I am a big Buckeye fan. My whole family are Buckeye Nuts. So we have been taking a beating lately about our ex but still beloved football coach this letter written by a player sums up my feelings pretty well…dang…I love that guy…still…
By - Jon Thomas (ex-OSU punter)
It is always sad to see a hero fall. It has happened to me a few times,
and for a few different reasons. Mario Lemieux was taken from the game of
hockey as he reached his prime to battle illness. Tiger Woods lived a
double life and is now a shell of the man who used to make the world shake
with the reverberating roars of galleries across America. Those were my
sporting heroes.
Men who stood at the pinnacle of their respective professions and made a
legitimate difference in people's lives.
I thought that watching them lose their air of invincibility would be the
hardest way to see a career end. I thought that I would never feel so
hopeless again, because I would never be as young and impressionable as I
was when I let these men become such a large part of my life. Then
again, I thought Jim Tressel was invincible.
Let me start by saying that I will not blame my teammates for any of
this. Am I mad at them? Yes. I am mad as Hell at them for some of their
actions. I am furious they cast aside our symbols of brotherhood and
victory for a few hundred dollars. Those rings and Gold Pants were
supposed to remind us forever of what we were a part of. Those rings were
supposed to clank off of each other as we shook hands at our 2010 Rose
Bowl Champs 25th anniversary banquet. Those rings were a part of our
legacy to be carried on to our grandchildren as they looked at us in our
rocking chairs and wondered how in the world we used to be champion
athletes.
But who am I to tell someone what is important? Show an 18-year-old some
money and give him some power, and you have a recipe for disaster. Put
yourself in their shoes and tell me you would be able to resist
temptation. You can't. Tell an 18-year-old that he is the greatest
enough times, and he will believe you. It comes with the territory.
Coach Tressel made the choice to try to account for his young players
transgressions and move forward into the season with one of his most
talented teams ever. It's a choice he now undoubtedly regrets.
In my brief time at the top level of the amateur game, I learned one
thing to be true without fail: If you succeed, people will hate you. And
if people hate you, they will try to bring you down. Look at Auburn.If
they went 2-4 through their first six games, would jealous Mississippi
State boosters have come out of the woodwork to rat out Cam Newton?
Fat chance. And along those lines, there is an even fatter chance that both
Gene Chizik and Cam himself knew nothing of Cecil's plan to shop his son.
Examples are abundant. Bob Stoops knew nothing about the tens o thousands
of dollars Rhett Bomar took for working a no-show job? Yeah, and I'm
dating Beyonce. Dig deep enough anywhere you want, you're eventually
going to hit the dirt.
The difference is that when the others got caught, there was no proof.
Coach Tressel reached out to people he thought may have an influence on
future decisions made by the players (the quarterback's mentor), and in
doing so, sealed his own fate. The nail in his own coffin came in the
form of a concerned e-mail.
Do I think Coach Tress was in the dark about the alleged ongoing
violations by his players? No way. I always thought that man knew
everything. My freshman year he approached me, a mere walk-on back-up
punter, and asked me how my parents and two sisters were doing. He
referred to them all by name! We had about 120 players on the team and he
knew every person in all 120 immediate families. He knew because he
cared.
He made a promise to our families to take care of us and he did
everything in his power to fulfill that promise. He made us read books
that would help us in life, write reports about those books, and present
them to the team. The first thing we did every day was reflect and pray.
There were constant reminders about how lucky we were to be playing a
game for a free education and a chance at a better life. He made us sit
through hours of brutal meetings with the compliance office almost every
week. Believe me, we all knew what was legal and what was not legal. He
brought lawyers and policemen in to warn us about the dangers of drunk
driving, nightlife, and hanging out with the wrong people. He put us in
hospitals to interact with patients, and introduced us to the military.
He taught us that there was more to being an Ohio State football player
than just football.
We had a responsibility to present ourselves in a positive way, as we
were representatives of so many things so much bigger than ourselves.
Apparently, some of us could not handle that honor.
To some of us, there were different priorities, and becoming a man under
the watchful eye of millions around the world was too much. George
Dohrmann from Sports Illustrated suggested that Jim Tressel lost control
of his football team. Quite the contrary. The Ohio State Football culture
took over Columbus . Coach was the only reason there WAS any control on
this football team. Ask the troubled former receiver. Ask the star
quarterback. Our mistakes occurred away from his watchful eye.
Our mistakes had nothing to do with Jim Tressel.
Coach Tressel had one goal for each and every one of his players. He
wanted to put us in the best position possible to succeed. Both on the
field and off. He taught us that complacency was not an option, and that
we could only be the best men that we could be if we learned every single
day. He taught us everything he could, and gave us resources to learn
what he could not teach us.
I want to look him in the eyes and thank him for the chance he gave me. I
want to thank him for the life I live today and the doors he opened for
me along the way. I want to thank him for introducing me to
Buckeye Nation. I want to thank him for my rings and for my gold pants. I
want to thank him for allowing me to live my dream and for the happiest
moments of my young life.
He always said, "On your best days be great. On your worst days, be good.
Every other day, get better." Let's just say that today, the Ohio State
community is only good. But thanks to our Coach, we will always be
better. GoBucks!
Good words Jon!
If you are relocating to Indianapolis from Ohio consider Hamilton County, Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, Fishers, Sheridan, Cicero. But if you are really a Buckeye fan move to my neighborhood, Village Farms in Westfield. Call me I will always help a Buckeye fan! I can take care of your home inspection, radon, WDI, Mold, inspections etc...I can also recommend REALTORS, insurance agents etc...Glad to help.
Oh and hey you Michigan Fans Happy day 2757 and if you do not know what that means you are no Michigan fan just a pretender...
Go Bucks
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