Maybe Style Points do count.
Back in 2002, I was one of the many who repeated the Buckeye Mantra of that year: "Style points mean squat. Just keep winning baby."
Then in 2003, (after an incredibly rough year for me personally), I moved to Tallahassee. I heard the term "Luckeyes" from every person I met who found out that I was from Ohio State, which was EVERY person I met.
They were mostly engineers, as am I; so for the most part they understood the argument that 7 wins by 7 points or less is just way too unlikely to happen by chance. Their HAS to be some intangible the team possessed that willed them to victory. On this board, we know that intangible by the initials CK; but that's a different thread.
Fast forward to this year. Today, I saw and heard two sure signs that the style points of this year's dominating version of the Buckeyes are having an effect on people outside of the State of Ohio.
The thing I saw was at work. A coworker whose son was visiting made a point of bringing the 6-year-old into my office. The reason? The kid was wearing a OSU Home #10 Jersey, this year's style. This guy is a huge Seminole fan. His son is a Troy Smith fan.
The thing I heard was on the radio on the way to get some beer for tomorrow. The local sports radio guy had a caller who was pressing the issue about FSU's dismal offensive production of the last few years. They lamented the NFL success of some guys who were ho-hum while at FSU and the caller asked what the problem was.
That's when the host, Jeff Cameron, went on a 2-minute rant about Ted Ginn. He explained that any coach would be an idiot if they didn't at least try to go deep to him once or more a game. But, he continued, OSU goes beyond that. All of the coverage Ginn gets leaves Gonzalez, "a special player in his own right", with coverage that he can beat with regularity. Either way, the danger posed by Ginn is used by the OSU staff to the Buckeyes best advantage.
They went on to lament that FSU doesn't do that.
I've lived in 6 States not named Ohio in my life; and I can honestly say that OSU has a higher profile outside of the OHIO right now than they've had for my entire adult life. And it's a GOOD profile. They are getting nothing but respect bordering on reverence here where college football is king.
Back in 2002, I was one of the many who repeated the Buckeye Mantra of that year: "Style points mean squat. Just keep winning baby."
Then in 2003, (after an incredibly rough year for me personally), I moved to Tallahassee. I heard the term "Luckeyes" from every person I met who found out that I was from Ohio State, which was EVERY person I met.
They were mostly engineers, as am I; so for the most part they understood the argument that 7 wins by 7 points or less is just way too unlikely to happen by chance. Their HAS to be some intangible the team possessed that willed them to victory. On this board, we know that intangible by the initials CK; but that's a different thread.
Fast forward to this year. Today, I saw and heard two sure signs that the style points of this year's dominating version of the Buckeyes are having an effect on people outside of the State of Ohio.
The thing I saw was at work. A coworker whose son was visiting made a point of bringing the 6-year-old into my office. The reason? The kid was wearing a OSU Home #10 Jersey, this year's style. This guy is a huge Seminole fan. His son is a Troy Smith fan.
The thing I heard was on the radio on the way to get some beer for tomorrow. The local sports radio guy had a caller who was pressing the issue about FSU's dismal offensive production of the last few years. They lamented the NFL success of some guys who were ho-hum while at FSU and the caller asked what the problem was.
That's when the host, Jeff Cameron, went on a 2-minute rant about Ted Ginn. He explained that any coach would be an idiot if they didn't at least try to go deep to him once or more a game. But, he continued, OSU goes beyond that. All of the coverage Ginn gets leaves Gonzalez, "a special player in his own right", with coverage that he can beat with regularity. Either way, the danger posed by Ginn is used by the OSU staff to the Buckeyes best advantage.
They went on to lament that FSU doesn't do that.
I've lived in 6 States not named Ohio in my life; and I can honestly say that OSU has a higher profile outside of the OHIO right now than they've had for my entire adult life. And it's a GOOD profile. They are getting nothing but respect bordering on reverence here where college football is king.