Buckeneye
I lead, you follow.
While I despise the phrase, I never made fun of scUM for them using "*ichigan Man". I know we have more than a handful here who have done so, and that's their business.
And the reason I never made fun of that mentality, is because that is the same thing being expressed in these posts over the last couple days.
Is it possible to fully embrace a culture, the seemingly spiritual meaning behind it, if you weren't raised and immersed in it? Make no mistake, football in the midwest is as ingrained as our religion. It's almost a culture onto itself.
This is something I've wrestled with every since Urban began his recruiting focus nationally, as much as he did locally.
Can kids outside of the midwest ever be washed in the water? Yes, it's cult like in the zealotry. But there are some things you just accept and love it as is regardless of how it seems from the outside.
The Game is the epitome of tOSU football culture that spans, because of the players, coaches and fans, the world over. You will eventually see it, even if you aren't one of us.
But can you ever convert yourself? I believe it's possible, because we've all seen kids come in from out of state and throw themselves at such a baptism. Hell, when I hear Greg McCellroy, an Alabama player and graduate(spell check) use the phrase "That team up north", during a CBS broadcast, I know how special tOSU and the State of Ohio are in general. It's our Mecca for football, and I'll call anyone an idiot who disagrees.
Circling back around to my greater point - I believe individuals can be immersed and become of this Ohio Football culture. But if I believe that, it would also mean I believe there are those who cannot or will not. I'm sure for their own various reasons. But this also brings in the questions that have loomed large in my mind - when the rich become richer, as things have especially shown with NIL, more and more kids are making decisions based in a foundation of business before it's based on passion.
Football isn't exclusive to this either. I see it all over, this mentality shift that I cannot stand. And at the root of it is money, plain and simple.
This isn't to completely demonize NIL, I have well established thoughts on this board that range from "long overdue" to "when is it TOO much?".
C.J. has been a fine QB, and there have been times it has been a real treat watching him play. But his play individually, and the cumulative effect on those around him, has been almost the antithesis to what we've see built here nearly the last 25 years. So there is something to be said for desire and leadership, as much as those terms can be highly overused and cliche'. So I question is immersion and understanding or accepting of the significance of the last Saturday in November when I hear "this game doesn't define us".
Fair or unfair, C.J., yes it does. To quote Chris Speilman, "you are judged at Ohio State by what you do against *ichigan". That is the standard and weight you must bear if you choose to put on that uniform, and nothing less is acceptable.
We have Tress to thank for reviving this culture and saving it from Cooper. But as of right now, scUM has become the early days of what we saw in those formative 2000s years. Matching talent and creativity is one thing, but matching preparation, intensity and most of all - passion from the result of emotional investment, is another animal entirely.
I have some questions about that last one...
And the reason I never made fun of that mentality, is because that is the same thing being expressed in these posts over the last couple days.
Is it possible to fully embrace a culture, the seemingly spiritual meaning behind it, if you weren't raised and immersed in it? Make no mistake, football in the midwest is as ingrained as our religion. It's almost a culture onto itself.
This is something I've wrestled with every since Urban began his recruiting focus nationally, as much as he did locally.
Can kids outside of the midwest ever be washed in the water? Yes, it's cult like in the zealotry. But there are some things you just accept and love it as is regardless of how it seems from the outside.
The Game is the epitome of tOSU football culture that spans, because of the players, coaches and fans, the world over. You will eventually see it, even if you aren't one of us.
But can you ever convert yourself? I believe it's possible, because we've all seen kids come in from out of state and throw themselves at such a baptism. Hell, when I hear Greg McCellroy, an Alabama player and graduate(spell check) use the phrase "That team up north", during a CBS broadcast, I know how special tOSU and the State of Ohio are in general. It's our Mecca for football, and I'll call anyone an idiot who disagrees.
Circling back around to my greater point - I believe individuals can be immersed and become of this Ohio Football culture. But if I believe that, it would also mean I believe there are those who cannot or will not. I'm sure for their own various reasons. But this also brings in the questions that have loomed large in my mind - when the rich become richer, as things have especially shown with NIL, more and more kids are making decisions based in a foundation of business before it's based on passion.
Football isn't exclusive to this either. I see it all over, this mentality shift that I cannot stand. And at the root of it is money, plain and simple.
This isn't to completely demonize NIL, I have well established thoughts on this board that range from "long overdue" to "when is it TOO much?".
C.J. has been a fine QB, and there have been times it has been a real treat watching him play. But his play individually, and the cumulative effect on those around him, has been almost the antithesis to what we've see built here nearly the last 25 years. So there is something to be said for desire and leadership, as much as those terms can be highly overused and cliche'. So I question is immersion and understanding or accepting of the significance of the last Saturday in November when I hear "this game doesn't define us".
Fair or unfair, C.J., yes it does. To quote Chris Speilman, "you are judged at Ohio State by what you do against *ichigan". That is the standard and weight you must bear if you choose to put on that uniform, and nothing less is acceptable.
We have Tress to thank for reviving this culture and saving it from Cooper. But as of right now, scUM has become the early days of what we saw in those formative 2000s years. Matching talent and creativity is one thing, but matching preparation, intensity and most of all - passion from the result of emotional investment, is another animal entirely.
I have some questions about that last one...
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