So, I had the craziest dream ever the other night. There's absolutely NO WAY it could ever come true, but I'm going to tell it to you all anyway.
So, my dream started as a nightmare. The Buckeyes lost to the cheaters up north in probably the ugliest game ever played by my favorite team. The offensive game plan was downright ugly and the defense, though it played well most of the game, didn't make the necessary stops when it needed to. The drumbeats were beating loudly to fire a head coach that other than some bad calls against Clemson in 2019, Covid vs Bama in 2020, a bad snap on a FG in 2021 vs Georgia and playing against cheaters since 2021, has won damn near everything. The national talking heads were all over him. He must go, they said. He can't win the big one, they said. Even with all the negativity swirling around the program, the Buckeyes somehow made the playoffs. But surely they won't do anything, right?
But then the impossible started to happen in this dream. I dreamt that a team and fans in orange invaded OUR stadium in by the thousands. They were loud and talking smack. The players warmed up shirtless in freezing weather to prove their toughness. Lou Holtz would've been proud. There was no way we could beat this powerhouse from the "Nation's best conference." But in my dream, Buckeye nation stepped up. The fans wearing scarlet drowned out those clad in orange. Our Buckeye warriors, kept their shirts on, but somehow out toughed their southern counterparts and jumped out to a quick 21 point lead. Those who volunteered made it interesting briefly before the half, but the Buckeyes smothered any southern hopes of winning by quickly grabbing the momentum back and crushing the southerners pride, 42-17. It was amazing, but even more amazing, the dream continued.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's, it was every Ohio State fan's dream for the Buckeyes to play in the Rose Bowl. Well, this crazy dream had a little bit of everything, even the Buckeyes playing in the Granddaddy of them all! So, in this dream, the Oregon Duck's were ranked #1 in the nation, and had beaten the Buckeyes by a single point (32-31) earlier in the season in Eugene, Oregon. And here, in this crazy dream, the Buckeyes were playing those same Ducks in the Rose Bowl! Big Ten vs Pac - 12, er, Big Ten. Wait, WHAT??? Yep, Big Ten. But it sure felt like the old days. Surely there would be no way the poorly coached, nationally disparaged Buckeyes could even keep this game competitive against the BEST team in the country. But like I said, this dream was CRAZY! And in this dream, as impossible as it may seem, the Buckeyes actually HAD THE LEAD 31-0 in the middle of the second quarter!!!! They had scored as many points in 23 minutes as they had the ENTIRE first game against the mighty Ducks! And the Ducks? ZERO!!! The Ducks quack a little in the middle of the game, but the Buckeyes cooked them at the end 41-21. What?!?!
But I still didn't wake up and the crazy dream continued. Next, I dreamt that the Buckeyes had to play Texas IN TEXAS!!! I KNOW the dream will end after this and I'll finally wake up. But NO! The dream got even CRAZIER!!! I dreamt that TreVeyon Henderson caught a simple screen pass and outran the entire Texas defense to score from 75 yards out with under 30 seconds to go in the first half. Then the craziest thing of the entire dream happened. On 4th and goal for Texas from the Ohio State 7 yard line, where a touchdown would tie the game, Buckeye Captain defensive end Jack Sawyer knocked the ball out of Texas (previous Buckeye) quarterback Quinn Ewers' hand, had it mysteriously appear in his hands and decided it might be a good idea to run towards the opposite end zone. Eighty three yards later, Captain Jack found himself surrounded by his scarlet clad teammates celebrating the game clinching touchdown. Game! Set! Match!!
After all that excitement, unbelievably, I STILL didn't wake up, and the crazy dream continued.
In my dream, the Buckeyes played a red hot Notre Dame team that had won 13 straight games. Surely we would lose this one, right? But after spotting the Irish a 7-0 lead, the Buckeyes went on a tear, scoring 31 unanswered points. So, in my dream, I could relax as the Buckeyes coasted to victory, right? Wrong! Notre Dame was full of fight and clawed back to within 8 points late in the fourth quarter. With the Buckeyes trying to kill the clock, they found themselves in third and 11 on their own 34 yard line with 2:45 to play. Even in my dream, I wouldn't dream they'd do what they did. Surely, they'll play it safe, right? Run the ball and then punt? Right? But NOOOOOO! The dream gets even crazier!! Will Howard drops back! What?! He looks deep! OMG! He heaves it! I can't watch!! J.J.!!! He caught it!! First down!! WE!! ARE!! GOING!! TO!! WIN!!! NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM, RIGHT?! THIS team couldn't beat the cheaters. THIS coach can't win the big games. This team was DONE! FINISHED! CAPUT! Oh, wait! That's right! This was only a dream. No team could do what this team did. Couldn't happen. Alas.....only a dream.
*Every year, I daydream about my Buckeyes playing in the National Championship Game, and of course, winning. I don't remember the 1968 National Championship very well, as I was only 8 years old. But I was there in the stadium for 2002, and enjoyed the ride 12 years later during that amazing run in 2014, but national championships are rare and should be cherished. I will cherish them all, even this one, even though it was only a dream.
