The rivalry between the Ohio State and Michigan football teams is a HUGE one. Although we’re already slated to go to the Rose Bowl after beating Iowa last week, this is still a HUGE game. As I said, it’s a HUGE rivalry. Some even say that it’s the biggest rivalry in college football, perhaps even in all of North American sports. And today, we beat Michigan 21 – 10. Their quarterback threw several interceptions, one of which I’ve started calling a “Jay Cutler,” named after the current Bears QB. The throw is one that would be a touchdown pass but is intercepted in the end zone. In Cutler’s case, it was the last play of the game last Thursday against the 49ers. Barf, Jay Cutler. Barf.

I have never been a sports fanatic. (When it comes to hockey, to be honest, I’d rather play than watch.) Before grad school, I watched the Bears occasionally because I liked football OK, but was never a fan of college football. Plus, DePaul, where I went for undergrad, doesn’t have a football team. When I chose to go to Ohio State, I had no idea how HUGE the culture surrounding Buckeye football really is. When I received an option to buy student season tickets, I just figured what the hell, why not?

According to GQ magazine’s list of America’s 25 Douchiest Colleges, Ohio State comes in at #19 for having “excessive school pride.” And according to SPIKE, Ohio State is among The Top 10 Teams With the Most Annoying Fans. Yes, Ohio State fans are fanatic. And now, this former non-fan of college football is a die-hard, Ohio State fanatic, though I draw the line at painting my face. However, I wear my buckeye beads to games (yes, they’re made of buckeyes, poisonous nuts that grow on the state tree) and own all sorts of Ohio State gear, and most importantly, the Official Ring, which my parents gave me when I graduated. Oh, and Brian and I are lifetime members of the Ohio State Alumni Association.

Going to Ohio State was like being converted into…almost a religion! And I’ve embraced it. The school is steeped in tradition and I’m all about tradition. I think it’s because I always felt like a loner as a child and needed a sense of belonging. Maybe I still do. I think that playing Women’s Club Hockey, even though it was during the team’s lean years, sealed the deal for me as a Buckeye.

Brian and I even did “The Long Walk,” which, according to the The Oval Walking Tour, states:

Rumor has it that if you walk hand-in-hand with your significant other across the length of the Oval, you’ll be together forever. Start on the Oval’s east side and walk west to the Main Library.

Yet another tradition is that of the Gold Pants that began in 1934: after beating Michigan, the players and coaches are awarded a pendant of a pair of football pants made of gold. So, to this year’s Buckeyes, Coach Tressel, and staff, wear those pants well! Congratulations!

And if anyone wants to buy me a pair of tickets to the upcoming Rose Bowl, they go on sale December 8! Thanks!

Mom is an avid quilter and made me this quillow — a combination quilt and pillow. In this picture, it’s in pillow form. You can click on each photo to see larger versions. And when you do, you should be able to see the detail on the fabric, which consists of hockey pucks, shoulder pads, skates, jerseys, sticks, and helmets — even goalie sticks and goalie helmets. Hmm…. This quillow can be opened up and…voilà — it’s a quilt!

I absolutely love it! But part of me wonders if this is Mom’s way of encouraging me to play hockey again. Perhaps, but mainly she knows how much I love the game.

Actually, the game is in Columbus, but Brian and I are visiting his folks in northeast Iowa and are watching the game on TV. Earlier, we went into town for coffee and soup wearing Ohio State gear. Mom told us there are some pretty rabid Iowa fans here in town. We’re such troublemakers, Brian and me.

It’s halftime and since I’m out of town, I’m still planning to post each day and keep up with NaBloPoMo, but I may only write a sentence or two. That still counts. My therapist said so.

Most of you already know that Brian and I road tripped it to Columbus, OH, over Labor Day weekend. Well, I finally finished uploading the pictures to Flickr for everyone to enjoy and love! You can see them here: Columbus 2009. I’ve written descriptions on some of the pictures for people unfamiliar with Buckeyes and Ohio State tradition — and believe me, there’s a lot of them!

Some highlights of the trip include:

• Meeting a blog friend, Heather, for the first time. We had dinner at Cap City Diner and I was relieved that our husbands hit it off and there were no awkward silences. Heather is just as friendly and funny in real life as she is online. And prettier! She showed me pictures of their son and 4 cats. Yay! Another couple with 4 cats! Heather and I hoped that our husbands would do the O-H-I-O (can’t find a link to this) with us while our server took a picture, but nope. Heather and I did both halves ourselves and she did a great job photoshopping the 2 pictures together.
• Our hotel. It was different from other hotels, with the exposed brick walls and Aveda — yes, Aveda — products. The Lofts used to be a wallpaper factory, I think, and seemed more like the many loft condos here in Chicago. We recommend it!
• The football game, of course! Last week we wished our tickets were for the USC game but now we’re glad they weren’t! We had tickets to the opening game against the Navy Midshipmen. TBDBITL (The Best Damn Band in the Land) did FOUR “Script Ohio’s,” which you really have to see live, before the game started because the Alumni Band performed, too. The latter ranged in age from 21 – 90. Having been a band geek myself, how cool is that? Also, John Glenn “dotted the I,” which is a HUGE honor, on one of the scripts! It was a really good game — a close one — and we pulled off a win.
• The place where Brian and I ate together for the first time. All of our friends have moved away, and many of our old haunts are no longer there, so we were surprised and delighted that Dan’s Drive-In, an old diner we called Dan’s DIVE-in, was still there. Brian and I had been studying with another friend of ours. When he went to drop me off, I was hungry and this was the only place I knew of that was relatively near my apartment and that would be open at 2am. They’ve since renovated the interior so it’s hardly a dive, but they kept the outside the same, which is cool!

We’re looking forward to taking this trip again next year!

It wasn’t until last night that I realized the Olympics are over because there was nothing on TV. As an adult I’ve never been interested in this. At all. But for some reason, I got sucked in this year. Not only that, I got totally sucked into events that I never would’ve considered sports in the past!

Take women’s gymnastics. To me, gymnastics = figure skating. But I got hooked during the frickin’ trials! What did it were the stories behind each gymnast. They made these girls more human to me instead of just a bunch of really bendy Barbie Dolls with blonde ponytails.

Beach volleyball. Come on! That isn’t a sport, it’s a game you play on the beach! Or so I thought until I got hooked on the matches between anyone vs. May/Walsh or Dalhaussen/Rogers. This, I have no explanation for. None. But I still consider ping-pong table tennis, badminton, and the trampoline as recreational, backyard games. Except for table tennis — that’s more like a garage or basement game. What’ll they add next? Foosball? Air hockey? Now air hockey, I’d like to see.

Why they couldn’t show men’s basketball during prime time is what I’d like to know.

I’d definitely had enough of Michael Phelps even before the games started, but after learning that he’s ADHD and was bullied as a youngster during an interview with Bob Costas, I could totally feel for him. You know, being a complete underdog that people once kicked around and then to completely blow everyone away. That’s really cool.