Tributes to our personal Buckeye apostles

[shetuck]

Each of us is a Buckeye because there was another Buckeye who inspired us... our own personal "Buckeye apostle", if you will. I'm not talking about a player or a coach, but rather a person (or a few people) who we knew personally and with whom we interacted regularly and often while we were children, or teenagers, or in school, or later in adult life.

Some of the sentiments expressed on Mark (SanAntonioBuck) Seward's farewell thread positively glow with this spirit. So much so that it made me recall those individuals in my life who have helped foster a deeper sense of pride and passion for Ohio State, the Scarlet and Grey, and the Buckeyes in me. That person may be your father or mother, a grandparent, an older brother or sister, a neighbor, a boy or girlfriend, a co-worker, a class or roommate, a teacher, another fan who is otherwise a stranger to you, or even someone you only know through an internet forum.

I can't help but think about how much it would have touched Mark if he'd been able to see, with his own earthly eyes, how much he has meant to us here on BP and how inspired we were by the love he exuded for the Buckeyes. If only...

But, what we CAN do is use Mark's memory to remind us of other true Buckeyes who have played a formative role in shaping our loyalty, passion, and Buckeye identity... our own personal Buckeye apostles.

Here's one such tribute I wrote in response to a post by Buckyle:

... I, too, can definitely relate, having spent a good deal of my time after tOSU overseas, completely cut off from any sort of news or info about the Bucks for most of that time. It's always been a few kind and fervent Buckeyes - people like Mark - who have helped feed and enliven my Buckeye spirit even when I was far away from "home". Steve19 is one of those people (during the time I was in Cape Town) and I'm grateful for his friendship, for having showed me that you can still be a Buckeye even if it feels like you're a million miles away from game day Saturdays at the 'Shoe, and for opening his up his home to me to take in some games on his TV (when I didn't even HAVE a TV, let alone a satellite dish to pick up game broadcasts), and for introducing me to BP way back when...

Who are your own personal Buckeye apostles?

Take this time to recognize them. Show some measure of appreciation for the gift they've imparted to you. Call out their name, and thank them for their example. Celebrate the fact that you knew them and honor them while you are still physically able...

I've searched but came up empty-handed on this, so if the mods know of an existing thread along the same lines, I'd be grateful if you would let me know or just move this... FWIW, I put it in the football forum because Buckeye football is so central to many of us, our love for tOSU, and our Buckeye identity.

 

[jenkinswoody]

My dad. As a Buckeye fan he is impossible to please and to this day will still complain about everything because Woody isn't running the show. Yes, even during the 2002 season......Great memories just sitting and watching the game while he curses Bruce and Cooper and blamed them from everything from a dropped ball to the Soviets invading Afganistan. Good times. To this day he still makes me laugh when we watch a game. Wouldn't be the same without him.

Plus the folks here at BP You guys cause me to spend waaaay too much time here.

 

[shetuck]

Good stuff JW. Thanks for sharing...

I can actually picture him. I've known my share of those old-time die hards. We wouldn't be who/what we are without them.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Thanks to my father, my uncle Jeff, and my older cousin "Spielman36", rooting for any other team wasn't ever an option. Growing up, we'd all meet at one or the others house for gamedays. As a youngster, it was more about spending time with my cousins and playing tackle football in the yard at halftime and after the game. Carlos Snow was my first favorite player, along with Bobby Olive. As time passed, the passion and interest in actually following the games grew exponentially(big word for me, huh?!).

I remember a female cousin of mine having a scUM coat, and my dad offering her and her friends a ride to the local mall...on one condition. The coat had to be removed, placed in a trash bag, and tucked away in the trunk. I thought he was kidding at first...he wasn't.

I remember Spielman36's younger brother, couldn't have been ten years old, saying he liked the way scUM played basketball...as you can see, that throw away comment still hasn't been forgotten...or forgiven.

I remember sitting in C deck, up against the wall of the 'Shoe, in pouring down rain, Spielman36 and I, against PSU the year we beat them 45-6. I believe we were the only ones in attendance not wearing ponchos. That didn't matter one bit. We froze our asses of, but it was worth it.

I remember January 3rd, 2003. Watching the NC game with Spielman36, and him, despite weighing roughly seventy pounds less than me, positioning himself accross the room, so that when the win became official, he could hurl himself accross the room to tackle me into the wall. One of the happiest days of my life.

