma. The AP ranks these two football teams as the top two programs of all-time. Needless to say, fans from both sides have been looking forward to this since it was announced.
While the two blue bloods meet on the gridiron, another meeting is happening in and outside of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium…the fan bases. Here is where I am going to give you a simple task. It is one I use every time I go to a Ohio State game and is fairly simple…don’t be a douche bag.
Every fan base has them. Sometimes they wear a cowboy hat and cape which makes it very easy to spot. Other times, they blend in and look like any other fan wearing a jersey or team colors. It is these ones that sneak up on you and mold your opinion of an entire fan base. Let me tell you about two interactions which have completed cause me to hate fairly insignificant fan bases; California and Arkansas.
It was 2011, in New Orleans, when I found out Arkansas had a football team. They were led by former Wolverine Ryan Mallet and had somehow navigated their way through the SEC schedule to play in the Sugar Bowl against the Buckeyes. Being in the military, I usually have numerous friends for each fan base that I come across but with Arkansas I had never met a fan prior to this meeting.
On game day we made our way down to the stadium and was immediately bombarded with Razorback fans letting us know how much the SEC was better than Ohio State. This was not a huge deal for me…I lived in Florida at the time and worked with numerous SEC fans. At some point..it becomes annoying. No matter where we went whether it was the bathroom, a line for beer, a line to get in the stadium…there was an Arkansas fan there screaming about how great they were because on their conference affiliation. At no point during that entire game was there an actual conversation with any Arkansas fan. This was very unfortunate for me because one of my favorite things about going to bowl games and big-time games is interacting with other fan bases and trying to find out more about their team and their school. This entire day has forever made me not respect Arkansas.
Now we move on to 2013, when Ohio State traveled to Berkeley, California to face the Cal Bears. I was pretty excited for this game. I have family that lives in the Bay Area and they graduated from California so it was perfect for us to fly out there and go to the game with them. With that said, we sat in the alumni section of California. I never thought it would be a big deal because this was a pretty low threat game in which Ohio State was supposed to win easily. If you remember this was also the game where Ohio State took over that stadium so I was expecting very little drama.
My first negative interaction with California fans was as we were making our way from the subway to the stadium. I am walking with my then 10-year-old son, my wife, and our aunt and uncle who were decked out in Cal gear. Not exactly a murderer’s row of Buckeye fans. We weren’t drinking and we were minding our own business just walking to the stadium. That is when two college-age kids decided to walk up right behind us and begin talking about how they wanted to murder a Ohio State fan today. To quote them “I’m not even playing, I want to actual murder an Ohio State fan today.” They began to go into detail talking just loud enough that my 10-year-old could hear. He never brought it up but I felt him squeeze my hand just a little bit harder hearing what they were saying. We kept on walking…I pretended like I didn’t hear them but in the back of my mind I did…and I was judging an entire fan base.
As we got to our seats inside of the stadium, we realized that we were sitting behind the student section. This was not a big deal for us. We had a couple of families around us, mixed Ohio State and California, and we began having small talk with all of them. When the game started, the student section in front of us stood as the game began. We were OK with that…we stand during games too. So we stood up and began watching the game just as everything was normal. It was about six minutes into the game when an older drunk gentleman standing behind my wife stepped up onto her bench and began yelling into her ear. He was incredibly upset that she would not sit down…never mind the fact that everyone in front of her was standing. At this point, I removed my wife from the situation and placed myself into the situation and began discussing the matter with the older man. The older man was with his family and they quickly pulled him away and took him out of the stands as they were profusely apologizing to my family. That moment, along with the moments walking to the stadium, has forever made me hate California as a team and as a fan base for no good reason at all. I realize I only met a small sample but that does not stop me.
As a fan base, we are going to be judged by every single interaction that we have in Norman. These are two great teams and two great fan bases coming together to enjoy a great game. Nobody cares if you think the Big 12 is horrible…just as you shouldn’t care if the Big Ten is horrible. These are things that you do not need to bring up. These are things that if you bring up you may be a douche bag.
If you are sitting around Oklahoma fans during the game or if you’re out to a restaurant take some time and talk with a Sooner fan. Find out what some of their traditions are or where you should go before the game or where you should go after the game. This is a giant celebration of two great teams and should be treated as such.
We are one of the biggest fan bases around. We travel to every big game, we travel to every away game… simply put we make our presence known. Do your part to make our presence known in a memorable and positive way.
The post One Moment in Time appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Life is full of moments in time. In many instances, it is that one moment which you will be judged by. It’s the one interaction with a stranger at the grocery store, the simple greeting you give to a co-worker walking down the hall, or even the holding of a door for another parent at your child’s school. These little moments throughout the day define what impression you are giving off of who you want to be.
