Championship Game Preview Madness

I haven't written about March Madness yet. It's sad now in hindsight. I was too worried about overdoing it. I was scared I'd complain and cry about every bad game I picked (Tennessee over Ohio State was definitely ill advised and biased) or brag and ponder how I'd spend my money after I got one right (VCU over Duke was pure genius and biased) so I refrained from talking about March Madness at all. Now all we have left is one game and it's over until next March.

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog a lot knows that I hate Ohio State. Now they are in the National Championship game against Florida for the second time in 3 months in two different sports. This, along with the fact I have Florida winning it all in every bracket I filled out, is turning me into a de facto Gators fan.

When Florida slaughtered Ohio State back in December, my heart was filled with joy. Greg Oden looked lost and trapped against Joakim Noah, Chris Richard, and a crippled Al Horford, but this team has improved more than any other over the course of the season. I don't know if people are comparing Mike Conley Jr. to Chris Paul or not, but if they aren't, they should be. He has the ability to take over a game when Oden is in foul trouble and he has been for most of the tournament. What's most amazing about this is there have been some instances where the Buckeyes have seemed to flourish even without Oden on the floor (such as the overtime period against Xavier). Cook, Lewis, Butler, and Harris are all great shooters, which comes into OSU's advantage should they get down and need a lot of 3's to catch up.

And then you have the Gators... This is the best starting 5 in college basketball without a doubt. These guys could have the 8 seed in the NBA's Eastern conference right now. Simply getting to the title game two years in a row has made them one of the best teams in history, probably the best of the new millenium thus far. Their post men should have no trouble giving Oden fits down low and they know how to stop OSU's smaller line-up because that was what they had to do back in December.

I said that OSU has improved more than any other team in the country over the season, but I don't think they've improved 26 points worth in the last 4 months. To me, it's like Dan Shanoff said today, this game is the exact reason they all came back for another year of school and they are not going to let it go to waste. And plus, Florida looks like they party more than Ohio State so if they play like they party, it won't even be close.

Also, I need a Gator victory to win my pool this year...

It's A Good Thing Alligators Can't Naturally Live In Columbus

As I've stated previously, I am not a big Ohio State supporter and I find some of their fans obnoxious. Courtesy of The Fanhouse, I found a video that showcases their hatred of all things not related to their Buckeyes.
Apparently, before the BCS Championship Game, there was a challenge between OSU and Florida set up by Nike to see which school could run the most this January. Florida won and a statue of their mascot, Albert, was set up on the OSU campus. What happened to it is shown in this video...




I want to point out a few things about this video though. I'm sure that if OSU had won, Florida fans probably would have done the same thing to a statue of Brutus. Also, I'm sure it's much easier to run in Florida than Ohio in January weather. It's just funner to make fun of the OSU fans for me.

Ohio State Fans Are Humbled..

I live in Ohio, right in the middle of their self proclaimed "Buckeye Country". I enjoy living here for the most part, but the Ohio State football fans are some people I don't really like too much. Granted there are some notable exceptions I have encounted, they are THE team for overconfidence and a false sense of superiority.

I have lived in Ohio for six years now and I've never caught the bug of OSU football. They are the most obnoxious group of fans as a collective whole that I have ever encountered (and I still wish I could think of a better word than obnoxious). Well, a message board, courtesy of The Fanhouse, definitely just made my day. It is a Buckeyes message board and the topic is whether people have gotten over the loss to Florida. Ten days have now passed and some still have their sense of pride (or arrogance) and others have become humble, shamed fans. Here are some personal favorites...

BuckNatty123: I haven't even visited this forum since the 7th. Haven't read the college football section of si.com or espn.com since then either.

OSUBuckeyes7: I graduated from OSU, I will always be a Buckeye, but I will never get over that loss

bucknut4life: over it? no way at all...but i can say that i dont have flashbacks of certain plays anymore..honestly for about a week or so, random points of the day i would see troy getting sacked..

biggman76: The pain will be there forever

ramatam: I'm as bad now as I was after the game...We were embarassed, humiliated & disgraced on national tv. You can NEVER get over that if you have passion about the scarlet & grey.

more buckeye sadness, mourning (and still some celebratory notions) here