After more than 4,252 page views, 19 hate e-mails, calls for my transfer, personal attacks, more than 62 comments, a letter to the editor and an entire thread on BobcatAttack.com, I am left with one question. I address this to all the angry mothers, alumni, directors of athletic boosters and presidents of Ohio University alumni associations: Can’t we all just get along?
I received an overwhelming response to my column, “Is this bad? I wish I were a Buckeye.” Being an overzealous Buckeye fan is apparently a point of contention on our campus. I received feedback from countless rabid Bobcats. Even though I managed to appreciate being called a chipmunk, I learned to tolerate the hate e-mail and subsequent threats to my safety.
Like you haven’t.
Well, you probably haven’t received calls for your transfer, but I have. I stand by what I said. I still sometimes wish I were a Buckeye. Why? I wish more current students (and select alumni) were passionate about loving the Bobcats and being outwardly proud of our school. I stand firm in my belief that OSU demands loyalty from its students. It is common knowledge that Buckeyes show love for their school more than most Bobcats. And herein lies my point: most. I wish all Bobcats felt so passionate. Disagree? Just look at our OSU shrines: everything from shower curtains to toothbrushes. Do you own an OU shower curtain? I don’t. Do you list Frank Solich as your religious view on Facebook? I don’t and I have never met anyone who does. Would you rush through a final to see the Bobcats play? Point.
My fellow Buckeye worshipers and I do not really wish we attended OSU. If we wanted to go, we would have applied and moved to Columbus. We don’t hate OU. We picked OU for a reason. We are happy here, but we were just bred to be intense Buckeye fans. I did not realize a sect of Bobcats is so passionate about OU. I love the unrestrained cries of treason and the fund created to send me to OSU. Thanks, but no.
I am proud to be an Ohio Bobcat. I’m proud of the university, my college, the caliber of professors, the professional organizations, etc. Could it use a makeover? Yes. Maybe I’ve experienced the following scenario too often lately. I am annoyed when I tell people I go to OU, they laugh and impolitely utter, “Oh yeah, the party school.” Like I wasn’t getting a quality education. Those people are the ignorant ones, not me. I already know Ohio University is undervalued in The Princeton Review’s world.
Let’s try to build some school spirit that OU is desperately lacking and OSU experiences in abundance. I declare the first casual Friday of every month “Bobcat” day. Let’s wear our OU gear and pretend we bleed green and white, if only for a day. Too big of a step? Throw on your Buckeye necklace to sport dual school pride. It could be fun. An unexpected shift resulted from this column. The sense of pride some Bobcats had once felt but lost has not only resurfaced but has expanded. I, for one, am thrilled. At least it’s a start.
The bottom line is that this is an opinion column. An opinion column based on just that: opinions. As one of my friends said, “How is it that people can't see the wink-wink factor involved?” So what if I have love for both the Buckeyes and the Bobcats? Mothers have love for more than one child. So what if the Buckeyes are the favorite child? Say what you will. I have love for both the Buckeyes and the Bobcats. Can’t we all just get along?
“So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” — Grey’s Anatomy
Emily Smith is a senior marketing major. Send her your comments at es303004@ohiou.edu.
Reader Comments
what I find so strange about these columns is the lack of substance in them. Why would anyone in their fourth year and graduating in a few weeks turn against the school. Obviously loyalty isn't a strong point for you at this time. I only hope if you get a job in corporate america you don't cut off the hand that feeds you. My understanding is this is to be an edgy column. Well, why not show some edge and passion about stopping the brutal war in Iraq and Afghanistan. If after four years of college you can only write about the lack of school spirit. Thought provoking, edgy pieces of journalism don't bring in a personal view of the author. I have to say your past three columns have been pretty ridiculous. Please tell me that this campus does more than think about getting one's mother drunk or longing to be a buckeye. You haven't crossed any real lines of substance you have just gone for the quick gut punch of pissing people off. And if the only quotes you can come up with are from a fictional television show, then I believe it is a blessing you are not a journalist
one last thought. these posting are always going to be out in the public domain. There is no way to get them back. I wish you would have admitted to the errors of your osu ou school spirit because you really blew that one. Going for a shock punch is cheap and too easy. Writing is hard work and I just don't think you take it seriously enough. With this recent column I would have made a big apology at the start and admit that it was filled with too much negativity as the school year is winding down. Since you don't seem to care for OU are you going to bother to go to the graduation?
OU: Top-shelf journalism school, excellent greens and facilities, too many outstanding qualities to list here.
OSU: football team. That's about it. Sure, they have qualities, but the only reason they secure funding is the football team.
Lets see,on 4/24/08 Emily said (to paraphrase):
OSU is great, OU is eh
On 5/08/08 ,after finding out that many OU ains do love the school and, in sometimes not so polite terms letting her know it, Emily said (again to paraphrase):
OSU still great,OU better then I let on the last time
2 weeks is a long time to tell everyone about your epiphany.