The point I'm trying to make is, growing up, tOSU sports were closer to religion than "just a game".

Thanks guys. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Eh...TRON may have played a small role as well.

 

[shetuck]

This post bears repeating on this thread:

As many of you know, when I first stumbled upon BP, I lived in Georgia. As the season inched closer, I felt tremendously homesick. At the time, I worked second shift, and would be on late at night to early in the morning. I was really having problems dealing with being so far from home as the season approached. I don't remember the thread, but I had posted something to the effect of how I felt sick not being home for buckeye football, and I came home that night to a PM, long since deleted, from SAB, who joined BP right around the same time as me. I can't remember exactly what it said, but the basic thought was, "There's a lot of us spread out over the world, hang in there, we're all in this together". Though a simple gesture, it was one that stuck with me. It made me feel a little closer to home, a little better knowing I wasn't the only one feeling that way. That was one of the things that bonded me to BuckeyePlanet. The feeling of community and friendship I had never found anywhere else on the cold, vast internet. I'll always be grateful to SAB for offering a few words of comfort when there was no reason to. He didn't know me from Adam, but he took the time to drop me a line and it really did ease the tension. Thanks SAB...Mark...and I won't forget you.

 

[muffler dragon]

My elementary school football coach. We were the Devola Red Devils in Marietta, OH. He loved the Buckeyes and would go to each home game each season. Our colors were deep red and white. I remember thinking how they sort of resembled the Buckeyes at the time. I wanted to be Keith Byars in the worst way.

Interestingly enough, I never attended tOSU, and thus, not an alum. As I look back I have to admit that I partially regret that decision. There was not a program available for what I wanted to get into. However, my fervor and love for the Buckeyes grew even more as I had to live on the opposite side of Highway 23 from that Whore Up North. Nothing quite brings out a deeper sense of devotion than adversity. Having to be that close really helped me love my Buckeyes more than ever. It's stayed with me as I've traveled from coast to coast for employment. Ultimately, I owe the seed of that love to my first football coach.

 

[gobucks1968]

Uncle Pete. He used to come over on any given Sunday morning for breakfast when I was a kid, about once a month, and regale us with all kinds of stories. Many were about Woody and what a great man he was, and OSU, Uncle Pete's Alma Mater. Every year I waited for his "August" visit - he'd bring 4 tickets to a game, and asked if we wanted them. My Dad liked it because I loved it. Once a year we'd make the long trek (pre I-75) down from Toledo to see the Buckeyes. It started a life long love affair for me. I suppose we should have named our son "Pete," instead of "Woody."

 

[shetuck]

Interestingly enough, I never attended tOSU, and thus, not an alum...

Interestingly, as well, is that it appears that being an alum (alone) doesn't necessarily instill that fervor. There's almost always some other wrinkle; almost always some other Buckeye.

Here's the story of my first "Buckeye apostle"...

I'd just arrived in this country. I was a funny looking ten year-old. I spoke NOT a word of English, nor did have the first clue about anything American. We had settled down in Monroe, Michigan to stay with my uncle and his family until we got settled in. My mother decided that after three days of my brother and my watching cartoons all day, that we should start school - language capability or not.

So she took us to school and registered both of us in our respective grades. She didn't speak a word of English either, but somehow that's what she managed to do with the help of my aunt. She insisted that, regardless of the fact that I was not literate, since I'd already finished the fourth grade (back in the old country), that it stands to reason that I should be put into the 5th grade, and my brother be put in the 3rd grade.

So that's what they did... and but for sheer dumb luck, I wouldn't have made it through those first couple of days; stupid things like the fact that it just happened that our gym teacher's name was "Jim" and when we got sent out to go to "Jim" class, I lucked out because people just seemed to know where I was trying to tell I wanted to go.

Finally, after the first week or so, the school decided that what I needed to me with my adjustment was a buddy. So they took one of the more popular kids in the class and asked him to be my buddy. His name was Hans. In the course of the next few months I learned that he'd been born in another town called Columbus in another state named Ohio. And I also learned, from my new-found hero that his dream was to get a scholarship to go to a university there in Columbus called "Ohio State" and play football.

He even showed me their logo and their mascot. The colors were interesting enough and the block "O" couldn't be any easier for me to start scribbling on my notebooks.

