Sorry, I tried to submit this one last night, but it wouldn't go through...

What a sweet weekend!

This was by far the most exciting last five days I have had on campus. There is so much to talk about, and you know the big thing about this weekend, so I'm going to start actually from wednesday.
Well, the week's activities began back on sunday the 14th really, but the festivities for the first three days weren't much to talk about, especially since I didn't go to any of them... There was a flag football tournament on sunday, but I never registered, and if I'm not mistaken a full team was required to register. For me, the fun began on wednesday. That night had a scheduled pillow fight over on the South Oval, which is practically across the street from Siebert Hall. The aim was to break the world record for the largest pillow fight, which is held by Duke University. We needed about 1100 or 1200 to do it, but during the day it rained. That cut the turnout way down, probably to about 400. The pillow fight still went on as planned, though, but with many people playing in the mud. I was intelligent and didn't get dirty, especially since I had to head to a math midterm right after, which I won't talk about because I want to forget it already. The fight didn't last long, surprisingly; the aim was for only two minutes. Still, our stunt got on ESPN at no. 6 on the Sportscenter Top 10 for the night. That was sweet. We beat out a Kobe Bryant slam dunk and a Snoop Dogg appearance at USC in the countdown, amongst others.

As per Ohio State tradition (and you do know that we embrace tradition), on thursday night thousands of people were on hand to jump into Mirror Lake. And I was one of those people. You don't even need to ask or think about it... it was cold! It was also only four feet deep, too. Or at least as far as I went with my roommate Robbie and a bunch of his friends. Amusingly, we jumped in twice. The first time we got in and then got out pretty fast... and when I got out, I felt like I was in 60 degree weather. Sadly, no one was able to get pictures of our first trip, so we went in again. One of Robbie's friends got a few shots in, and then we walked along in the lake for a short while. It was adrenaline keeping my legs intact while I was in there. The worst part of it was that I lost a sandal in the lake! Ya, I lost it while landing into the water. The funny thing was that it seemed that everyone was losing footwear! I found two matching sandals scattered around the area, and used those to walk back to the dorm. (Don't worry, Mirror Lake is also very close to the dorm) Hey, I still have a pair of flip-flops now! There were so many other animated things going on at Mirror Lake. Really, there were probably just as many people at the lake who took the plunge as there were who were just there to watch. I saw one guy in the lake lathering himself up with soap. It was a good thing that he was a fat guy, or else he might not have been able to stay in the water for as long as he did. Another group of guys were paddling around in a canoe! I think one of them had viking headgear on too... Some people ventured out towards the fountain in the lake, jumping on it, trying to act like they were king. (The fountain was off, if you're thinking otherwise) I heard also that Troy Smith was down there, but I didn't see him, there were so many people. Many people were playing in the mud again that night, as many ladies and gentlemen engaged in slipping, sliding, and wrestling in the mess. Again, I didn't take part in that, but that's only because I had a bad feeling of the temptations I would have had if I were wrestling around in the mud with some females... especially since there was a lot of female mud wrestling action going on down there! And I kid you not! The festivities didn't end at the lake. Afterwards, many of the participants from my floor of Siebert Hall were having a shower get-together (ya, I am already feeling the homosexual implications you all have in reading that, you sick people!), but we still had our shorts on, thank you very much... We were just trying to warm up and get the mud off of our feet. And for the record, I will forever call Dr. Mahoney a wuss for not jumping in the lake with me... naw, just kidding... since he snapped me some good photos with my digital camera! But for my roommate Alan.........
Also on thursday, before Mirror Lake, was the weekly Block O meeting. It was pretty mild, not too big, even though it was the last meeting before the big game, but we watched the fourth quarter of the 2002 OSU-scUM game for inspiration, and got news on other buckeye sports. Also, I learned that Block O "does not endorse nor acknowledge the tradition of jumping into Mirror Lake". That's weird, especially since the Public Relations director Kyle mentioned something about waiting 45 minutes after you eat... and we had wings there...
Friday was mostly a day of gearing up and getting rested for the game. After class, I went over by the Ohio Union, where people from SBC Yahoo were there to endorse their DSL and phone services. They had a trailer where they set up about a dozen Xbox and Playstation 2 consoles, each with a copy of NCAA Football 2005 (which I also own) ready to be played. Many people chose to play the OSU-scUM game, as I did, but many others picked random teams. Also, there were Dell Laptops set up with the DSL internet hookup, so I took some time to surf the web while I was there, even though I could do the same thing in my own dorm room. Lastly, there were some phones set up with free long distance phone service, but I didn't have anyone far away to call, and I don't think any random person in China waould like a random phone call from me, so I didn't go there.

Hey, I didn't mention that all week we were singing a popular Buckeye tune, We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan. I didn't have to go far to hear that tune somewhere.

We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
'cause we're from O-HI-O!
We're from O-HI-O, O - H!
We're from O-HI-O, I - O!
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
the whole state of Michigan,
We don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan,
'cause we're from O-HI-O!