To me it sounds more like:
Opps I really put my foot in my mouth,now what do I do.
Sorry, but for me,this is too little,too late
If you find yourself quoting Grey’s Anatomy as a source of wisdom, that tells me all I need to know about your qualifications to opine about, well, anything. Stick with marketing. You've got a bright future.
Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
... let me add that your entire "point", if it can be broken down, can be summarized thusly: You would much rather be a follower than a leader. Fair enough, but it appears my alma mater needs to do better in character training.
It seems like you still don't get it. I grew up and lived in Cincinnati my whole life. I was a die-hard Cincinnati Bearcats fan. I cried when Kenyon Martin broke his fibula in 2000. I chose to attend Ohio University but I still root for UC too. I sport a UC hat around campus at times too. That is where our similarities end. A few years ago I attended the UC/OU game in Cincinnati and proudly sat in the front row with my O Zone shirt and Bobcats hat. I would never dream of rooting for anyone over our beloved Bobcats. I don't see how you can openly root against your classmates and colleagues.
"Would you rush through a final to see the Bobcats play? Point."
- Yes, I have in fact.
Your gross generalization that everyone on campus is a Bobcat hating Buckeye fan is straight up wrong. In your last article you made up the stat that more people wear OSU gear to class than OU gear. Now I did not take a scientific poll but I conducted my own investigation. In a walk from Grover Center to Riverpark Towers I counted upwards of 20 people wearing Ohio clothing, and one person wearing an OSU hat. Sure my sample size is small, but anyone who has spent time around campus would tell you that you are dead wrong on that topic.
You say your goal is to build school spirit, well you must be a pretty terrible marketing major because you are not doing a very good job.
“How is it that people can't see the wink-wink factor involved?”
Because, in writing, it takes a great deal of skill to make the "wink-wink factor" apparent to everyone. It takes absurdity, exaggeration, and a honed comedic voice. Unfortunately, you missed that part.
The first column was a slap in the face to many Bobcats who don't share your opinion. This follow-up should not have been written. Accept the fact that you alienated a great deal of your audience and move on without patronizing them with half-assed apologies and assertions that you're just being edgy.
Emily, school spirit starts with the student. You can't complain about spirit if YOU haven't ever blew through a final to attend a game. Have you been to Peden, do you support OU athletics, do you proudly claim yOUr school when asked or do you say, "I go to Ohio but wish I went to OSU."
As evidenced by your full e-mail box, phone calls etc. there's quite a bit of passion for Ohio. I live in NC and have football season tickets and drive up for a majority of home games each fall. There are many other Bobcats just like me.
The fact you can't get an OU shower curtain doesn't mean we're inferior to Ohio State. It means our undergrad enrollment of roughly 20K doesn't turnout the alumni base their 60K enrollment does. That's just marketing and not a reflection of the quality of a school or its education.
Emily, I'll invite you to come down to tailgreat park this fall. You'll see some of the biggest Bobcat fans around and I guarantee you'll go away with a case of Bobcat Fever (for which there's no known cure).
You and the others choose to do those things to support OSU. How about choosing to support OU instead of being a front runner. I heard about your ramblings all the way down here in South Florida from another OU alumni I met randomly last week. Let me first say that this type of thing was not a huge problem at OU when I was there in the late 90's, but when I returned for homecoming last year I was disgusted at the amount of people decked out in OSU gear. What has changed since I left, OSU football has won alot of games by playing no one. You know what hasn't changed since I left, the percentage of students from cleveland. What I realized while I was there for homecoming, was that most of the people that were dedicating their homecoming to the OSU-Indiana game were from Cleveland, home of the biggest band wagon fans in the world. So it was no suprise to me to read your article and see that you were from cleveland.
That being said, think about the following. In college you commit yourself to a college for 4 years (sometimes longer) and at the end they award you with a degree which in turn makes you a dignitary of that institution for life. So its kind of like being married. Do you pick one woman/man to spend your life with and another to have your children with? So for me OU is much bigger part of my life than anything Im a fan of.
Now what I don't understand, and I ask this question often, is why
someone who has such a love for Ohio State would come to OU. Especially with the way OSU snubs its nose at OU. For someone who grew up an hour away, why would you not go to a
school that is cheaper, easier to complete, and that you have a
preconditioned love for? Sounds like someone found their sports love after they went to college, about the same time OSU won some games.
As for me, I have no regrets when it comes to my college choice, I
bleed green and white. I loved Tennessee as a kid and grew up watching them but my time at OU is what shaped to who I am today. When push comes to shove I will root for OU any day over UT until the day I have made a similar commitment to UT or when UT has given me what OU has.
Let me also add, I don't know if there is any way I could disrespect MY
university more than by rooting against the MEN who put on a uniform and represent it. Think about that when OU is taking the field next year
against Ohio State....