I'd seen American football on TV, but from the way it looked to my kid-eyes at the time (I must have been 6 or 7) I had no idea what or who these creatures were. They looked like they had huge teeth and big shoulders. That's about all I could tell. And nobody else around me knew either, so I just left it at that. And that ball... my uncle had sent me one from America, but I'd be damned if I could get it to go straight when I tried to use it to play soccer!

But Hans explained everything to me. The facemasks, the shoulder pads, the special touch you need to throw a spiral, why Archie Griffin is the greatest athlete of all time, and, of course, about the evil that is the University of M*ch*g*n.

And he was the first Buckeye I ever met. I was ten years old, and I guess you could say that that's about all I needed to know. That this new friend of mine, who'd become my savior in this strange new place, wanted, more than anything, to become a Buckeye. So that's what I decided I wanted to be also, even though my my beloved uncles were die-hard Wolverines and Spartans. It was simply good enough that Hans was a Buckeye. It was rough watching those games with my uncles and taking their constant jabs and remarks to their nephew... but I didn't mind because Hans always said that's it's never easy being a Buckeye behind enemy lines.

I've met plenty of true Buckeyes since then. And a handful of them I'll never forget. But Hans was the first true Buckeye I knew, and all I knew at the time was that I wanted to be a Buckeye like Hans. And I've never looked back since...

 

[muffler dragon]

Great story, shetuck!

 

[NFBuck]

My dad. He was a huge tOSU fan and raised me on it. My first memories are of the '84 season. I really began to understand Buckeye football thanks to Chris Spielman (my 1st Buckeye hero) during Earle's last year. Became the fan I am today in the late eighties. Remember Robert Smith's amazing freshman season and the utter disappointment when I found out he had left the team. Butler By'not'e (sp?) was an early favorite as was Raymont Harris and Shawn Springs. Had the pleasure of attending tOSU during the 1st Notre Dame assbeating and Eddie's Heisman run. Best moment of my fandom (well, maybe right behind January 3, 2003) was when I was in stationed in the UK and found out that we had hired Jim Tressel following the debacle that was the '99-'00 seasons. I told everybody that would listen that he was going to rebuild the powerhouse that tOSU should be. Thanks for proving me right Coach.

 

[bluechillj]

My mom was the big Buckeye fan in our family. She's strange...she knows many of the players' names, and is diehard about wins and losses, but will still do things like ask me which color Ohio State is even though she's been watching them for over 20 years. "Mom, you know which team they are!" "I know, I just wanted to make sure!"

I remember watching the 2002-3 Fiesta Bowl with her and an ex-girlfriend, and all of us jumping around like crazy when Ken Dorsey's final pass fluttered to the ground.

Now that I've been away for a while, it's nice to always be able to call or chat with her when something exciting happens in a game, because I know she'll be watching. There aren't many Buckeye fans around where I live, and my girlfriend tries to understand but doesn't quite get it....only my mom can really relate and share the special Buckeye moments with me.

 

[shetuck]

...I remember watching the 2002-3 Fiesta Bowl with her and an ex-girlfriend, and all of us jumping around like crazy when Ken Dorsey's final pass fluttered to the ground...

It didn't flutter... Wilhelm batted that b*tch down!

 

[generaladm]

It didn't flutter... Nickey batted that b*tch down!

FIFY

 

[shetuck]

FIFY

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L23USyZAh3M]YouTube - Ohio State National Championship[/ame]

 

[lord vegas]

Mines easy

My grandfather lived in Flint, Mich. I was born and raised in Ohio. Flint, Mich. is home to one of the branch colleges of the Univ. of Mich. So in my 6 to 7 year old world, U of M was actually located in Flint. Hey, the signs said U of M, how was I suppose to know.

So when Ohio St. and Mich locked horns in my eyes it was my home state vs. the school down the street from my grandad. The game was personal, it boiled down to me vs. him. Somehow since he lived in Flint, and the U of M was "in" Flint then he had to be a Mich. fan. Ohio St. winning was personal because it meant I beat my grandfather. I could call on the phone and taunt him about our victory.

In hindsight he probably didn't even watch the games, nor do I think he was a big fan of any one team, nor did he know of our little rivalry. He was just humoring his grandchild and loved to get a phone call from him.

Funny thing, I was probably 11 or so before I learned that the U of M -Flint wasnt the same as U of M - Ann Arbor. Just goes to show Michigan can't be trusted. :tongue2: