As an OSU alum and big Buckeye fan, my thoughts:
1. Florida kicked the crap out of us, no ifs, ands or buts.
2. Their defense dictated the game, as was plain to see. And their speed was the difference. OSU has not matched up against anyone in the past few years with that kind of comparable speed...Yes I said comparable. And yes, I would also give Florida the speed edge. When OSU won the Title in '02 and '03, Miami ran into the same situation--not having played a team with that kind of defensive speed in a long time.
3. As is often the case, the returned kick-off to start the game is a bad omen. I told the crowd at my house as much as soon as it happened.
4. I agree with your FOX blast...And had pretty much decided midway through the game that it was the real reason OSU would lose. Where's ABC when you need 'em?
5. The long wait between end of season and this game was/is ridiculous...especially for Ohio State. You can't help but be a step slower, at least early in a game when you've been off for 51 days! Florida's was plenty long too...but OSU's was ridiculous.
6. Many will say that this outright proves who the toughest conference in the country is. Not so fast. Florida was the best team, hands down tonight, deserving of the National Championship. Still, that game played 10 times, finishes 5 and 5. OSU looked as bad (in large part to how well FL played) as they have in 3 years. Florida looked as good as they have in about 7 years. They had everything to play for and nothing to lose. OSU had expectations to play for and everything to lose. (SEE Miami in 2002-03 when they lost to OSU). BUT, the Big 10 went 2-1 against SEC powers in bowls this year. And, this little nugget came from the pen of John Pennington (in Saturday's Knoxville News Sentinel): Florida's win over the Bucks means that in the last 14 head-to-head bowl games, the "toughest" conference in America is now 6-8 against those poor slobs from the Big 10. Of course, I do think that top-to-bottom, the SEC is probably the toughest conference, but that point gets WAY overplayed, and is not as absolute as the football mad southeasterners wish us all too believe. Passion bears out quite a bit...And the SEC is far and away the most passionate about their football. But just because you're more passionate does not mean your teams are that much better. It just means you have a slightly greater form of idolatry when it comes to your feelings about college football than every other conference and/or team in the country. Except, that is, for OSU which really worships the Buckeyes as ridiculously as any SEC school.
8. I'm less a fan of Urban Meyer than I was before. Was he still petitioning for Florida to get a shot at the Title in the post game interview with Chris Meyers. Urban, you won. Please shut your hole for a minute. And somebody wipe that smug, condescending, smirk off your face. Get over the chip on your shoulder deal. Wow, I really miss Steve Spurrier as their coach. At least his smugness came with humor on the side.
THAT IS ALL. This one stung.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
What does this say about us? (<---click here to read)
This is an article about my alma mater. I love The Ohio State University, but I don't know that it would be for the reasons mentioned in this article. It's not that it's all bad, but I think it speaks to the clear misplacement of our priorities. And know that I am a big sports fan...But I'm growing less so every year. Anyway, I know OSU is the biggest in a lot of things, not just in what this article is talking about. But in regard to the articles subject matter. I don't think being the biggest equals being the best. (Below is the link as well)
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2007-01-04-ohiostate-finances-cover_x.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2007-01-04-ohiostate-finances-cover_x.htm
Friday, January 05, 2007
The Book Issue
Not that anyone really cares to know what I've been reading, but it's good for me to put down what it is that I've been reading and when, for future reference. Anyway, I just finished a great book called Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, by Rob Bell. This was an excellent book and one I highly recommend. Bell provides excellent analysis of Scripture, who Jesus is-really is/was-and what the life of faith in Christ often looks like in it's ugliness (missing the point) but also what it could be and is designed to be (getting the point). He's very honest about the difficulty of following Jesus, but reminds us that the difficulty is a good thing. When it becomes easy, well, then it's probably just an add on that is merely another placebo in a world of placebos.
Near the end of the book, Bell makes a great point about who we are as the Church and who we should be:
"I am learning that the church is at its best when it gives itself away. And this is because blessing is always instrumental. Let me explain. In Genesis 12, God tells a man named Abram that he's going to bless him, and through him, he is going to bless the whole world. This is the birth of the Jewish people, whom God wants to use to reach everybody. This blessing is instrumental in nature. God wants to use Abraham, to flow through him, to have him be the conduit through whom God can bless everybody else. Abraham is just a vessel. God doesn't choose people just so they feel good about themselves or secure in their standing with God or whatever else. God chooses people to be used to bless other people. Elected, predestined, chosen-whatever words people use for this reality, the point is never the person elected or chosen or predestined. The point is that person serving others, making their lives better...