So, my dream started as a nightmare. The Buckeyes lost to the cheaters up north in probably the ugliest game ever played by my favorite team. The offensive game plan was downright ugly and the defense, though it played well most of the game, didn't make the necessary stops when it needed to. The drumbeats were beating loudly to fire a head coach that other than some bad calls against Clemson in 2019, Covid vs Bama in 2020, a bad snap on a FG in 2021 vs Georgia and playing against cheaters since 2021, has won damn near everything. The national talking heads were all over him. He must go, they said. He can't win the big one, they said. Even with all the negativity swirling around the program, the Buckeyes somehow made the playoffs. But surely they won't do anything, right?
But then the impossible started to happen in this dream. I dreamt that a team and fans in orange invaded OUR stadium in by the thousands. They were loud and talking smack. The players warmed up shirtless in freezing weather to prove their toughness. Lou Holtz would've been proud. There was no way we could beat this powerhouse from the "Nation's best conference." But in my dream, Buckeye nation stepped up. The fans wearing scarlet drowned out those clad in orange. Our Buckeye warriors, kept their shirts on, but somehow out toughed their southern counterparts and jumped out to a quick 21 point lead. Those who volunteered made it interesting briefly before the half, but the Buckeyes smothered any southern hopes of winning by quickly grabbing the momentum back and crushing the southerners pride, 42-17. It was amazing, but even more amazing, the dream continued.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's, it was every Ohio State fan's dream for the Buckeyes to play in the Rose Bowl. Well, this crazy dream had a little bit of everything, even the Buckeyes playing in the Granddaddy of them all! So, in this dream, the Oregon Duck's were ranked #1 in the nation, and had beaten the Buckeyes by a single point (32-31) earlier in the season in Eugene, Oregon. And here, in this crazy dream, the Buckeyes were playing those same Ducks in the Rose Bowl! Big Ten vs Pac - 12, er, Big Ten. Wait, WHAT??? Yep, Big Ten. But it sure felt like the old days. Surely there would be no way the poorly coached, nationally disparaged Buckeyes could even keep this game competitive against the BEST team in the country. But like I said, this dream was CRAZY! And in this dream, as impossible as it may seem, the Buckeyes actually HAD THE LEAD 31-0 in the middle of the second quarter!!!! They had scored as many points in 23 minutes as they had the ENTIRE first game against the mighty Ducks! And the Ducks? ZERO!!! The Ducks quack a little in the middle of the game, but the Buckeyes cooked them at the end 41-21. What?!?!
But I still didn't wake up and the crazy dream continued. Next, I dreamt that the Buckeyes had to play Texas IN TEXAS!!! I KNOW the dream will end after this and I'll finally wake up. But NO! The dream got even CRAZIER!!! I dreamt that TreVeyon Henderson caught a simple screen pass and outran the entire Texas defense to score from 75 yards out with under 30 seconds to go in the first half. Then the craziest thing of the entire dream happened. On 4th and goal for Texas from the Ohio State 7 yard line, where a touchdown would tie the game, Buckeye Captain defensive end Jack Sawyer knocked the ball out of Texas (previous Buckeye) quarterback Quinn Ewers' hand, had it mysteriously appear in his hands and decided it might be a good idea to run towards the opposite end zone. Eighty three yards later, Captain Jack found himself surrounded by his scarlet clad teammates celebrating the game clinching touchdown. Game! Set! Match!!
After all that excitement, unbelievably, I STILL didn't wake up, and the crazy dream continued.
In my dream, the Buckeyes played a red hot Notre Dame team that had won 13 straight games. Surely we would lose this one, right? But after spotting the Irish a 7-0 lead, the Buckeyes went on a tear, scoring 31 unanswered points. So, in my dream, I could relax as the Buckeyes coasted to victory, right? Wrong! Notre Dame was full of fight and clawed back to within 8 points late in the fourth quarter. With the Buckeyes trying to kill the clock, they found themselves in third and 11 on their own 34 yard line with 2:45 to play. Even in my dream, I wouldn't dream they'd do what they did. Surely, they'll play it safe, right? Run the ball and then punt? Right? But NOOOOOO! The dream gets even crazier!! Will Howard drops back! What?! He looks deep! OMG! He heaves it! I can't watch!! J.J.!!! He caught it!! First down!! WE!! ARE!! GOING!! TO!! WIN!!! NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!! THIS HAS TO BE A DREAM, RIGHT?! THIS team couldn't beat the cheaters. THIS coach can't win the big games. This team was DONE! FINISHED! CAPUT! Oh, wait! That's right! This was only a dream. No team could do what this team did. Couldn't happen. Alas.....only a dream.
*Every year, I daydream about my Buckeyes playing in the National Championship Game, and of course, winning. I don't remember the 1968 National Championship very well, as I was only 8 years old. But I was there in the stadium for 2002, and enjoyed the ride 12 years later during that amazing run in 2014, but national championships are rare and should be cherished. I will cherish them all, even this one, even though it was only a dream.
