Northwestern versus Ohio State

This weekend, the big ESPN college football game of the week is Northwestern versus Ohio State in Evanston.  This is the first time since 1995 NU has been featured in the big ESPN game of the week.  Both NU and the Buckeyes are ranked in the top 20.  The Wildcats beat OSU in 2004, the only win since 1964.  Usually the Cats lost by a margin of 40 points or so.

This upcoming game brings back some visceral emotions for me as a Northwestern alum.  In 1983, I was a freshman in high school living on Columbus, Ohio. That fall, OSU beat NU 55 to 7, the game a pivotal moment in my life.

My family had moved from Chicago in 1980 and my grandfather grew up in Evanston.  Coming from Chicago with professional sports teams, I didn't understand the hype about the Buckeyes.  I thought the marching band was pretty cool, with the script Ohio.  I came to view the Buckeyes as Columbus' version of professional sports, except the fans were more fanatical.  I did not understand the Buckeye flags, scarlet and gray tailgating vans, and pictures of Woody Hayes on the fireplace mantels.  In middle school, I babysat for a couple every Saturday there was a home game. They would leave at nine in the morning and come back around five, regardless of what time the game started. 

My freshman year of high school was the first time I actually watched an OSU football game.  The Buckeyes were always a strong team, and won most of their games.  Then they crushed the Wildcats.  Humiliated them.  Kicked their butts and ran up the score.  The Buckeye third string scored easy touchdowns while the announcers talked about the strength of Northwestern’s academic programs.  I hadn’t begun to think of where I would go to college, but during that game, I decided I wanted to go to Northwestern.

I didn’t know at that moment why I wanted to go to Northwestern.  Something about that game hit my subconscious.  Maybe I listened to the announcers and their patter about the music, theater, and engineering programs. 

More likely, I viewed Northwestern as the anti-OSU.  Columbus is a nice place to live and I have many friends who attended Ohio State and whose parents were on the faculty.  Nevertheless, I wanted to go to a school where school was the main event, not football.  I didn’t want to go to a college where half of the adults in town wore necklaces made of tree nuts and drank beer like they were twenty years old every weekend.  Lots of colleges have a strong focus on academics over football, probably most.  Perhaps I identified with the underdog, the scrappy little team that tried.  I grew up a Cubs fan, and I knew about long seasons of loss.

The Cats have a chance this weekend.  History does not bode well in their favor, but every game is a new game.  I can’t decide if I want NU to win or not.  Part of me would like to see David stake his claim against Goliath, as watching the underdog win is always great fun.  Beating the Buckeyes after years of loss would be awesome, too.  But the thirteen year old girl in me will still love them if they lose.  After all, that's how I fell in love with Northwestern in the first place.