Football Disappointment

Singing Carmen Ohio after a home game

Singing Carmen Ohio after a home game

After clinching the 2014 National Championship title for football (and sooo many other sports, too!), I had high expectations for our football team this year. I was hoping that I would be able to witness TWO National Championship titles. But, even the first game against Virginia Tech showed that our team needed a lot of improvement in order to get to that title. And yet, no big deal–we improved last year enough to win, and we would do it again this year, too! And, hey, at least this year we beat Virginia Tech. We could do it.

Unfortunately, as the season went on and we improved, it showed that we weren’t improving fast enough. And that effect culminated during the Michigan State game. I was crushed watching those last thirty seconds and that ball flying through the goal posts. It didn’t seem real for us to lose because I hadn’t witnessed a Buckeye loss in so long.

Some of you may have come to Ohio State for the school spirit, traditions, and the excitement surrounding our football team. Some of you may also be Cleveland Browns fans and are just excited that the Buckeyes can gain 6 points in a way besides two field goals, as my roommate (and Cleveland sports fan), Madeline, says. Some of you may not care about football…at all.

Whether or not you are a football fan, we can all celebrate the successes of our fellow Buckeyes. Let’s celebrate Braxton’s spin move against Virginia Tech, Zeke’s countless runs for first downs, and our quarterbacks’ complete passes (thank you JT and Cardale). Let’s celebrate Women’s rowing for their 2015 National Championship. Let’s celebrate Asia Doss, who plays Women’s Basketball, who has been honored for this week’s Student-Athlete Spotlight. Let’s cheer on Men’s basketball this Saturday against Connecticut. Let’s cheer on our football team at the Fiesta Bowl.

As great as our disappointment is in not making the college football playoffs and being ranked #6 (first world problems, amiright?), let’s be grateful for what we do have. Let’s cheer on all of our Buckeyes in to reach their goals and ace their finals. Good luck to all of you.

15 alternatives to the Mirror Lake jump

As you likely know by now, the Mirror Lake jump–a recent tradition that precedes the football game against TTUN–is slated to take place on Tuesday night. While many students may be participating (and will do so responsibly, we hope!), there are likely just as many–or more–of you who have no plans to splash around in dirty water in near-freezing temperatures. For those of you undecided about your Tuesday night plans, here are 15 alternatives to the Mirror Lake jump:

1. Get a head start on the drive home…all of the freeway lanes, none of the traffic.

2. Try out that Short North restaurant you’ve been eyeing since the start of the semester.

3. Create your own Thanksgiving meal using only items from a campus C-Store, a la “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”:

4. Get a bird’s eye view of the jump (and your pick of the best rocking chair) from the 11th floor of Thompson library.

5. Listen to TBDBITL music on repeat…or at least until it starts to annoy your roommate(s).

6. Reread “The Hunger Games” in preparation for the final movie in the franchise…or just see the movie with your DTix discount at Gateway Film Center.

7. Watch the Ohio State Men’s basketball team take on Louisiana Tech on the Big Ten Network (8 p.m.).

8. Practice your response to holiday inquiries from family, questions like: 

What are you hoping to do with a major in [insert your major here]-

9. Try to get your own hashtag trending.

10. Wash your sheets…maybe for the first time all semester?

11. Watch all the Thanksgiving episodes of your favorite TV show(s).

12. Memorize random facts about Ohio State football players to show your true dedication to the game. For example:

Can you imagine how crowded the Jones family dinner table was when Cardale was a kid? I don’t know how he and his five siblings–Matthew, Javon, Devonte, Sheena and Naomi–all fit!

That Perry kid has got some moves…I guess that’s why he was in the top five in long jump at the Ohio high school state track and field championships. His parents, Jim and Georgette, must be so proud!

13. Create a playlist of the American Music Award winners for the drive/flight home (looking at you, 1D).

14. Stuff your face at PizzaPalooza (10 p.m.-midnight, Ohio Union west plaza).

15. Find at least eight of your closest friends to recreate this YouTube vid (admittedly more appropriate before our loss on Saturday):

Happy Beat M!ch!g@n Week, everyone!

