Ok. So last night was the final send-off for Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Brian Robiskie, Marcus Freeman, and a bunch of other Buckeye seniors as they closed out their careers in the same friggin' bowl we always go to, the Fiesta Bowl, against the "mighty" Texas Longhorns. We lost. 24-21. Texas scored their last touchdown with 16 seconds left on the clock and I sunk to the floor from where I was standing at my friend's apartment. Hands behind my head, jaw dropped to the ground, stomach in the apartment below us, and hopes pretty much dashed. That's when this kinda-sorta feeling started creeping in. The funny thing about this pose that I was in: you know, wide eyed, mouth gaping, sitting on the floor, speechless; was that was exactly the way I was sitting after we scored the go-ahead touchdown ourselves with a Boom Herron jaunt into the endzone that had followed a Todd Boeckman pass to Terrelle Pryor (gorgeous play) and my friends jumping around the room only minutes earlier.
Growing up, any loss for the Buckeyes meant that I was completely inconsolable for a good five days after the game, and the day immediately following the game I was ready to kill anyone that said a wrong word. However, I have fortunately moved past that as I've gotten older, matured, and let God mold me away from having my identity in sports and specifically Ohio State. Sure, I love the Buckeyes with everything in me, would cheer for them over any other team that I even like, and will always find time to watch OSU football games wherever I am in life and will force my family to do the same. However, it's only a game folks and how exactly would my life be any different today if we had won last night? I would still have to wait on the cable guy, still need to clean up the room I'm moving into and then make that move, still need to eat food and pay some bills. Sure maybe I would have had a slightly better demeanor today, but really I'm not in that bad of a mood at all, actually as I write this I'm just hungry.
When you take this senior class overall most people are going to remember the big game failures, fairly or unfairly. They went 43-8 overall, one of the highest winning percentages ever at OSU, their losses were all to teams who won a national championship that year, or played in a BCS bowl game by the end of the year. They won a ton of individual awards, too many to name here, went to 4 straight BCS bowls, won 4 straight Big Ten crowns, and most importantly in my book: beat M*ch*g*n four straight times and now 5 straight for those redshirt seniors. Nothing ever tops beating the Wolverines in my book, and nothing ever will. If we never win another national title but beat them every year then I will be the happiest man to ever walk God's green Earth.
So that is why it is a kinda-sorta emptiness. Sure would I have liked to win one of our last three BCS games? Of course! (the one I went to would've been nice) However I am more than grateful towards these seniors and what they were able to accomplish at OSU. They leave a great legacy for others to follow and improve on. Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, Mike Adams, Mike Brewster, DeVier Posey, JB Shugarts, Nathan Williams, Etienne Sabino, Thad Gibson, and friends will take this team to new heights. Let's see, better book my plane ticket to Pasadena now, since that's where the National Championship is gonna be next year...you would be wise to come with me.
In Tressel We Trust.
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