This is going to be a little difficult to write. I should start off by saying the following opinions are strictly my own and in no way do they necessarily represent the overall editorial consensus here at MotSaG.
My reaction to the most recent unpleasantness was initially one of disbelief. Not disbelief that Tressel could have done something dishonest, because I’m a grown man and I’ve learned over the years that no one is as spotless or honorable as you’d initially believe. No, I was in disbelief that so much controversy has come out of something I consider to be relatively minor. OMG SOME PLAYERS SOLD THEIR JERSEYS AND THEIR RINGS AND WHATNOT AND OMG TRESSEL KNEW ABOUT IT AND DIDN’T TELL OMGLOLWTF!!!11!!
I mean, really? This coming from a sport where the national champion’s star player and Heisman Trophy winner went through the following: player leaves on SEC school, player’s father tries to get another SEC school to pay him $180,000 to transfer there, player goes to a different SEC school, and he did so for free with NO knowledge of what his dad had been doing.
That’s the story we all got fed by the NCAA and it’s not as bad (at least didn’t warrant as severe punishment) as a bunch of twenty-something college students (in other words, idiots – don’t get mad, I was an idiot when I was a twenty-something college student too) selling some of their stuff for a couple grand a pop? Really?
*tilts head*
REALLY?!?
So yeah, you might say I was a little disgusted by the whole thing. But then I started thinking about how I would feel if I were a fan of some other program like Nebraska or Boise State or something. Then I started thinking about what I’d want to hear from Auburn fans given the Newton unpleasantness I described above. Or what I’d want to hear from a USC fan regarding the whole Reggie Bush deal. (Like there are any more USC fans left now that they are mediocre again. Nice fans you got there, Trojans, but I digress…)
What I’d want to hear from the aforementioned Auburn fan is something like this, “Yeah, I don’t buy that crap either. I bet we paid Newton’s ‘dad’ at least $180,001 to get Cam to come here, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Cam knew about it while it was going on. I don’t support it, but it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. And to be honest, seeing my team win the MNC was still one of the high points in my life as a sports fan. That doesn’t terrify me any less that eventually the truth will come out and everything will collapse like a house of cards, but it is what it is. I hope that anybody involved with that whole deal* gets what they deserve for breaking the rules so egregiously and blatantly. I mean, they knew what they were doing was wrong and they did it anyway. There’s no excuse for that.”
*-Not a criticism, but a clarification: Southerners like to use “that deal” or “that whole deal” a lot when talking about more intricate topics. Trust me – my parents used to watch a lot of NASCAR
Wouldn’t that be nice to hear sometime? Or something like that? Just an acknowledgement what everyone else is already thinking, showing humility and brutal honesty regarding a messy situation that they, as fans, really didn’t have any control over.
I don’t know about you, but I would appreciate that, so in the same vein, here we go:
I’m very disappointed in what happened. I’d love it if Tressel hadn’t screwed up, but he did screw up. Whether or not it’s a bigger deal or a smaller deal than other situations out there, the fact remains that he knew the rules and decided not to follow them. For whatever reason – probably because he didn’t want to have to start Joe Bauserman all season if we’re honest (hard to blame him for that) – he decided to try and keep his mouth shut when he should’ve opened it. At the end of the day I don’t think there’s any excuse for that. As a fan, hopefully the punishment he and the University receive doesn’t go much further than the punishments we’ve inflicted on ourselves, but if there are more, we probably deserve them. I’d like to think that no more of this crap is in our future, but let’s face it – with as much money as is floating around college football, this probably won’t be the last time something like this happens. So I hope that when it does, the people up the chain keep their heads out of their asses a little better than they did this time, because the crime isn’t nearly as bad as the cover-up. Or the appearance of one.
That having been said, I’d still rather be a Buckeye fan tonight than a Michigan one. Because at least I don’t have syphilis.
Thank you and good night! I’ll see you all the next time I post which – given my history – will probably be sometime around July.
Cross-posted at Not Dead Ninja Storage
Bacon, as always, bringing the goods. Thanks, man- wish we’d seen this candor at the press conference.
I doubt any of us here at MOTSAG will disagree with you Bacon….. except El Kaiser who is just a disagreeable person 🙂
Ninja, I find your ideas and positions fascinating and would like to subscribe to your newsletter 😉
…In all seriousness, I echo this statement and agree with it wholeheartedly.
Additionally, to all those knocking Tressel as a “fake” Christian, or some type of hypocrite:
1.) You don’t really understand Christianity, do you? I mean, like the whole idea of it (i.e., FORGIVENESS), and
2.) Exactly what’s it like to be perfect? (IOW, who’s throwing the first stone? …This should be interesting…)
MOTSAG, keep up the good work. You guys are the best!
It is hard to acknowledge something you’ve believed to be true (or something you’ve convinced yourself to be true) is not actually true. Especially on issues of moral high ground.
But at the same time, sports fans love redemption stories. Let’s hope Tressel’s ends well.