Ohio State Football: CFB is special, players deserve to play
The fight for the fall season remains in full force and has demonstrated the elite leadership and family-centric culture of the Ohio State football program.
Last Tuesday, the Ohio State football team and its fellow Big Ten (and PAC-12) counterparts received the devastating news of the postponement of fall sports. Losing the football season is deeper than missing games on Saturdays. It warrants a lifestyle change for the fall.
I grew up in the great state of Ohio — we all wake up and bleed Scarlet and Gray — it’s the culture and way of life. If you are born in Ohio, you’re immediately christened into Buckeye fandom. Our Saturdays revolve around the game that weekend, and if you think that’s extra wait until you see how we treat That Team Up North.
We don’t wear blue during Michigan week nor do we ever utter that eight letter state. It’s just referred to as that team / state up north.
The rivalry is the greatest in sports and it’s lived 365 days a year. Rivalries and traditions are what make college sports so unique.
Taking that to another level, college football is the most special sport of all because of the people and relationships formed. And outlets such as social media allow for the outsiders and fans to feel just as connected as those on the inside.
When the student-athletes are recruited, the coaches visit the player’s homes and meet with their families. The coaches have to look those parents in the eyes and earn the trust to take care of their child(ren) and prepare them for their future ahead whether it be football or the workforce.
The goal of the coaches is to bring the student-athlete and his family into the program and merge them into becoming a team family. A college football team is just that, and families fight for each other. The coaches love the players and always want to do what’s best for them moving forward.
Ryan Day’s message of “Fight” to the team has been widely reported and driven home publicly via the staff’s and team’s social media accounts.
The leadership displayed by coach Day during this process has been first class and there’s no doubt in the minds of those student-athletes that he and his staff are continuing to fight each and every day for a season to be played.
The Buckeyes and players across the Big Ten are exuding the “team above self” mentality and fighting for their brothers and futures together. They’ve done everything right exactly the way they were told, yet their season was still taken away from them.
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They didn’t sulk but instead continued to fight and use their voices for change. The season being postponed was out of their control, but they responded to the level of their training — with class and respect while continuing to fight for their right to play.
QB Justin Fields released a petition via his Twitter account that saw immediate coverage across many outlets echoing the sentiments of the Heisman hopeful and teammates. According to the petition, it has already eclipsed 100,000 signatures in its first few hours.
The players know college football is more than just a game, better than anyone as they hope to make the sport their livelihood one day. In the process, at Ohio State, they embrace the weight of not only playing for themselves and teammates but for the entire state of Ohio and Buckeye Nation.
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Whether or not Fields’ petition gets Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to reconsider and reinstate the 2020 fall season remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear. The Ohio State football team has elite leadership from its coaches, players and families who have all come together to Fight for the right to play.