Terrific Tenacity

Today I watched the Ohio State / Wisconsin grudge-match. Number one (Ohio State in the Coaches poll) playing number one (Wisconsin in the media poll), for the Big Ten title. It was a great game. Two ruggedly tenacious teams fought for everything they got. It had the felling of a Discovery Channel death-match between a snake and a mongoose.

While I finished shoveling this evening, the game was still rolling through my mind. For my money, it was a great game because it was an intensely physical defensive battle. While Ohio State and Wisconsin literally kicked-the-crap out of each other, the game wasn’t chippy. Nor did I notice any overt trash-talking or me-first grandstanding.

I guess the old school style of the game shouldn’t have surprised me. Thad Matta and Bo Ryan are no non-sense coaches that preach fundamentals. Greg Oden and Alando Tucker are both hard working humble stars who let their talent talk, instead of their mouths.

It was refreshing to watch two classy teams square-off for the right to be number 1. The game wetted my appetite for March Madness. I look forward to the inevitable drubbing of a more talented ACC or SEC team by a gutsy hard working Big Ten squad.

I wondered what others were saying about the game. So I checked a couple of sites and stumbled across Gregg Doyel’s article “Who’s No. 1? Hopefully, neither team in Columbus.” Like an uneducated loud-mouthed critic, he bitches about the low scoring nature of the game and takes cheap personal attacks at well-meaning collegiate athletes. He gives a voice to the worst parts of American fandom, he makes bombastic statements that lack any shred of intellectual insight. But I guess he has a right to his opinion.

I’ll admit that from time to time I get caught up in the excitement of the Phoenix Suns’ or Dallas Mavericks’ brand of run-and-gun basketball. But I equally appreciate the tension of a good defensive struggle between two evenly matched teams. Unfortunately, in America today, I’m in the minority. It seems most American fans increasingly want flashy, boastful style over gritty, humble substance.

I feel sorry for any viewers who turned off the low-scoring Badger - Buckeye battle… they missed one hell of a game.