"Pride Buckeyes" a story from Brian
I am sure a lot of us have read this story over the years, but I always like to re-post it this week every year. Especially when The Game is in Columbus. As pointed out by others, things have changed over the last 10 years in Columbus, I just don't know if I'm ready to say that they have changed for the better. They do serve alcohol now, so I'm sure that will make the stadium more civilized. Anyway, those that are making the trip, I salute you!
http://mgoblog.com/content/pride-buckeyes
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^
I have been offered by Buckeye fans. multiple times a chance to go down there for THE GAME. I refuse to do so and this story is always the main reason I don't.
November 22nd, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
Brian really nailed it here:
[C]ollegiate fan bases can take on the personality of iconic coaches [...] Ohio State fans have become Woody Hayes.
Hayes' hatred for Michigan was legendary and insane. What can you say about a man who refuses to get gas in a state because of a football team that plays there? What can you say about a man who said "I didn't like that SOB when he played for me, I didn't like him when we worked for me, and I certainly don't like him now," about Bo Schembechler, a man who counted Woody as a mentor and friend? A man who never referred to the school by its name? You can say "but he won a lot" and come off like an amoral mercenary. Or you can say "but he was really, deep down a beautiful person," and come off like a battered wife. Woody Hayes is a man you always say "but..." about. There's no justifying his childish outbursts unless you are a Buckeye of a certain tribal stripe, in which case you adulate him for it and emulate it, becoming just as emotionally immature as a man who was infantile enough to punch an opposing player at 65.
Woody made it cool to hate Michigan, to obsess about them every day, and to punch innocent people. Connect the dots.
Before Woody, Columbus was a place where Tom Harmon received a standing ovation for his strong play. They were once normal.
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
You couldn't pay me to go to a game there now.
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
One of the great lines of verse from MGoBlog history:
"We would soon learn that whenever an Ohio State fan does not have anything else to say, he says "Fuck Michigan." It is appropriate for any situation you find yourself in, from meeting a new coworker to cops busting your meth lab to being confronted with your infidelity on Jerry Springer."
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^
Further evidence that Ohio State is the Big Ten's resident SEC school.
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
I have a saved copy of an undercover video shot by a team sent by the then AD at OSU in 2002 based on complaints about the game day atmosphere. It is a 6-min video that spans pre-game to post and is essentially a video documentary of Brian's story.
It's almost unbelievable.
almost.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
please?
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
DO it for the blog
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^
I'm trying to upload but I have it saved out to Photobucket (since 2002, probably) and I'm having challenges..
bear with me ....maybe a Mod or someone not mobile can embed..? Link below - ghetto photobucket, it's loading slowly but it's there....
http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v718/thevictors04/Buckeye%20Fans%20…
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
Looks familiar.
College Game Day should show some of these clips.
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
what an absolute clown show, shit show, garbage and urine infested bunch of rednecks, truckdrivers and waitresses. Fucking with Michigan cars, fighting, and just the sheer amount of trash is appalling. Fuck Ohio, fuck the buckeyes, and fuck their fanbase.
November 22nd, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^
where urine flowed down the stairwells of a parking garage like rain in a hurricane?
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:51 PM ^
Yep! Girls peeing in the parking garage stairs ...
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^
a few years ago. One of the aftermath shots was back in that stairwell and it was a literal waterfall of urine. Like one of those river tube rides at a waterpark where you go under a waterfall and everyone's having fun. Except here it was urine and everyone got Hep.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:09 PM ^
Yeah, I think this is a shorter, condensed version and I've had it saved for years - prob not the ideal source, but still it's basically video corroborating Brian's account, or close to it.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^
Watching that on YouTube awhile ago. It was like two parts, each one was about 9 minutes. It was pretty horrific.
November 22nd, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
Fuck Ohio.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
I've had worse experiences in East Lansing, but that's because it wasn't cold enough yet for me to wear a coat over my Michigan gear.
I love my school, but I don't show my Michigan clothing until I am safely in the Michigan section. In 1990, the only thing that saved me and my dad from a postgame beatdown were our brown winter coats covering our maize and blue sweatshirts.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
'Bama fans will live under the shadow of Bear Bryant until the sun is a grey cinder.
