Just say "NO!" to ESPN

[jimotis4heisman]

HERES THE DEAL FOLKS: columbus, ohio and its television market is the #1 market of television sets for college gameday. more sets are tuned to espn for the show in columbus than in nyc market or la etc. this is a fact. if you question it call herbie on his radio show and ask him.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Steve19

...However, I will respectfully disagree with your characterization of people who believe that Herbstreit has chosen against Ohio State. His behavior makes it very clear that he indeed has, no matter what explanation he gives for his behavior.

Again, I don't begrudge Herbstreit and I am quite glad I don't have to make the decisions he has to make in all of this. But that doesn't cloud my ability to evaluate his behavior and draw conclusions about where his loyalties lie.

Steve19, you and I are in total agreement about 95% of the time...however, this is one rare example where you and I aren't on the same page. Alan brought up several good examples of how Herbstreit is Buckeye through-and-through despite having to be objective on Gameday. He will pick OSU to win every time he truly feels they will, and he pick against them when he feels they won't. nwbuckeye also pointed out how we'd rip into a commentator from a school other than OSU any time he would pick his alma mater to win a game, so no one should question Herbie's loyalty when he actually does what he gets paid for, and that's to say Ohio State will lose when he feels they will. Trust me, every single time he thinks Ohio State will or should get the win, he'll pick them.

[LloydSev]

If Herbstreit takes a job in which he just says what he is told to say, then what expertise is he bringing to that job? Is Herbstreit not arguing that he doesn't dare say what he believes because he might not please his masters.

OK. That's a business decision he has made. But it is a decision that puts his integrity right on the line in my opinion.

Hrmmm...

For what they pay him to do on Gameday... I'd walk up to the president [SuperTroopers Rant] and call him a chicken [censored]er and then issue tickets with mega huge raging boners.... [/SuperTroopers Rant] errrr my bad...

[BrutusBobcat]

Can I interrupt this threadjacking? VLMarti made a great original post. Our new AD needs to understand that having Gameday here will be BAD for tOSU's public image and perception AT A CRITICAL TIME. Fans will not be there to cheer these guys.

ESPN, as one poster observed, is more hated right now around here than Michigan. I have no doubt there will be trouble at the Gameday set, and probably not just among students. 100% certainty is a good forecast for that.

Not only would I sign VLMarti's letter, I will also write one of my own to Mr. Smith. This isn't about payback to ESPN, or threatening them. It's about protecting the image of the university.

[Steve19]

I must apologize because I think my comments about Herbie hijacked the thread. Usually, I would have kept my thoughts about Herbstreit to myself but I think I explained my state of mind as I started writing.

I am in complete agreement with VLMarti and BrutusBobcat. My comments weren't meant to hijack the thread and I should just put my comments in context and then drop this.

Mili, I wasn't indicating that Herbie should be a homer and pick the Buckeyes every week. That is a professional decision and he must make his call. I am furthermore sure that he is not told who to pick.

What I referred to is something else, it is his silence during these vicious attacks. I don't begrudge him for it, judge him for it, hate him for it or whatever. But it tells me that he is not our guy and that he does not represent Ohio State.

I am not sure I would have expected him to say, "I am sorry but I totally disagree with Alberts and May and I will reserve any further comment until I hear the outcome of the NCAA investigation" but I think he could have said "well, those are allegations, some of which the NCAA has investigated and rejected already, so let's just wait and see."

My thoughts are these...

Herbie is no doubt a Buckeye fan. Nobody can question that.

Herbie is an excellent sports commentator and I like the insights he shares.

Herbie is an ESPiN spokesperson. He is not ESPiN.

My understanding is that Herbie is not using his position to aid Ohio State in the current situation in any way, except on Columbus radio. That is his right. He has a right to reserve comment in defense of Ohio State and even to speak against it if he believes that the facts warrant it. His silence is his business but its also a decision that alienates him from some of us who would have expected him to rise to a higher standard and who think he owes something to Ohio State. That's our perception and he must make his own mind up as to who he does or does not owe for his accomplishments. If playing at Ohio State were the sole requirement, we'd see a lot more Buckeye commentators. So, I don't think Ohio State is the sole reason he is where he is.

One thing is more disgusting than the attacks on OSU by ESPiN--the disgusting threats and attacks on Herbie. Nobody deserves to be threatened because of opinions or actions as a commentator or fan. The people who have physically threatened Herbie or his family should be identified and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In any case, he hasn't done anything that would justify anger. He is not ESPiN, he works there!

The fact that Herbie attended Ohio State and played for the Buckeyes is irrelevant in the discussion about GameDay. He is not "our" guy. He does not represent Ohio State. If he did, he would have spoken out for OSU. Herbie is "his" guy and that's what he has to be given the path he has chosen.

So, in my opinion, we can't on one hand say "look, he has to be his guy because..." and in the next breath say, "he's our guy..." and that is what it seems to me we keep saying on BP.

