Ohio State beat Arkansas, didn’t it?

Well, you’d barely think so to read some of the coverage.  Like this AP story, the focus is on the player suspension.  Just the first sentence:

Ohio State might want to send a thank-you note to the NCAA for helping to end its bowl misery against the SEC.

Yeah, because a simple stupid mistake made two years ago by then freshmen players that involved a tattoo parlor was worth upsetting a multi-million dollar sports franchise.  Not accepting gifts, cars, big screen TVs.  Not peddling drugs, illegal arms, or raping women.  A single, relatively small infraction by young and foolish freshmen back before Barack Obama was president.  And for that, apparently a five game suspension next season just isn’t enough.

But as predictable as the Big Ten losing to the SEC had become, even more predictable has been the sports media’s ability to take any Big Ten victory and ensure that it was only because of any possible reason other than the Big Ten team deserving to win. 

When OSU beat Miami for the National Championship, we were assured it was only due to a bad call.  Yes, the call was controversial, but there were other bad calls that game which hindered OSU.  Not to worry, those were irrelevant.  Or when we beat Texas, we were reminded it was only because Texas had lost two of its start players due to suspension.  When OSU lost to Florida, the fact that its star player was hurt in the first play and out of the game suddenly became irrelevant.

No, for the media that seems to loath any Bit Ten victory in general, and an OSU victory in particular, this will be small potatoes.  It was shady deals with the NCAA, it was because Arkansas was inexperienced, it was a sloppy win by OSU who just got lucky…it was the barometric pressure, the presence of one celled organisms in the artificial turf, the position of Orion in the southern sky, it was anything other than OSU simply deserved to win because this time it was a better team.

This does have an impact of course.  After the National Championship victory, I watched the following year as a team that should have been riding high was dispirited.  Why?  How would anyone feel after accomplsihing what everyone said you couldn’t accomplish, only to be told by the ‘media’ and other pundits that you didn’t deserve it, you still suck. As we are often reminded when it comes to fan treatment of the players, these are just kids.  When a nation of blowhards insist on telling them they are no good no matter how many games they win, expect there to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course I’m one who thinks the bowl games should be dispersed across the country.  It’s possibly not a coincidence that southern teams do so well when every bowl game is essentially a home game in familiar environments and acceptable climates.  Mix it up a little, and then see how things work.  But I won’t hold my breath.  There is a love affair among sports casters for the SEC, and yes, the SEC is good.  But since the current set up, if it doesn’t aid the SEC, it sure doesn’t hinder it, I’m not holding my breath.

Nonetheless, expect more coverage of the above sort.  Arkansas would have won if all those things that happened to make them lose would have been different.  It’s the NCAA’s fault.  The BCS doesn’t work right.  It’s all rigged.  Or, again, Orion was in the wrong part of the sky.  But for OSU fans, we all  know better.  And even if the rest of the country changes the rules to maintain the narrative, we know the best team won.  Congratulations Buckeyes, you earned it.