Killer Nuts Tailgating

Dane is about to get lucky.

Not many people outside of the state of Ohio like Ohio State.

Actually, that’s an understatement — “hate” is probably a better word.

I get it. And I don’t mind.

What does bother me is the dumb stuff I have to put up with because of my college football allegiance. I’ve been made to feel like I should be ashamed of Ohio State’s appearances in the national championship games. I’ve heard over and over — from fans of teams that routinely play D1-AA opponents — that Ohio State plays soft schedules. And then there’s this one, which pisses me off to no end: the Luckeyes.

When I opened up Twitter after the game on Saturday, I came across several conversations about how Ohio State had lucked into yet another win. Frankly, I was stunned by that reaction; I asked, and I never did get a satisfactory response as to how scoring 35 unanswered points or winning by 24 could be considered lucky.

Yeah, there was one lucky play, when Pryor’s pass caromed off Posey and into the hands of Sanzenbacher, just as he was crossing the goal line. And if that were the game’s deciding score, I would be happy to admit that Ohio State was lucky as hell.

(Actually, I have a little difficulty writing off that play as well, especially after years of living in Pittsburgh and hearing the constant celebrations of the Immaculate Reception, which might be the luckiest play in the history of football.)

But that touchdown and extra point put Ohio State up by 10 and there would be two more scores before we were done for the night. What about the 96-yard drive midway through the third quarter? Where were the lucky plays on that one? Were the two interception returns for touchdowns lucky? No, they were mistakes by Penn State’s young quarterback. The seven-play, 78-yard drive in the fourth quarter? Maybe someone could explain to me how that one was lucky as well.

Oh, and we certainly got lucky as hell on the way to holding the Lions to 60 total yards in the second half. Whew.

I try not to be an asshole about this stuff in general, and in the case of the Penn State rivalry, I’m especially sensitive about my behavior. I have a lot of good friends who are cheering for the team on the other sideline and they deserve better than having to listen to me spout off about the game that just ended.

I also don’t make excuses. The 2001 and 2005 games? Ohio State got beat, period. The 2008 game was one of the best games I’ve ever seen in the stadium, and Penn State made the plays it needed to to win on the road. Even during the first half of Saturday’s game, it was easy to see which team wanted the win more, and it wasn’t the guys I was cheering for.

But there are those who apparently think what happened in the second half was an anomaly. And here I am again, trying to find something to appreciate about another win by the Luckeyes.

Guess what folks? I’ll happily put this one up alongside the national championship, two other title-game appearances, six straight wins over Michigan and five straight outright or shared conference titles — you know, all those other games and championships Ohio State fans aren’t supposed to enjoy.