expecting more from the buckeyes... and me

Well, Ohio State is getting criticized by the whole world today, and it's doubtful any of my commentary will be original, but I'm going to just get this out of my system and then probably stop writing about them for a while.

• I think something happened in Columbus on 11/18/2006 after the Michigan win. Something went wrong. Since then the Buckeyes have not played up to their potential at all... especially this year. They seem to be playing with a fear of losing rather than playing to win. They're waiting for their opponent to shoot themselves in the foot and open up a chance to win instead of creating the win.
  
• It's as if a team with 20 returning starters is sleepwalking through their final campaign. Is that really how they wish to be remembered? It seems everybody except Boone and Hartline are ok about this... even Tressel. Hartline is definitely opening up a dangerous can of worms by almost pointing fingers though. I would encourage him and the entire team to rally as a group rather than start to place blame. That could spiral out of control quickly. That could, however, be the spark they need. There seems to be no spark, no passion, no offense. And not much defense either. I'd rather watch a 3-8 team that played their hearts out each weak than a 8-3 team that didn't care.
  
• I honestly don't think they should have been in the title game last year (and if other teams hadn't thrown themselves under buses then they wouldn't have been) but this year seemed like a good opportunity to get to the title game and earn some respect. Now it seems unlikely they'll even make it to the Rose Bowl. This is not the same group of guys I saw as backups to the Ginn/Smith/Gonzalez/etc group. They have digressed, and this year's dropping in the polls 3 weeks in a row indicates that.
  
• I don't know why Beanie didn't play last night. There seems to be no consensus about his condition except the doctors cleared him. Why didn't Tress play him? I can't take this crap. Who knows if the return of Beanie will lift this team, but as of right now I'm afraid to watch this team take the field again. I am not just a fairweather fan, but I have no desire to watch a trainwreck or cry when the bloodbath ensues. How has a team with this much experience not ironed out the kinks yet?
• The offensive play calling was poor at best. No deep passes or passes to tight ends? I feel bad for Nicol. And why not actively use your starting wideouts? The box score shows Sanzenbacher/Small catching 9 passes compared to Robiskie/Hartline's 7. Why in the world was that even close... even with Pryor in the game? I would expect something like 13 - 3 instead of 9 - 7 the other way. I know Boeckman was hurried, but there is no excuse for that crap. Tress seems to have no confidence in his starting lineup. They looked like the exact antithesis of the team from week 1.
  
• Boeckman has fallen from grace. Put in Pryor. If Boeckman can't get the job done when the offensive line is not holding, put in somebody who can save themselves under pressure. If Pryor is the next leader of the team (and right now there seems to be no leader) then let him cut his teeth.
  

You would think I was bi-polar today. After thinking thoughts like the above for most of the day while a bit hungover and pissed off, I drove up Flagstaff to see how much snow was still in the Indian Peaks. It was as if I had never been up there before, like heightened senses or something... but seriously one of the most beautiful afternoons of my life. If I could control the weather I would consider repeating the weather from today for the next 500 days or so. I felt great afterward. On the drive up I listened to "To the Wild Country" and the lyrics seemed to tell it pretty well.

...
To the mountains, I can rest there
To the rivers, I will be strong
To the forest, Ill find peace there
To the wild country, where I belong
...

I had a great vista all to myself for about an hour and I just sat there in awe. The mountains seem to do that for me I guess, but I felt so much better. I think that and me receiving my ski pass in the mail this weekend are collectively a sign that I need to focus on my outdoor activities and just mentally let this year's Buckeyes go.

I also did a lot of thinking about myself up there. I'm still learning about myself, and suppose you never stop that, but today I re-realized that I set very high (but not unreasonable) standards for myself and miss the mark often. I hate letting myself down, and seem to care about that more than letting somebody else down. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but I have decided to re-double my efforts and pick myself up by the bootstraps. My climbing is definitely improving of late, but that seems inconsequential compared to not living out my faith, doing my best at work, managing my finances, etc. A lot of inner turmoil going on there. I think I should just go to bed... it was not a good week, so let's hope the next one is better. If not, I'm going to need a lot more time in the mountains.