HINYG8
You never come back from Copperhead Road
That said, I hope we steam roll MSU on Saturday and will admit part of the fuel is to spite ESPN.
They have worked ever so hard to water down Ohio State for years..and I would love to see us light it up like 190 proof moonshine in East Lansing.
I know that is just falling prey to their narrative and they are purposefully stirring that pot in their apparent hellbent need to turn CF into pro wrestling. I know they want to get under my skin with the hopes I watch and click my way down the worm hole with them to fight the good fight and to rail against the SEC and to defend OSU at each and every ESPN logo-ed twist and turn. And I know they have zero conscience and are just driving for ratings and don't truly care about OSU one way or the other. I know my spite is a function of their design.
BUT I WILL ALSO KNOW we busted their contrived formula. I will know they wanted us to play the heel and we ignored the script. I will know when they look into the camera and start treating us like a contender it will be because we exhausted all their other options and they would prefer it to be almost anyone else.
And I know why.
Why is because OSU is a real threat to the world leader. We are part of a small group of teams that don't *need* ESPN's hype to thrive. We get viewers whether they talk about us or not. So they discount us to build up the brand of teams that no one else would otherwise care about and to establish themselves as the arbiter of cool when it comes to CF. Ole Miss football? Please. TCU? C'mon. It's like MTV creating an 'artist' by virtue of the hype and the video medium, not the quality or talent of the music. Their broadcast fees were basically adoption rights for the SEC. I get that..and if I were ESPN I would do the same to protect my investment. But while I may not typically be spiteful..I certainly have a rebellious streak and I would love to blow up their dismissals and their previous hype by steam rolling MSU Saturday..and playing our way into the playoff like a gigantic gut punch to ESPN. They have worked hard to keep us out of the discussion..and it has worked because we have always managed to give them something to use against us.
I know they will respond by loving Urban, by reversing and suddenly shamelessly loving themselves some Buckeyes...I get that...it's business. But I will KNOW it's because they have no other option, and we left them with no other choice. They want it to be the SEC..but will ride any horse to the finish..and would prefer it not be Ohio State. So I would love to make them have to line up WITH the Buckeyes, not against them. That, and because I would much rather hear them expand on the good that Ohio State has done rather than extol our flaws. I can hear it now..who has ever done more with their second string QB? Who has done more with so much youth? Who has ever rallied back harder from a tough loss? How great is Urban Meyer? Will Bosa be in NYC for the Heisman dinner?....It will be glorious. And the keys are in the car...just need to turn the engine over this Saturday night in East Lansing and smile when it starts...and growls to life...running on moonshine....and firing my spite out the tailpipe right into Bristol's studios.
Petty? Check. Spiteful? Yeah. No true impact to ESPN..no reckoning..no pride swallowing..no mea culpa from Mark May....just a tone shift? True. But *I* will know we forced their hand even thought they did all they could to keep us out of the game and away from the table. And I will enjoy that more than I probably should.
There are several far more significant reasons I will be cheering for OSU this wekened....but I'll admit spite is part of it...and when we get it done in East Lansing part of my grin will be a giant FUCK YOU ESPN! Now you get to tell me why OSU should be at least be in the discussion. Now you get to pretend you didn't have us on the cutting room floor just hours ago.
I know..it's what they want me to do...it's part of their narrative or whatever. But I'll take the bait, walk the petty road and celebrate as one of their contrived plot lines is blown to bits..exposed as false and closed for repairs. And that victory won't come with an apology..won't be acknowledged in terms of admitting they were wrong about us..it will be subtle.. but it will be on display every time they say something good about us.
I will *know* they couldn't beat us..so they joined us.
Oh..let's do this!
They have worked ever so hard to water down Ohio State for years..and I would love to see us light it up like 190 proof moonshine in East Lansing.
I know that is just falling prey to their narrative and they are purposefully stirring that pot in their apparent hellbent need to turn CF into pro wrestling. I know they want to get under my skin with the hopes I watch and click my way down the worm hole with them to fight the good fight and to rail against the SEC and to defend OSU at each and every ESPN logo-ed twist and turn. And I know they have zero conscience and are just driving for ratings and don't truly care about OSU one way or the other. I know my spite is a function of their design.
BUT I WILL ALSO KNOW we busted their contrived formula. I will know they wanted us to play the heel and we ignored the script. I will know when they look into the camera and start treating us like a contender it will be because we exhausted all their other options and they would prefer it to be almost anyone else.
And I know why.
Why is because OSU is a real threat to the world leader. We are part of a small group of teams that don't *need* ESPN's hype to thrive. We get viewers whether they talk about us or not. So they discount us to build up the brand of teams that no one else would otherwise care about and to establish themselves as the arbiter of cool when it comes to CF. Ole Miss football? Please. TCU? C'mon. It's like MTV creating an 'artist' by virtue of the hype and the video medium, not the quality or talent of the music. Their broadcast fees were basically adoption rights for the SEC. I get that..and if I were ESPN I would do the same to protect my investment. But while I may not typically be spiteful..I certainly have a rebellious streak and I would love to blow up their dismissals and their previous hype by steam rolling MSU Saturday..and playing our way into the playoff like a gigantic gut punch to ESPN. They have worked hard to keep us out of the discussion..and it has worked because we have always managed to give them something to use against us.
I know they will respond by loving Urban, by reversing and suddenly shamelessly loving themselves some Buckeyes...I get that...it's business. But I will KNOW it's because they have no other option, and we left them with no other choice. They want it to be the SEC..but will ride any horse to the finish..and would prefer it not be Ohio State. So I would love to make them have to line up WITH the Buckeyes, not against them. That, and because I would much rather hear them expand on the good that Ohio State has done rather than extol our flaws. I can hear it now..who has ever done more with their second string QB? Who has done more with so much youth? Who has ever rallied back harder from a tough loss? How great is Urban Meyer? Will Bosa be in NYC for the Heisman dinner?....It will be glorious. And the keys are in the car...just need to turn the engine over this Saturday night in East Lansing and smile when it starts...and growls to life...running on moonshine....and firing my spite out the tailpipe right into Bristol's studios.
Petty? Check. Spiteful? Yeah. No true impact to ESPN..no reckoning..no pride swallowing..no mea culpa from Mark May....just a tone shift? True. But *I* will know we forced their hand even thought they did all they could to keep us out of the game and away from the table. And I will enjoy that more than I probably should.
There are several far more significant reasons I will be cheering for OSU this wekened....but I'll admit spite is part of it...and when we get it done in East Lansing part of my grin will be a giant FUCK YOU ESPN! Now you get to tell me why OSU should be at least be in the discussion. Now you get to pretend you didn't have us on the cutting room floor just hours ago.
I know..it's what they want me to do...it's part of their narrative or whatever. But I'll take the bait, walk the petty road and celebrate as one of their contrived plot lines is blown to bits..exposed as false and closed for repairs. And that victory won't come with an apology..won't be acknowledged in terms of admitting they were wrong about us..it will be subtle.. but it will be on display every time they say something good about us.
I will *know* they couldn't beat us..so they joined us.
Oh..let's do this!
