rjzeller

It was actually closer than that, but I loved it all the same.

But now that I've had time to celebrate and bask in the joy of solidifying their number 1 Ranking, I take pause to contemplate a few things:

Perhaps the sweetest part of the game was the realization that I could live with defeat or victory. Not that I wouldn't have been traumatized to a degree had things gone contrary to my wishes, or that I would necessarily be ambivalent as to the outcome, but simply that when one considers the opponenet, it was sure to be a great game regardless of the result.

And it was. It lacked the soldier-like call to arms that Vince Young gave his team last year as Texas trailed late, leading his 'horns to the promised land and snatching victory from the clutches of an otherwise stingy Buckeye defense; but it still bore the mark of a great game. A classic one vs. two that is so rare in today's creampuff-preseason age.

I watched the game with a dedicated Texas fan, and his grace was fantastic. When a flag went against a Buckeye defender for hitting the quarterback -- a questionable call that resulted in the Longhorn's only touchdown, said fan insisted it was a bad call, himself. He was class all the way. He invited me into his home, fed me an array of fine treats (though I did provide my patented pineapple salsa which entirely one his acclaim), and kindly congratulated me on each Buckeye score.

And from what I hear of OSU's hosts in the Live Music Capital, such a gracious welcome was not an abberation.

And this is what rivalry is all about. It's not about beating Michigan three out of four tries. It's not about revenge for a home loss last year in the closing minutes of a game you felt sure to win. It's not about hazing or hating on your opponent.

It's about two outstanding programs meeting together in a classic challenge of strength vs strength and cunning. It's about two peoples who respect each other enough to know that the game they're about to play MATTERS--not because a title or division lead is on the line, but because of who it is you're playing.

It matters not because it's a springboard to the BCS. It matters because it's Texas.

Just like it matters not because it's the Big-10(11) crown on the line. It matters because it's Michigan.

These are schools that simply matter. Not because they're undefeated or because they're struggling -- it's quite irregardless of such things. It matters because they are who they are.

And we are who we are.

And there aren't many other programs like them. I know of no better way to describe it. Poetry be damned, because nothing describes what just happened this weekend. Nothing describes what will happen in November -- what happens every year in November. It simply is. And it is one of the best of 'em....

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I didn't know Oregon State played Texas....

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Nice post RJ,

Yep, there are a few, and just a few programs that do it right from the top to the bottom.

MICHIGAN
OHIO STATE
NOTRE DAME
USC
PENN STATE

Just to name some of the very best. And you're right, the records don't matter, it is the tradition of the very best that keeps these schools always at the top. In spite of the knucklehead fans that come and go and ruin things like the OSU fans did Sat. night.

They hurt the good reputation of these schools, but the great programs will continue.

Good luck to OSU...until that last game in November!

-cw-

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