Dear Emily,
Please take a hint, do Ohio University a favor- and LEAVE! You don't deserve your diploma, and we don't need your half-hearted apology.
You can walk around this campus as if you are "too cool for school" but what you probably won't take the time to notice, is that while you are walking around with your nose up in the air towards OU, people will be laughing behind your back knowing that you spent 4 years at this University and didn't get half of the experience that the rest of us have.
So, as I said before, do us a favor and never affiliate yourself with our school again- WE don't need "fans" like you- Ohio State can have you.
Good luck- you'll need it if you plan on surviving life with your disgraceful attitude.
"Being an overzealous Buckeye fan is apparently a point of contention on our campus. " - No being a pompous ass in your column and putting down your own school was the point of contention in your article. I couldn't give two squirts of piss for your love for OSU. You like OSU football; good for you, but where you crossed the line and pissed all these people off is when you degrade OU and made it seem second rate in your opinion to OSU. If you can't realize why people were so upset with your previous article then you must be the most idiotic and inane person I have ever seen write an article for a newspaper.
"An unexpected shift resulted from this column. The sense of pride some Bobcats had once felt but lost has not only resurfaced but has expanded. I, for one, am thrilled. At least it’s a start." - Wrong again. Nice that you take an instance where you put your foot in your mouth and instead of issuing a heart-felt apology you try and put forth this illusion of grandeur, that somehow your insulting and putting down of Ohio University was all a ploy to make people show school spirit. Here's a news flash for you Emily, the people who commented on your article by phone, e-mail, message forums, post online comments; they never lost their OU school spirit. They have always been there at all the sporting events, at all the club sports. They have always represented their school. You didn't expand anything. You didn't start anything, well except for of course my utter disgust for your as a fellow Bobcat, but that is another point entirely and one I am sure you've become well aware of in the past couple of weeks.
In short, you screwed the pooch big time with your steaming pile of crap you call an opinion piece. You got put in your place. You realize you were wrong and how idiotic you look now, but instead of giving a real apology you put yourself out there like you are some great martyr to school spirit. Get over yourself.
The readers' reaction to this writer is beyond ridiculous, She likes OSU football and admires the comraderie it gives them. So what? Regardless of how you feel about sports, there's no reason to stoop to ridiculing this woman and calling her a "chipmunk" because she likes OSU sports. News flash: Most people in Ohio do. My mom went to Miami, and my dad went to Case Western. They are hardcore Ohio State fans.
Get over it. The hysterical reaction to Emily's column only proves that Post readers need to find something more meaningful to do with their time than feel deeply shocked and offended by a humor column.
I transferred here from another university and I can't begin to explain how welcome I feel. Even though I live in Cleveland, this campus feels more like home to me. I can't wait until I get back from summer break or spring quarter rolls around and I'm surrounded by a forest of students and trees. I just learned a few weeks ago that I got into Scripps School of Journalism, and I can't tell you how proud I am to tell everyone I know that not only do I go to the university with the best campus and townspeople, but that I belong to one of the top journalism schools in the country. Even though I started somewhere else, Ohio University will be the school that I call my own. After I leave this school I want to start a journalism scholarship for transfer students like me who have a hard time getting financial aid because they transferred yet put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into their schoolwork. I love OU. Go Bobcats!
This is such a misleading headline. This article isn't about whether or not Buckeyes and Bobcats can get along. Ms. Smith is not a Buckeye, whether she wishes so or not.
HerzogAEH calls what Emily Smith writes a "humor" column.
Humor is defined as "something designed to induce laughter or amusement".
Sorry,but I didn't see anything that resembled "humor" in either of her columns.Just insults and and 1/2 ass apology.
Wow.
I think we all need to step back and collectively take a breather. I love Ohio University and all, but not to the point where I want to denigrate another human being publicly and privately.
tl;dr
Emily, I can totally understand the HEALTHY rivalry between O.U. and O.S.U. as it happens in every state. Yes, Ohio State has a powerful tradition in both sports and academics and is known around the globe...of which O.U. can not compete, which is fine. There will always be those bigger and smaller, and more famous than us. That is life. I am sure that if you had wanted to be at OSU, you could have gone there...your choice.
If readers can't understand the innocent humor in what you wrote, that is up to them. I "got it" that you were joking about marketing items like OSU shower curtains, etc. (I just saw a OSU grill cover in another state quite far from Ohio).
By the way, Nebraska Cornhusker Fans are just as SERIOUS about their school so Ohio State is not unique in their fan base).
SO...Long live the Buckeyes...and Bobcats for that matter! These schools are not the same at all and don't intend to be. So, enjoy your last weeks of college and enjoy your freedom of speech forever and wherever you are. IN MY OPINION, there is plenty of room for journalists that write thought provoking, controversial columns....and watch out for the "Cougars" --ha ! (That article was funny, in my opinion).
Now for me, I am a Cleveland Browns fan...which is a tough job to take on....but I won't quit!
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