The Objective Observer

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Sports

• Maurice Clarett Revisited
• The Whole NHL Fiasco
• Maurice Clarett
• The Best Damn Fans in the Land
• The Aftermath

Well it's over and OSU proved everyone wrong. Perhaps that is all that needs to be said. But should, as some writers have opined, Buckeye fans and others not respond to direct criticism and bad-mouthing by opponents and pundits? Of course not. They are entitled to express their opinions just like everyone else. In addition, Buckeye fans actually have some legitimate gripes about how people have portrayed and covered the Buckeyes this season. They have as legitimate a right to expound upon the virtues of the Buckeyes as those that expound upon the deficiencies of the Buckeyes. To attempt to disparage Buckeye fans from expressing themselves is mean-spirited and wrong.

To point, I would like to address some of the rhetoric that has surrounded the Buckeyes and Miami in the past few weeks.

First, David Russel of The Other Paper expressed the opinion that “True Buckeye Fans” are full of hate and bile. This is nothing more than labeling and stereotyping plain and simple. First, how does one identify a “True Buckeye Fan”? There is no definition given and the only criteria seems to be that one has strong opinions about the Buckeyes and about what other people say about the Buckeyes. I do not subscribe to labeling and stereotyping in any form and thus I will not waste effort on poking holes in the rather poor commentary contained within Mr. Russel’s article. Suffice to say that stereotyping is never a constructive basis upon which to compose one’s opinions.

I actually have a very different opinion regarding “rabid” Buckeye fans. If we are to take the stereotype of a “rabid” Buckeye fan, we should first look at where the stereotype comes from. We may not like to admit it, but most stereotypes actually do have some basis or reason for existing. People do not go around randomly inventing stereotypes, they come from somewhere. My opinion on the origins of the “rabid” Buckeye fan stereotype is that it is essentially no different than any other “rabid” fan of any other sport. However, Ohio is the birthplace of football and Ohio State fans are arguably as dedicated and loyal as ANY other college football fans in the entire nation. Is it any wonder then that within a fan base of perhaps THE most dedicated and loyal fans anywhere that the bad apples would not also be THE most vocal and adamant in their beliefs? No. In fact, it makes perfect sense. But the key is that these "rabid" fans are really no different than anywhere else, which also means that they are an extremely small percentage of the actual fan base.

I must say that I have been impressed that most sports writers and commentators have come out and simply admitted they were wrong and moved on. That’s the way it should be. Everyone is wrong once in a while, even the best of the best. It would stand to reason that the Buckeye’s win will make everyone think twice before ever counting the Buckeyes out of a game before it is even played. Any team that can survive two overtimes, one containing a 4th and 14 do or die play, should never be counted out of anything...ever. And to a larger extent, perhaps it will make people think twice about disparaging ANY team before a game. They play the games because you can never predict the outcome. Otherwise, we would not play games and would instead just listen to pundits prior to the game, mark in a "W" for the team that the experts tell us will win, skip the game and move on. That really does not seem as much fun as actually playing the game and seeing who wins so I hope it never comes to that.

But not everyone can be gracious in defeat. While most sports writers have the guts and gumption to admit that they were wrong, people like Miami’s Mark Stoops and Kellen Winslow II simply cannot.

"They didn't beat us," pined Mr. Winslow. "We beat ourselves. We're the best team in the country. They're not. We just beat ourselves. We didn't execute."

First, they did beat you, get over it. Second, Miami is not the best team in the country. That point has been proven as a result of the BCS system and having number 1 and number 2 play each other. Third, Miami did execute. In fact, they executed quite well. It’s just that OSU executed better. Regardless of Mr. Winslow’s opinions, OSU was the better team that night. OSU playing as a team and OSU’s defensive unit in particular beat Miami. OSU led for most of the game but Miami would not give up. OSU had several chances to put the game out of reach, but Miami hung tough and played well, denying OSU the opportunity to put the game away. And then, Miami did what they had to do to tie the game up and send it to overtime. And here again, Miami played well, punching the ball in for a touchdown. OSU answered and then came back with another touchdown to force Miami to have to score a touchdown to keep in the game. And Miami almost did, for want of 2 yards. “Didn’t execute”? Come on, why degrade one of the most outstanding college football games ever? Why degrade your performance in such a game? Miami played superb football. Actions always speak louder than words and Miami’s actions show that it plays tremendous football. However, unfortunately for Miami they could not win the game on Friday night despite their best efforts.

