Just resurrecting this thread to make a point...
Most people around the country don't even remember how they viewed Ohio State just a year and a half ago. Florida fans were respectful for the most part leading up to the game against the Gators. They expected a good game, many of them even expected a loss and said so.
Now, people are acting like OSU fans were the only ones who ever believed the hype about Ohio State.
The truth is, Buckeye Football circa November 2006 was very good. It just wasn't quite as good as many thought. It was not invulnerable to the distractions and frictions of any other team in the position they found themselves.
Add to that the fact that our conference was weak both in '06 and '07, thus not providing us with enough resistance against which we could "sharpen our axe"; and you end up with a perfect recipe for being despised. We end up in a championship game that many people believe we didn't belong in. Twice.
Now, people hate us. Anyone on the board who lives outside of Ohio can tell you; people hate us with a passion that makes them believe they always hated us. They don't even remember the respect they had for the program just a year and a half ago. They believe we got something we didn't deserve (twice), and they resent it.
Go ahead people. Read the first couple of pages of this thread again. Remember what it was like when the world believed that the Buckeyes were in a class by themselves. We weren't quite as good as they thought then; but we're much, much better than they think we are now.
They think we're slow and talentless. The truth is that NFL scouts believe that a record number of Buckeyes may be drafted next year. It is simply an objective fact that the talent level on this team is on a par with anyone. And that talent is more experienced than any Ohio State team has been in a long, long time. I can't even remember when OSU had so many starters back, and had so much experience returning for most of the 'holes' left by those who departed.
This much talent, plus this much experience is plenty of reason to expect that this team will win the National Championship. It is plenty of reason to think of anything less as a disappointment.
The rest of the world may be surprised. They may think we "got lucky again". They may think of it as a one time thing. Some may be generous enough to think that the Buckeyes are back.
But the truth is: we never went anywhere. This is a better team than they showed the past couple of Januaries. Maybe people will acknowledge it, maybe they won't.
If I learned anything since I started this thread; I've learned that it doesn't matter. Sure it was nice to have people outside of the program saying such nice things about it. But when they prove as fickle and short sighted (to say nothing of their short memories) as they've been; they lose the right to affect my state of mind.
Give me the Crystal Football. Collective opinion be damned.