Block O Table Recap – Spring Game Recap… Recap Recap

Block O Table
It took awhile to finally get around to this, but alas, here it is.  A big shoutout goes to loyal reader Ken, diaspora from Western New York, who contributed greatly to this post.  He not only asked the questions, but helped summarize the responses.  A round of applause is certainly in order, but, [...]
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Just Let L.A. Float Away

Yesterday my esteemed colleague and the purveyor of this site responded to an L.A. Times article written about the attendance of the OSU Spring Game. Now let me preface this by saying that I am, of course, a Michigan fan. But don’t allow that to stop you from reading this glorious rhetoric nonetheless.

Normally, I would be glad to see an opponent kick sand in the face of every poisonous nut on the planet, but Chris Dufresne’s article was the worst drivel I’ve read in ages and yet again makes us question how very far sports writing has fallen. The basic premise behind this article was that Ohio State fans have absolutely nothing to do in their lives but go to the Spring Game because outside of that, there’s nothing but field plowing and taking your sister out on a date available to them. On the other hand, glorious Southern California is so littered with magnificence that they just have too much going on in their awesome lives to stop and support their football teams. Mr. Dufresne is then kind enough to inform us that they are true fans since their butts are in the seats when it really counts. (obligatory reference to the OSU-USC game of ‘08).

Here’s why I take issue with that: He’s trying to take an exceptional, record-breaking thing (one that I, as a Wolverine, would be most happy to possess) and turn it into nothing in an effort to reassure his readers that they’re not bad fans, they’re just cooler than the rest of us. Yes, a sports writer who asserts that he and his readers are too cool for sports.

Ultimately, his point (like his spelling and grammar) quickly loses footing when you look at the facts.

The first point that completely exposes the sadness of the SoCal fanaticism was mentioned very clearly by my associate. Los Angeles County alone has approximately 10 million people, most of whom I can assume were NOT at the beach. That point in mind, they couldn’t muster any more than 20k people to watch a consistent national championship contending team go out their for their warm ups? Seriously? Is Frisbee Golf THAT time consuming?

The second point that’s even worse is based off of the assumption that the SoCal fans are there when it counts. They’re not and that’s just a plain fact. During the season, USC barely cracks 90% attendance and UCLA does even worse, eeking in just about 80% attendance. TEN MILLION PEOPLE and you can’t even get to capacity? Are you serious?

Mr. Dufresne, the reason Ohio State fills up the Horseshoe and Michigan gets 50k people to show up to a spring game after suffering it’s worst season in history is because these are fans that actually give a crap about these teams and these schools. These schools are part of how we grew up, part of childhood memories and where we came from. A school like USC buys it’s history. Half of the reason USC gets athletes is because of climate and girls. You can try using the “exceptional educational opportunity” line, but when you barely graduate 50% of your football players, it’s not really a valid point.

In the end, the true college football fans from around the country who actually support their teams IN SPITE of the fact that we could be doing other things would like to request that you put your roller skates back on, head back to The ‘Bu and the next time you have an ingenious brain fart to write about sports, write it in the sand and let the mighty Pacific wash it away.

Pryor: Hard on himself, but woe to outside critics

After the spring game Saturday, quarterback Terrelle Pryor once again bristled when talking about those who have criticized him as a less-than-stellar passer. (And you know who you are!) This is a continuation of a trait Pryor has displayed since…
Continue reading at Blogging the Buckeyes

Five Things: Spring Game

Small showed some nifty okey-doke (Davidson)

With the spring game typically comes a wave of optimism, warranted or not, as we get a first glimpse of what could possibly be in store come fall. Saturday’s game proved no different though recent history of big game failings has increased the number of …
Continue reading at Eleven Warriors

Seven Ohio State Buckeyes Drafted into the NFL

Seven Ohio State Buckeyes Drafted into the NFL

While Ohio State was completing their spring with the annual Scarlet vs. Gray game in the Horseshow, a class full of graduated seniors were awaiting their next career step, the NFL. The NFL draft proceeded the Spring game with four Buckeyes selected on the first day and three more selected in the second day of later round selections.

Continue reading at Brutus Report

USC and L.A.’s Weak Stab at REAL Football Fans

On the dispatch blog today, they pointed to an article on the Los Angeles Times taking a cheap shot at Ohio State fans in an article entitled “In L.A., there’s more to life than spring football“  Maybe the L.A. Times is hard up for page views so their putting garabage like this out, but either way their weak jabs at Ohio State fans have 0 merit and really make them look pitiful.  In a city that in 2007 had a estimated population of 9,878,554 was only able to bring in 22,565 people is extremely weak in comparison to Columbus which in 2007 had 747,755 residents and 95,722 fans at the Scarlet & Gray game.  Here’s an excerpt from the Times:

“Ohio State doesn’t have a beach!” he said. “I don’t blame our fans. It gets loud in here in the fall.”

Are you kidding me, thats your excuse?  If anything the weather in Columbus saturday made people feel like having cookouts, going to Buckeye Lake, or a variety of things, but our fans showed their loyalty by sitting in a crowded stadium cheering on their team.  Sorry USC but thats what real fans are all about.

Another excerpt says:

“In Los Angeles, we say there’s football and a thing called a life. So, in relatively obscurity, our two teams tinkered in their workshops.”

Well…. You keep tinkering USC because come Sept 12th our Scarlet & Gray is gonna be ready for you when you come to the shoe and maybe you’ll wish you took your spring game a little more seriously!

Update: See our latest response to the L.A. Times – Let L.A. Float Away

Northwestern spring game recap

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Northwestern couldn't expect to solve all of its skill-position questions during 15 spring practices, but the Wildcats emerged from Saturday's scrimmage feeling a bit better about their ground game.
Three running backs combined for 207 rush yards and four touchdowns as the Wildcats offense scored 49 points against a banged-up defense.
The…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

Michigan State schedule news, spring game recap

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Before getting to the Green-White Game, there was some exciting scheduling news Monday for Michigan State fans. 
The school agreed to home-and-home series with both West Virginia (2014-15) and Alabama (2016-17) and extended its contract with longtime rival Notre Dame through the 2025 season. Kudos to athletic director Mark Hollis for making the type…
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Penn State’s Massaro tears ACL, will miss season

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Penn State's defensive line depth has taken a hit as the team announced that redshirt freshman defensive end Pete Massaro will miss the 2009 season with a torn ACL in his right knee. 
Massaro sustained the injury during Saturday's spring game and will undergo surgery in the next 2-3 weeks, according to team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli. …
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Illinois spring game recap

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Fighting Illini head coach Ron Zook divided up his team to create more balanced competition in Saturday's Orange and Blue Game, but the score ended up lopsided as the Blue squad shut out the Orange team 20-0 at Memorial Stadium. With first- and second-teamers playing alongside one another in the game, it was a bit hard to evaluate units, though…
Continue reading at ESPN.com – Big Ten – Blog

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