"So what is a group of people living this way called? That's the church. The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it's about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart. This is especially true in the world we live in where so many people are hostile to the church, many for good reason. We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of the church are ever going to change. This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn't help. It makes it worse. It isn't the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in the world. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be."
This is a small bit in a much larger context, and might even, as a result of including it here sans context, be misunderstood. But the point he is getting at is so true, isn't it? We protest abortion, the "homosexual agenda," the breakdown of family values (a term I loathe and is such a ridiculously misconstrued and contrived idea as it is used in modern day vernacular), paying too much in taxes to a "godless government," the liberal media, blah, blah, blah...But we don't take seriously God's commands to love the poor, the sick, the foreigner (with our giving not only of our money, but of our time and our touch), take good care of His creation, and to be an advocate for those most hurting in our society and in our world. Anyway, a great book for anyone...whether you think much of the church or not. And especially for anyone who wants to take a look at Jesus apart from his forced partnership with conservative America. That is all. Try the veal.
I include the following in hopes that someone will actually have thoughts, reviews, questions, whatever about these books. Some other books I'm into or am getting ready to dig into:
Those which are coming soon:
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (This one is great but may take me two years to get through!)
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South, by Philip Jenkins
The Audacity of Hope, by Barak Obama (as my conservative friends and family cringe....)
The Peaceable Kingdom, by Stanley Haurwas
Those which I am currently in:
Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott (This is a great book and of a very different sort when you are talking about someone's unique journey to faith in Christ...In other words, Lamott came to Christ kicking and screaming...and still does some of that. She is very funny and very vulnerable about her life in this book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
The Propehtic Imagination, by Walter Brueggemann (Just started....Will let you know how it is...So far, I like very much. A little academic in how he writes, but if you can get into that, it seems to be an excellent read.)
Near the end of the book, Bell makes a great point about who we are as the Church and who we should be:
"I am learning that the church is at its best when it gives itself away. And this is because blessing is always instrumental. Let me explain. In Genesis 12, God tells a man named Abram that he's going to bless him, and through him, he is going to bless the whole world. This is the birth of the Jewish people, whom God wants to use to reach everybody. This blessing is instrumental in nature. God wants to use Abraham, to flow through him, to have him be the conduit through whom God can bless everybody else. Abraham is just a vessel. God doesn't choose people just so they feel good about themselves or secure in their standing with God or whatever else. God chooses people to be used to bless other people. Elected, predestined, chosen-whatever words people use for this reality, the point is never the person elected or chosen or predestined. The point is that person serving others, making their lives better...
"So what is a group of people living this way called? That's the church. The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it's about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart. This is especially true in the world we live in where so many people are hostile to the church, many for good reason. We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of the church are ever going to change. This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn't help. It makes it worse. It isn't the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in the world. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be."
This is a small bit in a much larger context, and might even, as a result of including it here sans context, be misunderstood. But the point he is getting at is so true, isn't it? We protest abortion, the "homosexual agenda," the breakdown of family values (a term I loathe and is such a ridiculously misconstrued and contrived idea as it is used in modern day vernacular), paying too much in taxes to a "godless government," the liberal media, blah, blah, blah...But we don't take seriously God's commands to love the poor, the sick, the foreigner (with our giving not only of our money, but of our time and our touch), take good care of His creation, and to be an advocate for those most hurting in our society and in our world. Anyway, a great book for anyone...whether you think much of the church or not. And especially for anyone who wants to take a look at Jesus apart from his forced partnership with conservative America. That is all. Try the veal.
I include the following in hopes that someone will actually have thoughts, reviews, questions, whatever about these books. Some other books I'm into or am getting ready to dig into:
Those which are coming soon:
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (This one is great but may take me two years to get through!)
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South, by Philip Jenkins
The Audacity of Hope, by Barak Obama (as my conservative friends and family cringe....)
The Peaceable Kingdom, by Stanley Haurwas
Those which I am currently in:
Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott (This is a great book and of a very different sort when you are talking about someone's unique journey to faith in Christ...In other words, Lamott came to Christ kicking and screaming...and still does some of that. She is very funny and very vulnerable about her life in this book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
The Propehtic Imagination, by Walter Brueggemann (Just started....Will let you know how it is...So far, I like very much. A little academic in how he writes, but if you can get into that, it seems to be an excellent read.)
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