Herbie needs us to "cut him some slack". ESPiN's attack has put him in a very uncomfortable position. He has made a business decision in the interest of his career and we can all understand that it is a substantial financial price he would pay to show the kind of integrity that would allow him to stand up and be counted. I am not sure what I would do in the same situation. None of us can be sure what we would do. I am sure this whole affair has caused him much personal anguish.

This thread is about GameDay coming to the Texas game and there were some early posts suggesting that we should allow them to come. I don't want them to come. Because of the possible fan problems, which will make Ohio State look bad on a national stage and because I would like to deny them presence so that the entire world sees that their money will not buy our integrity.

Again, normally I would have kept my thoughts about Herbstreit to myself but I think I explained my state of mind as I started writing. Herbie is the only possible reason to allow them to come, in my opinion, and my points outlined above were meant to suggest that his role on GameDay is insufficient to allow them to come to the Texas game.

This thread concerns whether VL Marti should craft an open letter that concerned fans could sign to keep GameDay out for the Texas game. I strongly support the notion that he does and apologize for diverting attention away from this important initiative.

[ohiobuck94]

I like Mike and Mike. They give their honest opinions. Both of them put Clarett in an accurate context. They are not giving Clarett any slack.
I don't listen to any of the other Espin stuff because it's so biased and subjective that it should not be considered news.

[cfabuckeye]

If College Game Day does come for the TX game, instead of the clever ESPN word play signs, I'd like to see a couple simple signs like:

OSU prefers FOX Sports

and/or

Lowe's kicks Home Depot's Ass. (assuming they're still the sponsor of CGD).

In other words, plaster their competitor's and their sponsor's competitor's name all over their own stickin' broadcast.

[casey_buckeye]

My sign: Breathe if you hate Trev, Mark, and E$PN!

[buckzip]

I don' think ESPN would be dumb enough to send Mark, and Trev.
Ok, yes they would be dumb enough.

[3yardsandacloud]

Show me where to sign VL.

[Zurp]

I agree. Trev sucks. Mark sucks. ESPN sucks. I think tOSU should give ESPN a one year ban - or at least until they quit trying to find the smallest little thing to bust tOSU for to get revenge for when Ohio State made them look like retards. ("I love... lamp!")

[jwinslow]

I just rewatched the Alamo Bowl, and I want to reinforce the point that all three announcers were very fair to tOSU. Herbie stuck up for the buckeyes multiple times, including interrupting his partners to clarify a point to clear tOSU's name. Also, Corso was not too judgmental at all, and Mike Tirico won a huge plus in my book for the way he did not jump all over the buckeyes (despite the fact that they were clearly calling for millions of tOSU is in trouble comments in his earplug).

So while there is plenty of reason to hate ESPN.com and the Rag, don't let that hatred billow over to those three. They really did a pretty decent job at keeping things objective despite clearly being told numerous times to talk about tOSU's woes. They did so, but in a more accurate manner than we've seen in the media all along.

[gregorylee]

BFS,

I feel you are totally correct, but I don't think that a whole crap load of drunken tOSU fans that have partied all day will reach the same well thought out logical conclusion. I have to wholeheartedly agree with VL and most everyone else. Gameday should not be allowed at the tOSU v UT game for thier own sake, and that of the university, lastly because of ESPiN and thier B$.

No one wants to see a bunch of drunken idiots throwing full beer can's at the stage (what a waste) not to mention that making tOSU look even more horrible on a national stage.

[jwinslow]

I agree, and I think a few on this site don't care how rationale some of the ESPiN crew have been whether they are drunk or not.

Gameday would be stupid to come to Columbus this year. If nothing else big happens, there's a decent chance everything will have died down by the time The Game 06 rolls around.

In the end, there's no chance that drunk tOSU fans aren't going to be violent and further plummet the national perception of tOSU. I really do not see Gene Smith becoming unpopular with very many for turning ESPiN away, whereas tens of thousands will rejoice when they hear that their AD has stuck it to ESPiN. He can be reasonable and show some leadership by avoiding a problem, and while operating under the umbrella of "safety and tOSU's reputation" he can snub Gameday for the biggest OOC game in years.

[Zurp]

Good points. Allowing ESPN on campus can only make tOSU look worse than it already does. And I agree that it is only certain ESPN people who are spoiling it for the rest. I haven't been able to follow who said what about tOSU (stupid Cleveland writers all say crap about tOSU), but I've gotten the feeling that Herbstreit is being fair to both sides of the story. I've also gotten the feeling that Tirico and Corso don't really care much about stories - they care about football. And that's the way it should be. The guys like Trev Alberts and Mark May who never leave the studio always have to worry about ratings. So they jump on bandwagons. Did you know that Trev PRAISED Ohio State after they beat either Marshall or NC State? How can he talk bad about a team that had won 25 games the previous 2 years?