They didn't win. But given Ohio University's sacrificial lamb status yesterday in Ohio Stadium, they performed mighty well. They were supposed to roll over and lose, oh, say 56 - 3, as any Ohio State fan will tell you. Instead, the Bobcats led through much of the game before succumbing 26 - 14.I have divided loyalties. I graduated from both schools, and I would have been happy and unhappy either way. I missed the game because Kate and I were moving our daughter Rachel into her dorm room at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Yes, Rachel is a second-generation Bobcat. It was kind of refreshing to wander around that quintessential college down and realize that precious few people knew or cared that their football team was playing a game. This is because people in Athens have lives that revolve around other things than college sports.
I did catch the last few minutes on the radio on the drive home. My favorite memory? The Ohio State fans engaged in their normal first grade spelling bee. "O-H," one side of the stadium chanted. "I-O" the other side answered back. "U-u-u-u-u" the Bobcat faithful responded in turn. It was a great moment. I was proud of all those unemployed journalism majors.
Yet another thing we have in common . . .
ReplyDeleteI also have degrees from both schools, and had a good friend take me to the game, with my Bobcat shirt and Buckeye hat on. (There were a lot of other cross dressers there too.) Bobcats leading going into the fourth quarter; chanting o - h - i - o - "U"; watching over a hundred thousand scarlet-clad faithful besides themselves barely beating a team that turned the ball over to the Buckeyes five times, and after the game, seeing The Best Damn Band In The State (doing a Coldplay song no less!) - Saturday afternoons in the fall don't get any better than this!
Was out doing the yard sale/auction thing with my sweetie, while listening to the game on the radio, and had to stop in at a townie-bar on E.State St. to see the 4th quarter.
ReplyDeleteIt was funny watching the whole crowd cheer whenever ANYBODY did anything.
Go Bucks. Beat those coasters.
I love the story about the cheer. (I went to OSU but never graduated, but my husband has a degree from there. We are rabid Bucks fans living in MA.)
ReplyDeleteAs an Ohio journalism alum (with a job, thankfully) with a future brother-in-law who is both a huge Ohio State fan and someone with some nice seats at the Shoe, it was an interesting afternoon, to say the least. I spent most of the first three quarters daydreaming what it would be like to beat one of the best teams in the country. That the Bobcats have since sunk again into the conference's basement isn't enough to overcome that feeling a couple of months ago. It was a good feeling.
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