Everything came to a halt on saturday, except for one big game. THE BIG GAME. I felt privileged to be able to watch this game at home during my first year as a Buckeye. I didn't go to the skull session, nor did I take part in the spirit tunnel. My main concern was being one of the first people through the gate at The Horseshoe. And I was. Mike and I arrived five minutes prior to the gates being open, as per the audioblog I posted at the time. We got the best seats we've had all year on Saturday. When the team crossed the field from the north tunnel to the locker room, us Blockies gave Coach Tressel an O-H, and got his hearty I-O in reply. The countdown of the 50 Greatest Buckeye Football Classics was being shown on the videoboard to pass the time. Later on, Mike Nugent came out to warm up, and he put on another show, again. He nailed one from 60+ yards again thie week. I can't wait to see how high he goes in the NFL draft. He might be harder to replace than Craig Krenzel was. I felt bad for the scUM fans that were in attendance. I don't know why they all came to see their team lose. Especially when their sections are near Block O. We drowned out all of their chants with our own. When game time came near, the festivities began to shout. First, the scUM players took the field, and their band came out to perform their traditional "M" pattern and fight song and alma mater. And again, afterwards, The Best Damn Band In The Land schooled the scUM. It is so amazing to see that band play. It has been more than once that I have seen The Incomparable Script Ohio, but each time I have not failed to get chills to watch that one lucky Sousaphone player dot the i. It is the best college football tradition, period. After that sweet performance, out came the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University, down a path lined with TBDBITL and football alumnae and their families. The line went all the way downfield, from endzone to endzone. The seniors were introduced, with Mike Nugent being announced last, to the biggest cheer of nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge that I have ever heard. We all appreciate him immensely. Watching these players go makes me sad, since another link to the 2002 championship team will be moving on. So much more happened in between all of these pregame events, but the next item up for bid was the kickoff. The Buckeyes recieved the opening kick, and were going in the direction of the south endzone, right into Block O. The first drive, a TD pass from Troy Smith to Anthony Gonzalez. The scUM came right back, and scored twice to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter. But the scUM didn't realize the power of Block O, as the scUM didn't score at all in our endzone in the second quarter, while the Bucks rolled in 13 more points to go up 20-14 at the midway point. Michigan continued to suck as Ted Ginn Jr, MY BOY, hit for another TD punt return, but this time it was ridiculously unbelieveable. If anyone has the game taped, just stare at that one play. I still don't know how he eluded the first defender. Our passing game kept rolling, as did our running game, surprisingly. Another TD pass put us up 34-14 going into the final quarter. The entire stadium (minus the scUM fans) was able to purely enjoy singing Hang On Sloopy while enjoying a 20 point lead. And During the entire game, Block O never shut up. We were loud for 60 minutes. But so were the rest of the 105,456 fans (minus the scUM fans) in attendance. Whenever the scUM fans tried to start anything, Block O took the upper hand. If the scUM fans wanted to start their Go Blue chant, we just got to yelling Let's Go Buckeyes. If the scUM fans tried to use their damn cowbell, we started a Stadium OHIO cheer. In the biggest game of the year, we never faltered. I got really angry when Braylon Edwards scored in Block O's end zone in the final quarter, but I couldn't complain when Nuge put up his 3rd FG of the day to put us up by 16.

And then it was all defense, baby.

No more points were scored, but I can't remember it being any louder in the Shoe than when we stopped Michigan on fourth down of their last possession. It was sealed up. All I had in mind was a postgame trip onto the field. When the clock hit :00, I was one of thousands to rush onto the field in a frenzy. It was such a feeling! First of all, it was a struggle to stay on your feet from all of the pushing and shoving. I ran right into the middle of the pack that I saw, and I found myself face-to-face with none other than Ted Ginn Jr! He was smiling through his facemask and visor. As I patted him on his helmet, I noticed that the Buckeye stickers are bigger than I thought. Two guys ended up lifting Teddy onto their shoulders. Then, I saw Troy Smith doing a TV interview. I'm thinking, how did the camera guy force his way into the crowd? But that wasn't the point. I was there, alongside Troy, telling him, "That was your game, Troy!" as I patted him on the helmet. He was smiling, too, and he was carrying the game ball! I saw the OSU logo on it. Ted and Troy didn't even make it to sing Carmen Ohio with the team since there were fans all around them. Once they got out of the crowd, I got into some camera shots, which I didn't know from what station. Everything then became a social event right on the field. It was a leisurely event at that time. Many people, including myself, were gathering up some turf to take home as a keepsake. Really, I probably came out with one of the smallest samples of turf. Many people were tearing out entire sheets of sod from the ground. I didn't think that was very cool. Some groundskeepers finally came out after some people were trying to tear out the entire "O" from midfield. I called my mom, because I was dying to say, "Ya, I'm on the 40-yard line right now. No, not in the seats, on the line." What a rush it was! The goalposts were guarded by several policemen, though. I also heard later that the goalposts were greased up in case someone really did try to tear it down! I still can't believe the memories of walking over the painted lettering in the endzones, of walking across the field like it was a stroll in the park! I wish I had a football at the time. I would have sprinted all the way downfield and made a dive into the endzone. And seeing a fat guy doing that must be some kind of accomplishment, so you know I'm serious. But what an awesome game!

Wow, it is really late now, and I have school at 10:30... And I haven't even finished the weekend yet! Stay tuned, I'll get finish the story as soon as I can get the time too. Read on, and GO BUCKS!