I didn't expect to be CFP champions in 2016 due to the lack of any consistent offensive identity that season. But I expected the game with Clemson to be close, and that we'd have a chance to pull something out like we did against The Team Up North a few weeks earlier. It was New Year's Eve and I was at a party. Many of the people I was surrounded by didn't care about football or OSU nearly as much as I did. There were a few Buckeye haters there too. Everyone was also drunk.
I'd much rather watch football alone than be surrounded by people who don't understand the game or aren't paying attention to it. To me, watching football is no different than trying to watch a movie. If there are a bunch of people in the room who are following along and not being disruptive, than the more the merrier. But try watching a movie with a bunch of chatty people in the room talking about a bunch of things that have nothing to do with the movie or keep asking you questions about what is going on. It sucks. I'd rather watch it alone. Same thing with football. On New Year's Eve 2016, that nightmare was only enhanced by the distraction of a holiday celebration which ratcheted my apprehension about the game to 111 on a scale of 1-10. I privately suffered humiliation in a loud rowdy crowded room that only brought back memories of how painful 2006 was...watching my heroes get abused, bullied, utterly exposed as frauds who didn't belong on the same field as their opponents.
Urban Meyer had done it to me twice. Once from the University of Florida sideline, and now from the Ohio State sideline. He was supposed to be there to prevent OSU from ever having to go through another 2006, and maybe cause a few other programs to have a 2006 of their own at the hands of the Buckeyes. Instead, he let it happen to us, and in hindsight, there were plenty of warning signs leading up to it.
I was cautiously optimistic the next year that Urban Meyer's promise to fix what was broken would be fulfilled. Then Baker Mayfield came into Ohio Stadium and planted an Oklahoma University flag on our 50 yard line. I knew at that moment, Urban Meyer had not fixed the Buckeye's problems, and he probably never would. His ability to be the coach that won national championships in 2006, 2008, and 2014 in my opinion was in decline. Later that season, I overheard my youngest daughter ask my wife if there was an Ohio State game one Saturday. My wife said "no." My daughter said "Good. I don't like Dad on football days." She was 8 years old.
At that moment in time, I learned that I was placing all control over my and my family's happiness in the hands of:
- prima donna teenagers
- millionaire coaches, many with more loyalty to their own career than any program
- incompetent referees
- idiot administrators
- blowhard pundits who influence a "committee" of CFP kingmakers
I would never watch football the same way again, at least not in a way that wouldn't allow me to appreciate what was really important in life.
I had no predictions or expectations for the rematch with Clemson in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. Ohio State was playing better, more consistent football than I've ever seen them play in my life. They were doing it week after week. They were flying around the field, having fun, and getting the job done. But so was Clemson.
Clemson had played a soft schedule. Some counted that against them but I didn't. I knew what they were capable of. They were defending national champions who had gutted the much vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide enroute to their 2018 title. Most of those players had returned this year. Their new players were from top 5 recruiting classes. Their soft schedule allowed them to stay healthy. OSU had run through a meat grinder the last three weeks of their season to become Big Ten Champions. We were the team with more question marks than Clemson.
- Would Justin Fields be healthy enough to run? Trevor Lawrence would be.
- Was Ryan Day up to the task in front of him, playing on the biggest stage when the stakes were the highest? Dabo Swinney would be.
As soon as Nolan Turner intercepted Justin Fields' last pass of the game, I was frustrated. We had every chance to win, and a critical misread by Buckeye receiver Chris Olave (one of my favorite players on this year's squad) allowed the Clemson safety to be the only player anywhere near the ball when it landed in his hands. I was frustrated for my team. I hated how they must be feeling, to have such a great season end this way. Chris Olave to his credit took responsibility for the mistake, and continued to answer media questions in the post game press conference like a rock, when I'm sure all he wanted to do was go sit alone somewhere and scream.
I was absolutely pissed that a perfect strip by Jeff Okudah, resulting in a fumble that was then scooped up by Ohio State's Jordan Fuller and returned for a touchdown was erased. Though the basic math in some people's minds means Ohio State scored enough points to win the game, that is a lazy take. Nobody knows how the game would have played out had that touchdown not been called back. But no officiating crew should ever be making that kind of a difference in a game. It takes the game away from the players. It takes the enjoyment away from the fans. Blown officiating puts a stain on the otherwise excellent play of the winning team and insults the efforts of the losing team.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, I made my social media posts and fan website forum posts and I stood by my position that yes, the officiating sucked ass, but there was enough still in Ohio State's control to allow them to win the game and we can't be sore losers about poor officiating. I was more proud of what our guys were able to do this year and toasted to an outstanding season.
Then this comes out.
Add in that my wife, who roots for the Buckeyes with me in the big games, but also thinks I care about this stuff way more than I should says that it is total BS that they are reviewing plays on an iPhone screen and make decisions that totally influence the momentum of the game.
Then my buddy, who is a huge Penn State fan and has no love for Ohio State at all texts me today and says "I just want you to know that you guys got totally jobbed by those asshole refs."
Then another friend who loves to hate on Ohio State but is an otherwise good guy gets in touch. I asked if he came to rub some salt. To my surprise he says "y'all were screwed. That bullshit ruined a great game."
Unsurprisingly, I find myself agreeing with Joel Klatt's takes on twitter. He is more right than wrong on most matters in my opinion.
Final thoughts on Officials...Replay official was awful— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 29, 2019
1) Needed to CONFIRM all elements of targeting...if there is any question he is supposed to leave player in game
2) Call on field was catch and fumble...video was not indisputable and yet still overturned
overreach on both
Surprisingly, I find myself agreeing with Stephen A Smith on twitter. WTF is going on in this universe?
Now that is just damn ridiculous. Yes, the kid Wade for @OhioStateFB did connect with Lawrence’ helmet. But that was NOT targeting. No way he should’ve been ejected for that plan. The QB lowered his head. That is just an awful call.#AWFUL— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 29, 2019
And now the scab is ripped off and the blood begins to flow. This shit needs to be fixed. This is not a matter of whether the replay is good, bad or otherwise or whether or not there should be more replay or less. It is about a rule book that is becoming more and more nuanced and ambiguous. What the hell constitutes targeting? There is zero consistency in when that call is and is not made. And now there is also inconsistency in the application of when an ejection is included. It is a well intentioned but deeply flawed rule that is open to subjective interpretation and is applied in some cases for reasons that are more about political optics than they are about player safety. Just what the fuck is a "football move" and why are we arguing about whether or not one occurred when we don't even know how to define it? When did "indisputable evidence" become optional? It's getting more difficult each year to enjoy the game because whenever I see something really cool happen, I can't get excited because I have to watch the lower right hand corner of the screen to see if the little yellow fucking flag graphic is going to appear.
The yellow portion of this
image is the harbinger of
death for this fan's enjoyment
of the game
The rules and the interpretation of them have become a political football game that has taken on a life of its own, and now that tail is wagging the dog. This is ruining the game more than kneeling or arguments about paying players, or even arguments about player safety. We don't need more replay litigation, we need rules that make sense and are simple to understand, interpret, implement, and enforce. When you need a committee to determine what constitutes a "catch," that should be your first clue that you are royally fucking things up.
So get past the sour grapes, set aside the egos, swallow the pride, and fix this problem. Concussion prevention or lack of it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, but the thing that will kill this sport no matter how well that is being addressed or not is fan cynicism or worse, indifference.
1 comment:
Wow! Not a major football fan. Will watch The Buckeyes on occasion. However reading this blog was clear and understandable. Agree with you wholeheartedly. Well done. Hope the right folks read and/or hear this.
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