Buckeye Nation, We Need to Talk

This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.  Mainly because I’m sure plenty of people will take this the wrong way or not read all the way through and get mad at me.  But it needs to be said.  Ohio State fans and Buckeye Nation as a whole need to seek the help of a therapist, have a drink, or whatever it is you do to relax.  Because for the last few weeks I have seen and heard fans doing nothing but wallowing in self pity regarding NCAA investigations and ESPN coverage of The Ohio State University and it’s driving me nuts.

Now before I go forward I want to take a moment and concede a few points.  I hate that my alma mater is taking a pounding on nearly a daily basis.  Each morning I fire up my laptop to see the day’s stories and hope I don’t see another revelation, rumor or story regarding OSU’s violations.  At times it does feel as though every talking heads fury is unfairly focused on the Buckeyes, with ESPN being the largest entity and seemingly directing all of their efforts at us right now.  Yes it is true they still have reporters in Columbus looking for info, it is true that some talking heads have used unfortunate analogies when referring to our school.  Suffice it to say, any other evidence of ESPN biased against Ohio State you want to throw at me I’ll accept and agree with you.  My question to all of my fellow fans is why are we letting it bother us so damn much?  My contention is that we as Buckeye fans are simply focusing on the wrong thing.

I expressed this opinion briefly via twitter the other day by saying:

• “Everyone crying about ESPN coverage is showing insecurity.  We’re tOSU since when do we need validation from anyone?”

I received this response:

• “It’s okay to point things out without calling it crying”. 

Which is a very valid point, however from the constant barrage of “pointing out” that a large amount of Buckeye fans have been doing lately it most definitely is coming across as crying.  What we should be doing as a fan base is looking at the current players on the roster, and paying attention to how they are handling this time.  Every single one of them is focused on the here and now.  They’re focused on practice, class, and preparing for next season.  The cynic would say that’s just what the coaching staff has them trained to do right now, and that they’ve been warned against making comments or references to any of the NCAA investigation or ESPN reports.  I would tell you, GREAT.  That’s exactly what they should be told right now and it’s fantastic to see them following that order.  How do I know all this?  Because we live in a social media time that allows us access to some of our favorite players lives.  Each day on twitter new, young leaders such as Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, Braxton Miller and many others fill their timelines with workout routines, getting their diet right, and focusing on the future.  No one is dwelling on the past, no one is calling the daily reports unfair or biased because they’re too focused on staying on the grind and working towards a better tomorrow.  Honestly it may be one of the most refreshing parts of my day, seeing 19 and 20 year olds “getting it” more than the majority of the fans.

Last but not least in all of this is that as a fan I understand the impulse to defend my team and want to scream when things feel unfair.  And far be it for me to tell any fan how they should feel, that’s the great thing about being a sports fan, you’re allowed to feel however you want.  However we need to watch ourselves because we’re dangerously close to becoming hypocrites.  I remember just a few years ago when OSU was playing USC and many fans calling them cheaters and puffing out their chests that we do it the right way.  Last I checked there are still USC and Reggie Bush related stories and interviews that surface to this day.  So it’s not like there isn’t precedent for ESPN going after a big time program and continuing pressure over an extended period of time.  Plus let us not forget that so far they haven’t reported anything that has been shown to be inaccurate, they weren’t the first major news outlet to break the story, AND of all the sports news outlets they are actually the ones with the most to lose in all of this seeing as Ohio State is the crown jewel of the Big Ten and ESPN actually has a TV deal in place with the conference through 2016.  Was their recent step to sue for additional information from the university necessary?  Of course not, but really at this point we have supposedly self reported everything and self imposed our own punishment.  If we are the school that supposedly does it right, then what else do we need to be scared of at this point.  We’ve cleaned out our closet and we need to be looking forward.  We are still THE Ohio State University.  One of, if not the biggest university in the country, we are a giant and we cannot be taken down by these petty attempts.  We can weather this storm and we can take anything they want to throw at us because we were raised to do so.  We are stronger, more resilient and more determined than they will ever be.  So let us start acting like it.  Ignore the BS, follow the example of our new leaders and let’s move forward, let this news cycle end and when it does the light can start to shift to the south and the Pacific Northwest where it needs to.

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Agree? Disagree?  It honestly won’t have an effect on me, HOWEVER, I am interested.  Hit up the comment section or find me on twitter @hewls.