Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Buckeye Psychology: I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone-it, People Like Me

As explained by Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch, for Ohio State fans, losing isn't really losing at all!

Remember the 1992 tie with Michigan that Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee called the greatest win in the school's long football history? This was something like that.

[I bet it wasn't. Let's find out.]

OSU's 24-21 loss to Texas last night in the Fiesta Bowl isn't the new greatest win, but it did feel more like a victory more than so many of the others.

[OK, so we've established that a LOSS isn't the "greatest win," but it still FEELS like a victory. I feel good about this.]

So how to classify this game? It's hard to say, exactly.

[A loss?]

It obviously didn't clinch a championship.

[True.]

It wasn't historic.

[Warm.]

It didn't set a record, mark a milestone or qualify as the first or best of anything.

[Warmer.]

If someone were to describe it, an adjective as broad and as indefinite as "big" might be used.

[Colder?]

The Buckeyes' high-profile failures no longer seem so conclusive; instead, they blend back into a wider range of big games under Tressel that show the Buckeyes both winning and losing their share.

[Another high-profile loss makes the previous string of high-profile losses LESS conclusive. QED.]

So will Tressel again be viewed as a football genius?

[Really?]

Doubtful, but he is much closer than he was before the game.

[Losing = Advancing towards "genius" status. Someone get Rod Marinelli a MENSA membership.]

As losses go, this was about as positive as it gets.

[Are Ohio State fans really that dead inside?]

1 comment:

Nils Nilsson said...

It's not easy being a Buckeye...but at least losses are wins for them. Should make things easier.

I wish that worked for Holy Cross basketball fans this year. We'd be over the moon.