Ah, 2005.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
Nah, still a thing. There are a ton of Bama fans at work and my college roomate is a huge Bama fan as well. They all appreciate Saban, but there's no real emotional attachment to him, the way there is to Bear Bryant.
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:20 PM ^
They know that Saban is just a hired mercenary and that there are a half dozen other schools he would have gone to if the timing was just a little bit different. It was just the luck of the draw.
November 23rd, 2016 at 9:24 AM ^
Fair enough - point taken on the emotional attachment/mercenary piece.
But I'm sure they're still pretty happy with how it's been going recently.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
The word is they've gotten a lot better since then, as a result of some combination of strong lobbying by the athletic department and 15 years of almost always winning. My daughter goes to OSU, and reports that they spent a fair amount of time at freshman orientation talking about: (a) being good hosts for visiting students / (b) you're ambassadors for our school / (c) IT'S A GAME THAT PEOPLE PLAY WITH A BALL FOR FUN AND ENTERTAINMENT!!! / etc.
Anyway, assuming that the gatekeepers let me in, I'll be sitting in the student section with said daughter, wearing my maize and blue, so I'll post a report next week.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:46 PM ^
That's all well and good but the problem here, and it's a BIG problem, is that the people doing the stuff Brian described 15 years ago ( and I have experienced as well) are almost NEVER done by students or alumni. They are done by people like my wife's idiot brother who wants to fight anybody that so much as likes Michigan, much less wears our colors. And guess what - my brother in law couldnt find Columbus on the map, much less attended any classes there.
Your average angry Buckey is generally a low-income individual who never went to school there but personally identifies with OSU as "his team" because they win a lot of football games and HATES Michigan for everything we generally take pride in.
Fixing the students is nice. Fixing the general public is a whole different problem and not one that's under control yet by any means. And my prediction is all that shit that Brian described and I've personally lived will come roaring back to the surface when we beat those assholes on Saturday.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^
Attending college does not give one class or make them respectful. That comes or does not come from the parents
November 22nd, 2016 at 7:24 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:25 PM ^
Columbus is one of the largest cities in the country without an NFL football team. All those toothless drunks that wind up in the jail cells that they build right into the stadium in places like Philly . . . in Columbus they are Ohio State fans.
The answer is security and lots of it. Go ahead and get drunk and pee all over yourself. Knock yourself out.
But the second you lay a hand on somebody else . . .
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
Godspeed, LSA 91...
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^
like donning your 5 year old with an obscenity-laden shirt.
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^
All I can say is that while I am indeed prone to fits of volcanic anger, these are generally referee related and my preferred method of approaching stadiums at away games is a practiced look of arrogant disdain. After all, I went to Michigan. Twice, bitches! I didn't get a master's degree to go around looking humble.
Wow, what an asshole. Seriously.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:14 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
Like the guy who bought a ticket to the Bowl game this year where Michigan played Florida and he sat in the Michigan section with his OSU Jersey on. It gets worse, he was thrown out in the second half and made a scene. This guy spent money to go see his Rival play and got thrown out of the game...
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:16 PM ^
The actions of this fan were repulsively dumb. It makes me have little faith in the trajectory of civilized society.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:33 PM ^
Same thing happened to me at UTL I. The clown in front of me wore his Sparty uni and ball cap to the game.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:55 PM ^
He probably wears that event as a badge of honor, bragging about it to all of his McDonald's co-workers daily.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:08 PM ^
Nice. I haven't seen this one in a long time. Brian's essay writing has definitely improved - his more recent essays have much better flow to them. In this piece, there's almost too much effort involved in some of the descriptions and humor. I enjoyed reading it, but 2016 Brian has definitely evolved from 2005 Brian.
After OSU game, I think I want to see a Brian's Greatest Hits thread. I have a few in mind but I'm sure there are just as many that I've forgotten.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^
Interesting to see the change in Brian's writing over the last 11 years. Since this it's gotten more sophisticated and refined. Also he's adopted some internet snark, that was there but in a different way back in 2005. Also he was willing to be more personal back then, in a way I don't see as much nowadays. Bottom line is his writing talent is pretty special, was then and is now, and is the secret key to the MGoBlog success. Appreciate Brian Cook.
November 22nd, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^
November 22nd, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^
I want to know . . . did he ever get laid?