Mailbox: Hating Ohio State football black uniforms; and why can't I watch halftime show?
Brian WhiteHave more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com
On Ohio State football
Hey Brian: I finally agree with Lebron James on something. The Ohio State black uniforms are sick. Oh wait, I thought he said, "make me sick." Why OSU continues to mothball one of the most iconic looks in all of sports for big games is alternately frustrating and maddening. Do the "kids" really like them all that much? If they're so great, then why not just make the switch and wear them all the time? Because they are not so great. It's all really about the Nike money.
Also, I'm with Kirk Herbstreit on the whole Blackout thing. Asking 105,000 people to wear black, at a night game, brings to mind Forrest Gump ("Stupid is as stupid does"). It may look cool in person but on TV not so much, as parts of the stadium looked empty. Hopefully Gene Smith and whoever was involved in the decision watches a replay of the game and then thinks of something else to try and hype a game. (Red Alert? Red Skies at Night? Red Dawn .... at Night?)
Tony Federer, Powell
To Tony: I like the change of pace the Blackout brings, but I don't like how difficult it is to read the numbers on those uniforms. Seems like tweaks need to be made.
To the editor: I can tell you why I don't "scream like crazy." Because I cannot attend the games in person, I can't afford the tickets and due to age I am not able to attend the games because of having to walk so far from the parking lot to get to the stadium. However, I never miss watching the games, unless they are on a channel I don't have. Even then I try to go somewhere to watch the game.
My real reason for complaint is that all of us who can't attend the games but support them 100% are denied seeing the halftime show. In its place, we "get" to listen to two or three guys tell us what we just saw. Why? We are not stupid. We know what we saw, and they yapped all the way through the game in the first place.
Of course, most of us do not listen to them anyway, but it would be nice if those of us who cannot attend the games at least be rewarded by letting us see the halftime show. After all, we are loyal supporters but are disregarded and snubbed when it comes to the halftime show.
OSU doesn't care about the fans. All they care about is money, yet they can afford to pay the coaches millions of dollars! I'm screaming, all right, but not for the reason you are looking for!
G Mitchell
To G: I can't control what the networks, do, but I can tell you that we put a video of the halftime show on Dispatch.com each Saturday. Here's last week's, for example.
To the editor: Our glorious Buckeyes give up their bodies every Saturday for our entertainment and in search of the holy grail of the national championship. A select few get NIL funds and go on the play in the NFL, but the vast majority will wind up with hurt knees and backs, mental health issues and other significant medical maladies. It is time Ryan Day becomes a true leader on and off the field and force OSU to set aside some ticket sales and TV revenue to reward all players a guaranteed after-graduation Buckeye pension fund based on length of service. That way, the golden Buckeye goose can share her treasures with every Buckeye. It is only fair to reward everyone in the Buckeye family, not just the brightest stars.
Michael Oser, Columbus
To Michael: If they do that, they should pay every athlete at the school, not just football players. That would be a pretty high cost that at some point would fall back onto the consumer, I believe.
On the Guardians
To Brian: Somewhere in a mascot retirement home, perhaps on the very shores of Lake Erie, Chief Wahoo is smiling. The lowly Cleveland Guardians, brushed aside by the so-called experts in spring training, are the newly crowned champions of the American League Central Division. Callow youth, many still wet behind their ears, laying a hurt on their elders, applying a great deal of timber to leathery spheres, as their opponents stand afield in helpless bewilderment. On to the postseason! Beware, Yankees! Beware, sign-stealing Astros! The politically correct Guardians are on the warpath, (perhaps not the best choice of words there), and a World Series championship awaits the Cleveland Boys of Summer 2022.
Thad Woodman, Westerville
Dear Brian: It was with pure pride and joy that I read Michael Arace’s column about the young Cleveland Guardians' rise as contenders in Major League Baseball’s playoffs after clinching the American League Central Division title. I did note, however, a distinct change in this columnist’s tone from previous pieces that he wrote on the subject of the Guardians baseball operations and player payrolls. In previous columns he bemoaned and criticized ownership’s spending and called the financial “restraints” put on Cleveland baseball operations a joke. In this latest piece, ownership is now described as merely being thrifty. In an age of out-of-control nine-digit contracts (which, by the way, almost never pan out for the club paying for them – think LA’s Mike Trout, for example), I think the Guardians' approach to drafting, player development and very smart trades should be celebrated.
So how do you sell to fans one of the lowest payrolls in the league, our columnist once asked. I’ll tell you how – you win. You win with players who buy into a team concept and who play sound fundamental baseball in a small professional baseball market city. All of this, by the way, has nothing to do with the name change or karma. It’s simply what has worked in Cleveland for many years, and for this fan something to marvel at and take great pride in.
Matthew McGuire, Columbus
To Thad, Matthew: The Guardians are a great story and have built a very likable team. And the fact that they are built with a bunch of recent Clippers only makes it better around here.
On Crew 2
To the editor: I would highly recommend going to Historic Crew Stadium to see Crew 2. $20 tickets. And the grandkids loved high-fiving the players after their 4-1 victory when they walked around the field.
Brent DeWees
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