(Writer's Note: This column was originally intended to be published featuring foul and abrasive language. However, due to middling and unfortunate circumstances, one word, and variations of said word, has been deemed inappropriate. So as to intimate the meaning of the column and the feelings behind it, the word has not been changed, but rather removed to protect the innocent-or spineless, depending on your interpretation.)
The Ohio ----ing Bobcats.
The moment Leon Williams' tip-in found the bottom of the net, I suddenly found within me a deep distaste for that school. Well maybe not the moment after, but some time after I stood frozen in my spot on the arena floor, while hundreds of green and white-clad student fans rushed the court in Cleveland two years ago, I developed a hatred for them. No, beyond a hatred - I loathe Ohio.
Of all the thoughts that passed through my mind as I sat slumped down against a wall outside of the arena, the most prevalent one was a resounding one.
---- Ohio.
How dare these upstart freshmen ruin our year, I thought. Turner Battle, Mark Bortz, Danny Gilbert and Jason Bird had worked so hard for four years for the moment that Williams and fellow freshman standout Jeremy Fears had with their student body.
So many thoughts raced through my head. If only Yassin Idbihi had hit that corner three, Williams never would have had the chance to tip that in. Or maybe if Turner or Calvin Cage would have taken it, it might have gone in.
But then, it shouldn't have come down to that. Turner and company were up 19 at halftime and the transplanted Sea of Blue was absolutely rocking. It was our house and that was our game. Period.
If only they could have protected the 19 point lead! 19 points! 20 minutes to keep Ohio from overcoming a 19 point deficit. But even then, why couldn't two near-seven-footers box out one man? Just put your bodies in front of him! Keep him away from the damn ball!
But unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. Even though they came up short, the team gave me a front row seat to one of the most memorable seasons of my entire life. For that, I couldn't be mad.
All I could do now was get on the bus home, and wait. Wait for the night that Buffalo would get Ohio back.
There was a resounding silence on the bus ride back to Buffalo that night. I wondered whether it was because of anger or depression that the bus-full of Mighty Maniacs stayed quiet on that awful, awful night.
Ten months later, the teams met for the first time since the Mid-American Conference Championship game. Something was different about that night. I was there two hours before tip-off, chanting and screaming. The players noticed. It wasn't a championship game, but the game had been circled on the schedule for a long time.
The 19-point beating that Buffalo gave to Ohio was an amazing sight. Holding Leon Williams scoreless while absolutely dominating from start to finish was even better. But the best part was hearing over a thousand students let Ohio, its alumni and its students know exactly what we thought of them.
---- Ohio.
The community backlash was worth it. To get that out, and to hear so many agreeing with me, the pleasure I took from that fell somewhere in between a therapeutic breakthrough and an orgasm.
After I left Alumni Arena that night, I felt relieved, like a huge weight had been removed from my shoulders. Well, except for a chip that just wouldn't seem to go away.
This chip kept reminding me that even though Buffalo had just embarrassed Williams, Fears and Ohio on FSN Ohio, it was only a regular season game. They still had the MAC title that I, and those thousands of students, had deeply coveted. They still went toe-to-toe with Florida in the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and they also beat UB by 13 in their own house a little later in the season.
So where does this leave me heading into Thursday's match-up at Ohio? I'm not really sure. Are they Buffalo's long lost rival school? I doubt it. As much as I'd like to believe they hated us as much as we hate them, Buffalo is just another team on the schedule, as we are to most MAC schools.
Personally, I'll always hate them. I'll never root for a Bobcat and I'll sure as hell never regret what I did and said last January. As far as I'm concerned, Ohio can go ---- themselves.
