O-H....N-O

The Ohio State Buckeyes are in the National Championship...again. How? Well, I'm not really sure ANYONE understands. Just three weeks ago, the team lost at home on senior day to Illinois, ending all hopes of playing in the big game. Or so we thought. What followed in the next three weeks included EVERY team ahead of the Bucks losing. And now, the team is playing for the title once again. But let's be honest...do OSU fans really want this?

Let me take you back to the year that has been 2007 in terms of Ohio sports. Needless to say, it's been rough. It all began on January 8th. The undefeated, top-ranked and favored Ohio State Buckeye football team taking on the Florida Gators. I'm pretty sure most people were expecting the Buckeyes to win. Even Buckeye haters were resigned to the fact that obnoxious OSU fans would be gloating for the coming months about the victory. Well, that didn't happen. Instead, there was a humbling of OSU fans everywhere as Florida thumped the Buckeyes. I mean, it wasn't even close.

But that's not the only thumping Florida put on Ohio State. Oh no, we can't forget about basketball can we? The Thad five came in with huge expectations and by george, they not only met them but exceeded them. Thanks to Greg Oden's intentional unintentional foul and Ron Lewis' amazing shot (cue Gus Johnson please), the Buckeyes marched all the way to the championship game to meet, you know who, the Gators. Again, the Gators chomped the Nuts and again, Buckeye Nation was left humbled.

So with two losses already for the Buckeye State, it couldn't get worse right? Oh but it could. As amazing as it was to see Lebron James propel the Cavs to the Eastern Conference crown, it was just as disheartning to see them get swept in the NBA Finals by the Spurs. This loss was slightly different though. No one was giving the Cavs a chance (and deservedly so) against San Antonio but I mean, the team barely put up a fight in four games. So for fans in the state, the hearbreak continued as yet another team could smell the championship pie but not even get a slice.

Then, just about a month later came this little ray of sunshine from Columbus. It wasn't from OSU this time but from a pro sports team (Yes, we have those in Columbus). The team was the Columbus Destroyers. The sport was Arena Football. The league is under the radar and in CBus, the team is too but this year, they worked hard to at least make themselves a blip. They did a damn good job of that. Entering the playoffs with a 7-9 record, the team was left for dead by the AFL pundits. The Destroyers didn't listen though, winning three games in a row to get to ArenaBowl XXI. The run was impressive but it wouldn't mean anything if they didn't win it all. Well, they lost. Badly. 55-33 to be exact. Just making Ohio teams 0-4 in national championship games.

After fans were licking their wounds over another loss, then came the hunt for October in MLB. And right in the thick of the playoff race were, you guessed it, an Ohio team. Since the Reds are still a dump, it had to be the Indians and man, what a run they made. The team clinched the division at home and nearly won home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Instead, they tied for the best record and oh, that would be critical. The Tribe first took down the Evil Empire, known as the Yankees. Then, grabbed a 3-1 lead over the Red Sox. With Game 5 at home and 3 games to just win ONE, this series looked in the bag like the OSU-Florida football game. Instead, the Tribe lost the last three games, including a Game 7 thriller that was not for the faint of heart.

Oh, and since I do go to school in Athens, let's not forget how the Ohio Bobcats went from 9-5 to a dismal 6-6, despite the fact they were picked to win the MAC East. They did beat their rival Miami (OH) though...who then went on to lose to Central Michigan in the MAC championship, go 6-7 and lose their shot at a bowl game. Yep, the curse even hit the mid-majors.

And that now brings us to today. The Ohio State Buckeyes going to the National Championship. Can they win it? Of course. Will they win it? That's the question. The best part about the game is that the game is in 2008, meaning the curse of the Ohio teams need not apply. Heck, maybe all of this suffering in 2007 just means 2008 will be that much better. OSU beats LSU for the title. The Browns make the playoffs (equal to a national title in my mind), the Blue Jackets make the playoffs (see Browns comment), the Cavs upset the Celtics for the East crown and go on to win the Finals, the Destroyers take home the AFL title, and of course, the Tribe make up for last year's collapse and win the Fall Classic.

That's a year that I would like to see...and that's coming from a guy who doesn't even like the Browns or Cavs. But after all the heartbreak Ohio fans have felt this year, it just seems like we deserve to have some good things happen. So let's hope for the sake of all Ohio sports fans that the Buckeyes take advantage of the collapse of every college football team in America and reverse the curse that was 2007.