A lot of Ohio State fans take football far too religiously.
Sometimes it feels like being in a cult; I keep expecting them to bring out the Kool-aid after a loss.
Three different things caused me to realize that some of you have gone off the deep end with your love of the game. Of course you should have fun with being a fan, but try to remember you are not the 12th man; it really is just a game.
The first thing that got to me was watching all the hype around the recruiting season and Spring Game. I was on an airplane and a complete stranger came up to me and asked if I heard about our latest big prospect. Even as a huge sports fan, I just can not bring myself to care about this stuff.
How many players have we been excited about that never did materialize? Moreover, if the NFL can get things so spectacularly wrong when they have tremendous scouting budgets and opportunities to test players, why should we not be suspicious of the ratings of high school prospects?
Also, the Spring Game just astonishes me. It is ridiculous that we can get around 50,000 people to pay money to watch a scrimmage. And once again, it is not like doing well in the Spring Game is a grand harbinger of things to come; the list of people who starred in April and fizzled in October is too long to print. Would anyone pay to see the basketball team take shoot around, or the baseball team's batting practice? Of course not, it is only in the world of college football that we go bananas for nothing.
The second thing that bugs me is that we seem to expect perfection all the time. In the two seasons since I started at Ohio State, the team has lost three games. And oddly those three games seem to be all people want to talk about. It took weeks for football fans to get over the loss to Florida in the National Championship game.
It seems to me that if the team goes 13-1, regardless of when or how we lost, we've had a lot more good times than bad. To obsess over the imperfections rather than celebrating the good is ridiculous. Campus was so caught up in being miserable after that loss, that it took us weeks to realize we had one of the best basketball teams in years playing at OSU.
And in the same vein, it seems we've lost any sense of perspective. One person I work with called the Florida game one of the worst days of his life.
How is it even possible? How could a football game cause so much misery? When I think of the worst days of my life they are the big awful things - deaths, illness and employment difficulties, but not sports. No matter the size and scale of a game, it really is just a game. None of the other sports inspire this kind of zealotry; there was not a pall across campus for days after we lost to Florida in basketball.
Of course I want us to win and am disappointed when we lose, but the next day I've got a life to lead. I put it behind me and move on. Are Buckeye fans such spoiled brats that we expect to win all the time?
I'm not asking people to give up being a fan, just to realize that football is entertainment and like other entertainment needs be taken in moderation.
Finally, if you have ever non-ironically referred to Ann Arbor as "that place up north," then it is time to get a life. Seriously, when did Rich Rodriguez become Voldemort? I can not take anyone seriously who will not use the word Michigan.
Finally, someone said it.
Andrew Martin can be reached at martin.1633@osu.edu.
2008 Woodie Awards
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 12
Kevin
posted 5/09/08 @ 11:54 AM EST
Okay...I was reading this and thinking of all the times when I have seen drunken "fans" staggering down High Street "celebrating" by verbally abusing anyone who wasn't wearing anything with an OSU logo on it. (Continued…)
Urch
posted 5/09/08 @ 12:16 PM EST
You are a casual sports observer and not a huge sports fan as you claim. Huge sports fans get caught up in the emotions of the ride. Huge sports fans experience the "thrill of victory - and the agony of defeat". (Continued…)
Chad
posted 5/09/08 @ 1:08 PM EST
This is scarilege. Yes, I agree that it is a game, however, for most Ohio State football breaks the monotony of everyday life. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that everyone has to follow your lack of loyalty. (Continued…)
Number2
posted 5/09/08 @ 1:29 PM EST
Ever hear of Midnight Madness? Many schools (even D3) open their first basketball practice of the season to the general public. Some are even televised! And they take place at midnight!
As for the spring game- you need to take into account that many people who don't have access to regular season tickets use this opportunity to come to the 'Shoe to see a game. (Continued…)
I really love the Buckeyes!
posted 5/09/08 @ 4:24 PM EST
People are PASSIONATE about this school. Its not just about football..its about THE Ohio State University. I am in love with this place and will do all I can to support it in all endeavors. (Continued…)
cpc
posted 5/10/08 @ 10:06 AM EST
Thank you. I was beginning to think I was the only one who saw this situation as cult-like behavior.
C.Cox
Chuck
posted 5/10/08 @ 10:11 AM EST
Finally! I was beginning to think I was the only one in the great state of Ohio to see this cult behavior.
Thank you for having the courage to speak out against the cult mentality. (Continued…)
Emmett Hoveh
posted 5/11/08 @ 6:24 PM EST
Urch: yeah you're probably right about my emotions. I've been at OSU for five years now and I've seen "sports fans" do a lot of really stupid, and often socially dangerous, stuff under the banner of supporting a college football team. (Continued…)
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