So Long, Farewell

I sit here still in utter disbelief. My coach is not the coach anymore. I knew this day would come, but I thought that was still off in the distance, after another national title and a few more wins over that school up north.

I am hurting for Coach Tressel and his family. I am hurting for the players (expect for a certain 5) that have lost their coach.

I am hurting for the alumni like myself who began their college years at Ohio State with Jim Tressel at the helm. I am hurting for the fans like myself who, although we questioned him at times, loved him.

Someone posted on Twitter yesterday that they were glad the violations involved tattoos because those individuals have permanent reminders of what they did to contribute to Coach Tressel losing his job.

Yesterday, like many times in his life before, and most assuredly after Ohio State, Jim Tressel chose integrity and loyalty over letting someone else take the fall. He could have hung those players out to dry, but he didn't. He could have went to the NCAA before he went to Gene Smith and Gordon Gee, but he didn't. In the coming months, we will see who else falls victim to the media lead lynch mob....I wouldn't be surprised if Gene Smith is next.

For that I wouldn't be sad. I have never liked Gene Smith or the way he has carried himself representing Ohio State. Maybe I am stuck in the Andy Geiger era, still thanking him for bringing such a man to Ohio State Football. Of maybe it was the time as a student that I sat in front of him at women's basketball game, not in a luxury box, but in the same seats as everyone else.

The last line in Jim Tressel's resignation letter should be all I need to post, he writes...."We know that God has a plan for us and we will be fine. We will be Buckeyes forever."

Someday, like Woody, Jim Tressel will be dotting the 'I' in Script Ohio to nothing but thunderous applause and cheering. I hope that I am there that day, to watch one of the greatest men to walk the sidelines join in one of the greatest traditions in not only college, but Ohio State athletics.

Thank you Coach Tressel for making my college experience and my first 5 years as an alumni of The Ohio State University an journey I will never forget. You are a wonderful person who still holds values above the rest.