Commentary: Today was 34 years in the making

Today is a day that's been 34 years in the making. It's a perfect day, regardless of the weather, to bask in the glow of an Ohio State national championship, a day every person clad in scarlet and gray is proud to be a Buckeye.

The 2002 Ohio State football team deserves special recognition. Not simply because it won a national championship, but because of the way this team brought glory back to the Buckeye Nation.

These Buckeyes are now part of the tradition-rich Ohio State football history. They deserve their place alongside Paul Brown, Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, Archie Griffin and Wayne Woodrow Hayes. And, yes, the 1968 national champions.

So does their coach, Jim Tressel. It was he who understood Scarlet and Gray tradition, its significance and its value. It was he who said the Buckeyes would prepare for the future by learning from and building on their past.

The 2002 season is unique and unmatched in many ways.

-- The number of wins, 14, are the most ever for any Division I college team in a single season.

-- Seven were decided by a touchdown or less, two came in overtime.

-- Nine of those wins came against bowl teams, including the defending national champs. Four were over opponents that finished in the top 15 of the country.

But this team -- its players and coaches -- deserve to be remembered and appreciated, not just for the victories, but for the way they were won. On the field, they did it Woody's way by controlling the line of scrimmage, playing stout and stingy defense and making few mistakes.

Off the field, they went to class -- some with titles most of us can't pronounce much less understand. They reflected the Ohio State tradition and it made us all proud to be Buckeyes again.

They are a unique blend of talent and personalities: One chose to play in Ohio Stadium instead of NFL stadiums; one will someday be a doctor; another was a true marathon man and yet another was a precocious, often outspoken freshman.

Somehow, Tressel brought them all together and a crystal football representing the national championship back to Columbus.

Watching me pace endlessly during every Fiesta Bowl commercial and then settling carefully in the same chair with the same pillow placed just so every time, my daughters asked me, "Dad, why are you so worked up?"

What could I say? How does one describe growing up with Ohio State tradition?

What words could help them understand the glory of the 1968 season and the 1969 Rose Bowl when Woody's Super Sophs beat O.J.?

What could be said that would help them see that this Ohio State team was the one the Buckeye Nation had been waiting on for 34 long years, the team that carried the hopes and dreams of so many after countless disappointments?

By the end of the evening, they were pacing, jumping and celebrating along with their dad. This team means to them what the 1968 team meant to me. Now, they too know what great pride there can be in being a Buckeye.

And now it is time for this team, our team, to take its rightful place with those great Ohio State teams and players of the past. It, too, is one for the ages because it makes us proud to be Buckeyes.

Reach Gary Ogle at gogle@nncogannett.com.

Originally published Saturday, January 18, 2003