by Matt Johnson – October 3rd
Tressels,
Typically, the least interesting thing you can do with your free time is listen to any interview with Coach Tressel.
Bob Hunter wrote a funny editorial in the Dispatch describing a pre-season press conference where Coach Tressel was saying he was excited for the start of the 2009 season, but his body language and tone would suggest the exact opposite. Juxtapose a Coach Tressel interview with an Earle Bruce interview. Someone could ask Earle Bruce what the weather will be like tomorrow and he’ll quickly digress into a passionate plea for Ohio State to punch someone in the nose. He’ll also somehow boldly work in – “if you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t.” If you ask Coach Tressel about the weather tomorrow, somehow he’ll work in “(insert name of next opponent) cannot be taken lightly and so forth.”
I was floored to see Ohio State score a TD late in the game against Illinois last weekend. Under Coach Tressel, Ohio State NEVER runs up the score – even if they should. After the game, I actually watched the post-game news conference because something as rare as Lydell Ross getting past the line of scrimmage had just occured. There was no way Coach Tressel could avoid “interesting” with this one. The question came up right away – why go for the TD late in the game? Coach Tressel said that they felt not going for the TD would have been risky because the Bucks were only up by three scores at that time (it was 23-0). There were 2 minutes left in the game and the possibility of The Illini scoring 3 TDs and 3 two-point conversions in that time was as likely as Mark Dantonio sending Mike Hart a birthday e-card with pictures of Anne Geddes babies.
So, how did Coach Tressel feel about it? We’ll never really know… I kinda like not knowing because it allows me to create my own story. In my mind, I see a second-rate program dancing mid-field on the Block O every chance they get. My fantasy continues that the best way to answer these “rascals” is to beat them 30-0 and dominate nearly every snap of an entire game. I like my interpretation – it’s very pleasing to me.
This has been a week of many firsts. After Kurt Coleman’s suspension by the Big Ten commissioner for his late hit last weekend, Coach Tressel and Gene Smith had a scathing statement disagreeing with the decision. The statement seemed very out of character. Who accidently released this statement as opposed to the approved one that stated “Ohio State will no longer gang tackle and so forth?” This one left little to the imagination…obviously Coach Tressel is fired up. It did help support my fantasy about beating the “rascals” 30-0 as a response.
Something different is going on…Ohio State players and coaches are strongly standing up for one another even when the public result can be perceived as offensive. The message to Illinois was very clear: “Sit down.” The message to the commissioner’s office was also very clear: “We hit hard – get over it.” Unfortunately, the previous two seasons, games against MAC schools were competitive and second-tier Big Ten teams were interesting. There wasn’t really much to say.
How different are things? In the locker room, after the game last weekend, Coach Tressel was dancing for joy with the entire team. Sometimes I like not knowing and letting my imagination roam, but sometimes I really like knowing.
Touchdowns: Boom, Posey, Saine, Dane
OSU 31 IU 10
Go Bucks! Beat IU! Thaddeus Gibson for Heisman!
Flabby Daddy
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