A calm has set in here tonight in NEO. The quiet rage before the storm.
Per my routine, I've been hydrating and watching years past in preparation for tomorrow's shenanigans. Like every high holy day, it falls only once a year. So this always carries a sanctity, along with that understanding you only get this one chance a season to make things right.
I'm dwelling on something, I believe
@Jaxbuck said. For those of us, and for so many in the generations proceeding us, The Game is THE annual rite of passage. As of next year, with the B1G expanding, moving to no divisions and the playoff field growing to 12, the significance of The Game will be greatly, if not all but outright diminished. I know, I know, in basketball or baseball we play scUM a couple times and it's still good to beat them. I get that, and you're not wrong. But this isn't basketball or baseball.
Ohio is a football state, and we are at the very soul of the sport. But in 24 hours, we're going to see that soul diluted as this game becomes (somehow) even more commercialized.
I feel very blessed every year getting to watch this great prize of a tradition, and I'll always be grateful for that. While I don't like speaking for others, despite that I feel many will agree; tomorrow is a both a celebration of The Game and a sort of funeral for all that it has meant to millions. Yes, even for those clowns on the other side. There will be a silent grief tomorrow for everyone involved, once the dust has settled and that realization kicks in. The world, as so many of us loved, is changing. I question whether all of these changes are for the better. Because this means the eventuality that tOSU plays scUM multiple times a season is a mathematical certainty of "when", not so much "if". Like anything else in this world, the more you have of it, the less the one will be worth. And this game, The Game, has been worth SO very much.
My final thought would be this - God willing the Bucks win, and we are treated to the proper send off. Breath in all those moments as you celebrate and make them last as long as you possibly can.
I'll see you all tomorrow, 6am sharp.
