As the season gets closer and closer, this reflection from our friend Janelle gives a good perspective on the tumultuous last season and the excitement that’s been building since November. Be sure to follow her on the old Twitter-machine!
What a difference a year can make.
Last year at this time, we in Buckeye Nation were preparing for a season of unknowns. We were anxious to see how interim head coach Luke Fickell would do after being thrown into the position. We were anxious to see if he would remain our head coach, or if Ohio State would hire someone new. Finally, we were patiently waiting for the NCAA to issue our sanctions.
We had answers to all of our questions by the end of the season. While he tried to keep the team together and produce on the field despite the absence of several key players, Luke Fickell proved he was not yet ready to take on the responsibility of being the head coach of our beloved Buckeyes. The NCAA made us wait until late December, only after we had accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl, to hand out its punishment of a one year bowl ban.
But even all of that was hardly enough to keep Buckeye Nation down after November 28th with the hiring of Urban Meyer. Suddenly, there was excitement among us again. One of the best coaches in the country was going to be leading our Buckeyes. There was finally a brilliant light coming from the end of the seemingly endless tunnel we had been in throughout 2011.
Fast forward to this year and there is more excitement than I can remember in a while surrounding the upcoming season. Even with a bowl ban, Buckeye Nation is pumped to see the 2012 edition of the Buckeyes.
The worst is finally behind us (we hope *fingers crossed*), and it is hard not to think that the best is yet to come.
Think about that for a minute. The best is yet to come.
Before last year, we had come off a string of B1G titles, BCS bowl appearances, years of beating TTUN, and enjoying great season after great season. Things were good. It is hard to imagine them being any better, but somehow, I think they will be.
Urban has the killer instinct. He gets the best out of his athletes by demanding excellence in every aspect of the game, both on and off the field. It is no secret the man knows how to win. Some say that he might not be as successful in the B1G as he has been in his previous coaching positions. Doubt it. He has won everywhere he has coached. And judging by what he did with the 2012 recruiting class in just two months (and by what he has already been able to do with the 2013 class), Ohio State is not going to be any different. He will have us back to our winning ways in no time.
As a current Ohio State student who just transferred here this summer, I have to say, I am eager for the summer to end and the fall to begin. I cannot wait for the first game on September 1st. I am excited for that feeling I get on Saturdays in the fall when a full day of college football is on deck; the butterflies in my stomach just hours before kickoff and my heart pounding with excitement.
If you are reading this, then you are probably as big a college football fan as I am and you know that feeling I am talking about. You can feel the sense of excitement here in Columbus even now, in July, even though the season is still some weeks away. People are getting ready for our legends of the fall to take the field once again in the ‘Shoe. They’re even getting ready for The Game, which is still 125 days away because that is our “bowl” this year.
The Ohio State football culture is alive and well once again.
Look out, college football world. Ohio State football is coming back, full speed ahead.
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