Your Week in First Year Success: October 20-24

This week marks the halfway point of your first semester of college, and one way to approach the second half of your semester is to think about it the same way a football or basketball coach approaches halftime adjustments during a game. Effective coaches will use this limited amount of time to consider what their players are doing well, what parts of the game their players are struggling with, and what they should continue to do or change to finish strong.

Similarly, you have likely done some things well up to this point, but may have struggled in other areas. Now is the time for you to make your own halftime adjustments so that you will finish the semester with great results! These First Year Success Series sessions will help you do just that!

Getting over the hump: Navigating the rest of your first semester
Theme: Academic Engagement and Career Exploration
Various dates throughout October

This workshop is facilitated by members of the First Year Experience staff specifically to help you make the halftime adjustments I referenced earlier. We are the experts, or coaches, who can help you reflect on how this semester has gone and what you can do to finish strong. This session is interactive and engaging in order to get you thinking critically about your success.

Developing a Mindset for Success
Theme: Health and Wellness
October 22, 1-2 p.m.

Sure, you have the ability to do well at Ohio State, but do you have the mindset to be successful? Do you want to learn how to adapt your mindset to persevere for the rest of this semester and beyond? This session can help you think about how your brain functions in a way that can help you thrive!

Creating your own Path: Living and Leading with your Values
Theme: Leadership and Civic Engagement
October 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Honesty.
Education.
Spirituality.
Friendship.
Everyone has values which they hold dear. What are the values which are most important to you? More importantly, how do you make decisions which are in alignment with your values? This session will challenge you to think about your values and how they play a role in your daily life.

FYSS Guide for First Generation College Students
Theme: Health and Wellness
October 23, 7-8 p.m.

Students who are the first in their families to attend college can face unique challenges during their time in college. Don’t let these roadblocks stop you from having a terrific first semester. This session will help first-generation college students navigate some of the structural complexities of university life.

Creating Quality Relationships: Practical Guides for Cross-Cultural Communication and Relationship Building
Theme: Health and Wellness
October 24, 3-4 p.m.

In your time at Ohio State, you are going to meet people from many cultural backgrounds. To be successful, you will need to be able to build relationships across cultural barriers. Doing so will allow you to make more friends, learn about new experiences, and see the world from different perspectives. Attend this session to learn skills for creating these great relationships.

With these and other FYSS sessions, you will be able to develop the right game plan for success! Sign up now for your First Year Success Series sessions at www.go.osu.edu/FYSS before they fill up!

Turning the Corner: Ohio State Football and Sportsmanship

For me, the lasting image of Ohio State’s 2013 football season wasn’t the two disappointing defeats to end the season. No, it was when offensive lineman Marcus Hall decided to flip an obscene gesture to the Michigan crowd after being ejected following his role in an on field altercation in which he threw a punch at a Michigan player. While Hall has graduated, by the time Michigan week comes around you can bet ESPN and all the other sporting media outlets will run the video from the fight to the finger flip.

I understand Hall just had momentary lapse of judgment; it was THE rivalry game, he had just been ejected, and you can be sure the Michigan fans weren’t yelling, “good game!” to him as he went through the tunnel. But, as a representative of the university he can’t have that lapse in judgment.

The athletic department and coaching staff need to stress to players (and coaches and fans for that matter) the value of keeping composure. I think a fact that gets lost in the shuffle of the double middle finger salute is the fact that Hall was ejected for being in a fight during a game. He wasn’t walking to the training room for a tape job; he was forced to leave the field of play. Don’t let sportsmanship become a lost art of the game; since when has beating an opponent not been enough that you have to try and show them up? I know the Michigan game was an isolated incident, but every college football team has a rival and the game gets emotional. Without stats in front of me I would guess 99 percent of all college football games didn’t have a fight or ejection, and especially with the increased media attention on Ohio State football the program cannot let another mistake like this happen.

Go out, play your hardest, do everything within the rules you can to win the game. And then at the end — win or lose — walk out of the stadium. As an athlete (and fan) you want to destroy your opponent on the scoreboard, but that doesn’t mean you get to disrespect them.

With the start of the new season at the Spring game this Saturday, let’s hope Ohio State has another year of great success on the field, and that the only story the media has to report is about what happens on the field. The lasting impression from a season should never be an individual’s reckless decision; it should be the collective effort put forth by the team that reflects on the successes of the team as a whole.