3/26/2011
It has been at least five years since I tossed together a blog. I’m no longer the ranting, testosterone-ridden angry boy I used to be. Or so I’d like to think. I still follow sports, still holding out for that magical year, the reward at the end of my (steadily increasing) investment of years and attention paid to teams that represent cities near my own.
And in spite of the laughable rosters of the Indians and Browns in recent years, the promising but under-delivering Ohio State Buckeyes, or the cowardly knife in the back from a former Cavs star that shall not be named, I am still a steadfast Ohio sports fan. My cross to bear.
Just to recap the (recent) carnage…
-Ohio State just lost on a Sweet 16 buzzer beater, after putting together one of the better seasons in Buckeye men’s hoops history. They had all the pieces, the shooting, the size, the mix of talented Frosh and tough, seasoned Seniors. And Kentucky pulled it out at the end, 62-60, on a jumper by an unproven Freshman.
-The Ohio State football program, guided by one of the few old-school, throwback coaches left in college athletics in Jim Tressel, appear headed for a nasty NCAA investigation and large penalties. This is the one constant title contender in my fan arsenal, year in and year out, and they’re headed to NCAA purgatory, because of the one coach I thought was scandal-proof.
-Over the summer, I got to ‘Witness’ the betrayal of the choking, injuring-faking King of Nothing who bolted my beloved Cavs to come up short somewhere else. I watched the professional wrestling spectacle put on by the Miami Heat PR team before the team won a preseason game. I watched the bold, in-your-face betrayal of my favorite sports city, and he’s the last professional athlete I’ll EVER trust.
-The Cleveland Indians will be the next franchise to suck me in and spit me out. At this point, I almost hope they don’t come close to contending, just so I don’t have to watch them blow another 3-1 ALCS lead.
-The Cleveland Browns, as we all know, are covered head to toe in the “Modell Curse”, which started the second the Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl. The Browns may never be good again. They just made a nepotism hire, this Shurmur kid who coordinated a mediocre offense, in the worst division in football, because our President of Football operations/Walrus knew his papa back in the day. Thanks to said Walrus, we are now paying THREE coaches, and the re-build is just beginning. *** I guess all of this COULD matter, assuming we have a football season this Fall. Or I can watch the Replacements while these village idiots figure out how to divvy up $10 Billion dollars. God help the NFL.
-To make matters worse, my favorite professional Hockey, Soccer, Rugby, and WWE… wait, none of these matter, at all.
So as we can see, my fan mindset, my fandom? On life support. I’m to the point where I find myself trying to detach when I watch my teams play. Pretend it’s just another game and enjoy the spectacle. The less the game matters (i.e- the Cavs regular season) the more relieved I am. Less investment, less pain.
And I’m pretty sure 2003 “Me” would want to fight 2011 “Me”. I watch reality trash on TV nowadays, I skip games I would have watched back in the day, and instead of taking the annual punch in the face like a real fan, I duck and cringe. Currently, my sports fandom is the one black cloud in my otherwise enjoyable life.
Not to mention my first blog in years is a big, whining waste of words. Welcome back to Ohio sports fandom…
