Yes, I heard Bob Greene’s stupid commentary on NPR last night. No, I don’t feel like taking it apart. If he’s still fooling editors and producers into believing he’s some sort of Bard of the Midwest, well, it’s out of my hands. I will say this, though: It made me think that OSU losing wouldn’t be the worst way to end the day. And whaddaya know?
And with that, Bucks fans, I will say no more. OK, I’ll say just a little more, a quote from an e-mail that arrived just seconds ago: The Scarlet and Gray once again proved that the Big Ten conference is one of the most overrated in the nation. Given the performance of the Big Ten teams in their various and sundry bowls – Michigan also was beaten to a pulp – I’d love to think the fans of these schools and this conference would sip from a tall, frosty glass of STFU, but that is probably not in the cards.
Now I’ll say no more.
Actually, I think I’ll really say no more. Does that qualify as having a tall, frosty glass of STFU? Maybe just Schadenfreude pie.
MarkH said on January 9, 2007 at 1:31 pm
OSU didn’t just fail to show up: they were still asleep dreaming of deciding whether or not they were going to wake up, in order to decide if they were going to get on the bus to Arizona, in or der to decide to play.
Over-rated is an understatement. Sheesh.
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Kirk said on January 9, 2007 at 2:02 pm
not that it cost ohio state the game (it was a true team effort), but just saw a picture showing how star received ted ginn jr. wound up on crutches. after he ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, his teammates tackled him and that ankle of his got twisted real nice. nothing like a celebration injury.
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brian stouder said on January 9, 2007 at 2:57 pm
But on the bright side, the Schadenfreude pie looks positively “delish” (as Rachel would say).
Honestly I was not interested in the Monday game; OSU did all I wanted when they put a whipping onto Michigan (two months ago!). The glass of STFU can only really be served up by someone who was certain Michigan and Ohio were going to be defeated BEFORE we all gained the benefit of hindsight. I think (in hindsight!) that both teams peaked in their game against each other – and all roads from that point inevitably were downhill
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ashley said on January 9, 2007 at 3:08 pm
So, is Boise State the best team in the land?
Hey, they’re the most fun to watch…as long as it’s a road game. Blue astroturf makes me vomit.
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Jeff said on January 9, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Purdue got whupped on, as well (and shouldn’t have gone to a bowl game, even the Tidy Bowl), but as a relative “so what” spectator from a distance, non-tailgatin’, watches curling on TV fan of Big Ten football — isn’t it possible that the league is so big and bruising, pound for pound, that they just don’t have anything left after November? I will admit the tone in central Ohio is quite annoying otherwise: they went, what, 15 and 1, picked up a Heisman, played on nat’nl telebidgin almost every game. Why is everyone acting like Woody died, again?
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John said on January 9, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Woody’s dead? I thought he was still doing time for punching the Clemson player.
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John said on January 9, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Just listened to the Greene “commentary” and it did not disappoint. Bob never fails to overstate the obvious. I would only point out that the reason Woody didn’t “trade up” to a program that wasn’t in “flyover country” was probably that it would have involved going somewhere where people cared a lot less about college football.
As for the game … it was a shocker, alright. Probably cost Troy Smith a few million in lost draft slots.
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joodyb said on January 9, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Buckeyes should never play after december. that’s all there is to it.
i can’t BELIEVE i missed the bob greene bleat.
i haven’t decided if i’m going to ask my sister how much she lost on that game.
and then there’s the senate getting time off to be at the crappy game, if they wanted. what a world. so much for 100 hours.
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basset said on January 9, 2007 at 8:25 pm
schadenfreude pie? “a pie freighted down by the petty weaknesses of men”?
coolest mom ever, if you ask me…
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nancy said on January 9, 2007 at 8:31 pm
(Must….maintain….restRAINT…..But….canNOT!!!!…WHY…AM I….TURNING…GREEN?!?!???)
Not only does Bob overstate the obvious, but as usual he alters history to suit his purposes. Woody wasn’t just a crank and Bobby Knight in different clothes, his game was an anachronism. Three yards and a cloud of dust was out of style in the new age of the long-bomb forward pass. Punching that player just gave OSU an opportunity to make some staff changes that were long overdue. He was certainly beloved, but there were many, many OSU fans who thought he’d overstayed his time and was past retirement age, and were relieved when he made his exit.
And I’m sorry, you’d have to consult a linguist on this one, but I’d be willing to bet “flyover country” didn’t enter the lexicon until well after Bob had decamped for a city with a bigger airport. Also, college football was always a sport of the so-called flyover, so for him to imply that lesser souls than Woody only wanted to succeed long enough to make it to the big town was just silly. Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama — these are far from the coastlines, I’d say.
Oh, I could go on. Instead, I think I’ll practice some yogic breathing.
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Laura said on January 10, 2007 at 12:56 am
You know, your disdain for Bob Greene is what first brought me to nnc. I’m so glad we have that hating BG and his total suckiness in common.
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Danny said on January 10, 2007 at 3:11 pm
OSU did all I wanted when they put a whipping onto Michigan (two months ago!).
Brian, I don’t have a horse in this race, but a three-point differential does not really equate to a “whipping.”
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brian stouder said on January 10, 2007 at 3:13 pm
True enough. Ohio State had built a very nice lead up – and as I always say – what good is a lead if you can’t spend it?
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Danny said on January 10, 2007 at 3:20 pm
LOL!!!
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Ricardo said on January 10, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I can’t help but think that dragging out the process of playing a championship game for 7 or 8 weeks hurts a team’s performance. I guess everyone needed the money. Wait until next year!
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