What the Ohio Debacle Taught Us About the Human Condition

I don't think there's a "Cool Story Bro" picture cool or bro enough to express how cool this story is, bro.

kewl.

with Ohio State fans, and inevitably their arguments deteriorate to either "Well it happens everywhere" or "We're still gunna beat you, because Michigan sucks!".

To the first, my response is always the same; "Until you can prove that it does, that statement is invalid. You can't excuse it because you think it happens everywhere. It very well may happen everywhere, but if you don't know that it's not a valid point."

The latter of these arguments is far simpler to refute, "We're 6-0 man, what's your record?" that usually shuts them up.

The truth is that every fanbase (yes even tsio) has very intelligent, motivated members.  Members who HATE rival schools.  If this was really going on--at this scale--at other schools, I would like to think people will know.  People wouldn't let these things go.  To be fair, I think there is a massive amount of covering things up, bending the rules, and just not having enough proof for the NCAA to care...but the extent to which tsio has made mistakes over the past decade is something special.

throwing pearls before swine.  Logic, intelligence, and arguments are a waste of time.  Leave them in their uneducated ignorance and smile knowlingly and remember that Bo and Hoke want you to just Believe!

I know two OSU fans fairly well, one is a guy who's attitude is "Well maybe you should cheat too, since you guys have sucked these past years," and another who shruggs and says "I just want it to be over." Neither of them have made any indication that they deserve it, instead they are a victim. Thankfully none has mentioned that "everyone does it," which I'm sorry but that never worked when I was 5, why should it work now?

One of the wonderful, and frustrating, aspects of college football is that it connects with something very deep inside of us--the need to be a part of something big; the need to connect with others like us. The wonderful side of that is that no matter where I am, if I meet another Michigan grad or fan, I know we'll have something in common. I feel a part of something wonderful--a history and tradition second to none. The frustrating part is that it can also lead to an us-vs-them, defensive and ugly mind-set. While it is perhaps most blatantly epidomized by Ohio and Little Bro, even UM fans can at times fall into its snare. There is no good way to undo what is small-mindedness, other than to point it out and call others to have a higher view. Your Ohio "friend" will likely never get it, because in the end, there is no set of actions Ohio could take that he couldn't rationalize. Sacrificing virgins? Everyone does it, besides, we all know there are no virgins at Ohio. Clubbing baby seals? Hey--they had it coming. Sometimes best to just finish the wings and the 12 oz's and move along.

The other argument I get from my Ohio-born buddy is that "the system's broken, man. The schools & BCS are making bajillions off these poor hapless souls, blah, blah, blah." This, of course, ignores the fact that all NCAA schools have agreed to abide by the same rules, and until those rules change they are the law of college football.

It's like getting pulled over for speeding on the highway and telling the cop, "the speed limit's going to be 90 in the future, man. I'm not wrong here."

up until the tired old "most of them didn't even go to school there" schtick.

I don't really care if OSU fans feel bad about what is happening to their school's football program, or whether they are in denial about it. 

I don't care if they never realize they're wrong.

What I care about is that we know we were right.  Everything that OSU accomplished in the last decade has been invalidated and is meaningless.  That pain is gone. 

was talking to a guy in a tapout hat.

through my own personal interactions with people here in Columbus is that actual OSU alums are at the point where they are mortified and exasperated, whereas the "Brahs" who think "that stuff doesnt matter" are the ones who did not attend OSU, nor do they have any affiliation with the scool outside of their fandom. Maybe that's just because the OSU alums I know are all fairly sane and logical people (this is a sliding scale, we are talking about OSU alums) and most of the tribal tattooed, affliction tee wearing juiceheads I see out in public who are quick with their snide remarks about my Michigan hat aren't even alumni. This I know because in the course of interacting with them I always make sure to ask "So when did you graduate" and the most frequent response is "Oh, I went to ____" but I grew up in Columbus and have always loved OSU" (notice, they "went" somewhere, still havent mentioned a graduation date)

Well, I feel like maybe I should chime in here and defend myself and the fanbase I represent.

First of all, I did not attend OSU. I grew up in Ohio, everyone in my family that went to college, went to OSU. I have family members that played sports there, including football. That is how and why I became an OSU fan. I was a fan through the Cooper years. I learned about Woody and Bo from my grandfather and my uncle who knew both men. I am not a fair weather fan. I wear my scarlet and grey even after a loss. I always find it surprising that people think you must attend a university to cheer for them and their sports teams. I have never called anyone a Walmart Wolverine in my life, as I don't see how that is an insult. I did not attend OSU not because I couldn't, I didn't even apply. I didn't attend OSU because I moved to Michigan, got a scholarship and had MEAP money that was worth more at a Michigan school, and out-of-state tuition, etc. etc.

Anyway... to say it happens everywhere is not a defense to why you (we, they) did it, so I've never used that as a defense. Do I think several programs probably have rules violations going on that are undetected? Of course. Does that necessarially mean they are cheating? No. Breaking the rules doesn't always give you a competitive advantage. In OSU's case, I don't see how getting free/cheap tattoos makes them play better. I do see how a coach playing them dispite the fact that he knew they were ineligible would. Do I think selling awards you won and own should be against the rules? No. Is it? Yes. So they did break rules. I admit that. I have no excuses for them (they were kids, they needed money and can't work because football is so demanding, whatever). They did something they should not have done.

Important in this whole mess is the LOIC/FTM stuff. Which OSU hasn't been hit with. Yet at least. And I believe that is because the majority of this, (really 90+% of it) has been self-reported. OSU's AD, once they knew of or discovered violations, acted shiftly and appropriately to suspend and punish the offenders, ban the boosters, and correct the behaviors/educate the teams, coaches, players. I personally think OSU, and Gene Smith, have acted exactly as they should be expected to act.

We broke rules. We are being punished. What more is there to say? 

I think your fan base can be accused of similar slippery slope, strawman fallacy arguments like, "Well of course they beat us because they've been cheating for 10yrs" and "Tressel's rotten to the core and finally got what he deserved"

So yeah. That's my $.02

Your point about the state of Ohio fans is proven every time I listen to Dimitrious Stanley on the local radio.  He is complaining today about how Ohio's good name is being dragged through the mud while Miami, yes that Miami, and Auburn get of scott free.  He must be forgetting that more and more and more stories keep coming out about Ohio and players keep doing stupid things.  In more completely biased news, Ohio will be without another starter against Illinois on Saturday for a dissorderly conduct arrest.  My take on their "fans" is that you just can't go into a battle of wits against the unarmed.

Read the title and thought this was going to have some kind of interesting point about humanity, and then it was just a generalization about OSU fans.  A very accurate, generalization, granted, but still...!

What's that you say? OSU "acted shiftly"? Yes, indeed, you nailed it!