But don’t try telling Mark Stoops that.

"I really thought that game was over.” "Just like everybody else. And there's not another official in the history of the game that would make that call."

It is unlikely that Mr. Stoops is so psychically endowed that he actually knows exactly what everyone in the entire history of football would do in a given situation. But, given the circumstances, we will be gracious and accept his ranting as signs of extreme disappoint rather than simply being a poor loser. Perhaps it only serves to underscore the historic nature of this win by the Buckeyes that Mr. Stoops would make such a grand statement encompassing all of college football history.

But there is more to this “it’s all about a single play” mentality. First, the replay televised over and over again misses the penalty entirely. Porter, the official that made the call had this to say:

"I saw the guy holding the guy prior to the ball being put in the air," Porter said. "He was still holding him, pulling him down while the ball was in the air. I gave the signal for holding. Then I realized it should be pass interference because the ball was in the air." Porter, part of a Big 12 officiating crew, says the call was delayed because he replayed it in his mind: "I wanted to make double sure it was the right call."

Therefore, the 4-5 second replay misses the penalty. And people that use that miniscule clip of information as the basis of their opinions are therefore starting off with the wrong information. Even Jeb Bush is guilty of it, indicating that he thought it was a bad call. First, it was the right call. Second, even if we decide that for the sake of argument that it was a bad call, what national championship team has not had to rise above bad calls? None. Miami certainly had their fair share of bad calls go against them during their season and so did Ohio State. However, the key is that this is all part of playing the game, you have to rise above the pettiness to become a champion.

And is it any real surprise anyway. With the huge number of penalties per game that Miami averaged over the course of this season is it any wonder that their excessive penalties finally caught up with them? And the Buckeyes were not without their penalties in the last few moments of the game either. In fact, 2 of the last 6 plays were Buckeye penalties that ended up putting Miami on the 3 yard line.

Actually, a good case could be made, especially after the entire course of that championship game taken in toto instead of a single play, that Miami in many ways benefits from their prestige. I believe that this prestige translated into a number of non-calls where Miami players obviously committed penalties. To be honest, it is a natural reaction in college sports I believe. When a team is hyped as much as Miami was prior to this game and with Ohio State so criticized by every respectable, professional sports journalist, is it any wonder that this view would also be held by an officiating crew, also a group of professionals with the same close connection to college football. Of course crews are supposed to be impartial and I truly believe that they constantly, consciously strive to be. But it is their subconscious that betrays them. Subconsciously Miami doesn’t have to commit penalties because they are so much better than the Buckeyes. And Coker and Stoops are betting that the referees will be too timid of making a controversial call to have the guts to make the right call. And despite what Porter states, I am willing to bet that a good part of the reason for the hesitation in throwing the flag stemmed directly from this concern. Good for Porter that he made the right call and good for Porter for acknowledging that the call was controversial and stepping forward with his version of events. He need not have had to. But a single play is all that some can and will focus on regarding this national title.

But again, it should be no surprise that there is controversy. What important football game in the last century has been without its fair share of controversy and controversial calls? None. This game is the same as any other major football game in the entire history of the sport. And is it any surprise that Miami tends to come across as being very poor losers? Again, no surprise. Why should they be good sports and gracious losers? They have not had any practice at it after winning 34 games in a row.

In conclusion, do I have any expectations that this article will change anyone’s opinions of Miami and/or Ohio State? Of course not. The world is full of opinions and most people come to their opinions in their own course, not by reading the opinions of others. However, it is my right, as well as everyone else’s right, to express my opinions. My opinion of the Buckeyes was formed by watching them beat Miami and do something completely unprecedented in the history of college football, complete an undefeated 14 and 0 season. The Buckeyes proved everything that they possibly could through their actions and those actions speak for themselves regardless of anyone’s opinions.