Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a seven-part series of columns from The Post sports staff reflecting on moments in their Ohio sports coverage that resulted in a lasting memory beyond a simple story.
As the Bobcat faithful poured onto The Convo floor on a frigid Saturday in late February, an onlooker would have thought that the Ohio basketball team had just defeated the No. 1 team in the nation.
No, the Bobcats did not pull the unthinkable.
But they came quite close with their thrilling comeback victory over George Mason in the team’s Bracketbuster game.
True, the game had little value on the overall season of the Bobcats, with their at-large hopes as slim as Bubba Walther’s waistline. But it was the overall essence of the game that made the victory that much sweeter.
With Ohio having such a remote location in Athens, Ohio, ESPN is not exactly clamoring to come televise games. Heck, even when Fox Sports Ohio broadcasts games here it is considered a big deal.
So when ESPN2 announced that it would televise the Bobcats’ game against Cinderella darling George Mason, I knew it would be something special.
Granted, George Mason is not Georgetown, Georgia or even George Washington. But the Patriots had made a Final Four run two years prior and of all the potential opponents the Bobcats could have played, I wanted nothing more than to cover a game against a team that had shocked the nation in 2006.
As game time approached, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous for Ohio. As it has been discussed many a time, we are supposed to be unbiased college journalists and never even hint at a smile when the team that we are covering has won.
But that Saturday was about more than just a basketball game that would not count in the Mid-American Conference standings. It was about showcasing my school to the nation.
Similar to the Pittsburgh football game televised on ESPN2 five years ago, everyone with cable from Los Angeles to New Haven, Maine could see what Ohio University was all about.
With the rare chance to have my school showcased on a national level, I could not help but think about the previous times this had occurred and cringe.
Last season against New Mexico State on ESPN2, the Bobcats found a way to let a 19-point lead slip away from them in classic Ohio fashion for a bitter loss.
Once again this season, the team was on the Deuce against future national champion Kansas and lost in humiliating fashion 88-51. Granted it was against a future national champion, but the way Ohio played would even make Rufus turn a deep shade of scarlet.
As the game began and the Bobcats came out sluggish in a 17-point hole, I could not help but consider leaving the Ohio network on Facebook.
That was until Walther took over.
I don’t know what was said in the locker room at halftime of that, but it appeared the Bobcats were tired of laying eggs on national television.
With Walther making just about every 3-pointer launched toward the basket, a deep deficit quickly turned into a large lead.
With the crowd volume reaching new decibels, even Leon Williams got in on the action, nailing a turnaround 3-pointer as time expired on the shot clock as part of a 50-25 pounding of the Patriots in the second half, in a 69-57 victory.
The embarrassment was avoided, and the entire nation could see a depiction of my school that wasn’t about athlete arrests, gambling, illegal downloading or unbalanced budgets.
For once, I was actually proud to be a Bobcat.
— Steve Gartner is a sophomore journalism major and former Post men’s basketball writer. Send him an e-mail at sg503405@ohiou.edu
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