This weekend, two of the most prestigious universities in all of college football will come together and meet in Norman, Oklahoma. The AP ranks these two football teams as the top two programs of all-time. Needless to say, fans from both sides have been looking forward to this since it was announced.
While the two blue bloods meet on the gridiron, another meeting is happening in and outside of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium…the fan bases. Here is where I am going to give you a simple task. It is one I use every time I go to a Ohio State game and is fairly simple…don’t be a douche bag.
Every fan base has them. Sometimes they wear a cowboy hat and cape which makes it very easy to spot. Other times, they blend in and look like any other fan wearing a jersey or team colors. It is these ones that sneak up on you and mold your opinion of an entire fan base. Let me tell you about two interactions which have completed cause me to hate fairly insignificant fan bases; California and Arkansas.
It was 2011, in New Orleans, when I found out Arkansas had a football team. They were led by former Wolverine Ryan Mallet and had somehow navigated their way through the SEC schedule to play in the Sugar Bowl against the Buckeyes. Being in the military, I usually have numerous friends for each fan base that I come across but with Arkansas I had never met a fan prior to this meeting.
On game day we made our way down to the stadium and was immediately bombarded with Razorback fans letting us know how much the SEC was better than Ohio State. This was not a huge deal for me…I lived in Florida at the time and worked with numerous SEC fans. At some point..it becomes annoying. No matter where we went whether it was the bathroom, a line for beer, a line to get in the stadium…there was an Arkansas fan there screaming about how great they were because on their conference affiliation. At no point during that entire game was there an actual conversation with any Arkansas fan. This was very unfortunate for me because one of my favorite things about going to bowl games and big-time games is interacting with other fan bases and trying to find out more about their team and their school. This entire day has forever made me not respect Arkansas.
Now we move on to 2013, when Ohio State traveled to Berkeley, California to face the Cal Bears. I was pretty excited for this game. I have family that lives in the Bay Area and they graduated from California so it was perfect for us to fly out there and go to the game with them. With that said, we sat in the alumni section of California. I never thought it would be a big deal because this was a pretty low threat game in which Ohio State was supposed to win easily. If you remember this was also the game where Ohio State took over that stadium so I was expecting very little drama.
My first negative interaction with California fans was as we were making our way from the subway to the stadium. I am walking with my then 10-year-old son, my wife, and our aunt and uncle who were decked out in Cal gear. Not exactly a murderer’s row of Buckeye fans. We weren’t drinking and we were minding our own business just walking to the stadium. That is when two college-age kids decided to walk up right behind us and begin talking about how they wanted to murder a Ohio State fan today. To quote them “I’m not even playing, I want to actual murder an Ohio State fan today.” They began to go into detail talking just loud enough that my 10-year-old could hear. He never brought it up but I felt him squeeze my hand just a little bit harder hearing what they were saying. We kept on walking…I pretended like I didn’t hear them but in the back of my mind I did…and I was judging an entire fan base.
As we got to our seats inside of the stadium, we realized that we were sitting behind the student section. This was not a big deal for us. We had a couple of families around us, mixed Ohio State and California, and we began having small talk with all of them. When the game started, the student section in front of us stood as the game began. We were OK with that…we stand during games too. So we stood up and began watching the game just as everything was normal. It was about six minutes into the game when an older drunk gentleman standing behind my wife stepped up onto her bench and began yelling into her ear. He was incredibly upset that she would not sit down…never mind the fact that everyone in front of her was standing. At this point, I removed my wife from the situation and placed myself into the situation and began discussing the matter with the older man. The older man was with his family and they quickly pulled him away and took him out of the stands as they were profusely apologizing to my family. That moment, along with the moments walking to the stadium, has forever made me hate California as a team and as a fan base for no good reason at all. I realize I only met a small sample but that does not stop me.
As a fan base, we are going to be judged by every single interaction that we have in Norman. These are two great teams and two great fan bases coming together to enjoy a great game. Nobody cares if you think the Big 12 is horrible…just as you shouldn’t care if the Big Ten is horrible. These are things that you do not need to bring up. These are things that if you bring up you may be a douche bag.
If you are sitting around Oklahoma fans during the game or if you’re out to a restaurant take some time and talk with a Sooner fan. Find out what some of their traditions are or where you should go before the game or where you should go after the game. This is a giant celebration of two great teams and should be treated as such.
We are one of the biggest fan bases around. We travel to every big game, we travel to every away game… simply put we make our presence known. Do your part to make our presence known in a memorable and positive way.
The post One Moment in Time appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...