The truth about football -- and a whole lot more

"Talent will get you seven or eight wins. Discipline gets you to around nine. Leadership is when the magic starts happening."

(Urban Meyer, Ohio State Head Football Coach, speaking to the media today)

KintlaLake's favorite Super Bowl commercials

There's snow in the air

It's about damned time. We'll likely get little more than a dusting today, a far cry from the way last winter began here in central Ohio. Still, it'll amount to the most we've seen so far this season.


Snow or no snow, though, this is a red-letter day in the KintlaLake household -- today marks one year since Scout came home with us. She is, in my opinion, the most perfect dog ever to walk this earth, a great addition to our family.

This afternoon we'll take down our Christmas tree and other holiday decor, probably while keeping tabs on Ohio State and Florida in the Gator Bowl. Win or lose it'll be a bittersweet end to a tumultuous year for my Buckeyes and, thanks to NCAA sanctions, the last time we'll go bowling 'til after the 2013 season.

Bring on the Urban Meyer era -- please.

Tomorrow it's back to work for the missus and me. That simple assertion -- back to work -- brings me more satisfaction than I can put into words. The job continues to be rewarding, too, due in large part to my wife's commitment to making her shop the best in the biz.

She's smart, confident and open to improving the way we do things. Hell, she even takes suggestions from a short-time shipper like me.

The third of January also will feature something else I'm watching closely -- Iowa Republicans will meet in 1,800 precinct caucuses to register their preferences for the party's presidential nominee. I'm no fan of partisan circuses, but I don't envy anyone who must choose a favorite from this year's GOP field.

Our nation desperately needs change, revolutionary change, and this is the best Republicans can offer? It's pathetic.

As for what 2012 holds for KintlaLake Blog, that's not too hard to predict. Commentary on the presidential campaign? Sure. More posts about urban resources, simple tools and sharps? Naturally.

In fact, my impressions of two new folding knives -- a Spyderco Para-Military2 and a Zero Tolerance 0350 -- should appear here in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, and Happy New Year!

Common roots

The way I see it, American sports fans can be divided into two groups: those who think that Bob Knight is a jerk and those who hold him in high regard.

Count me among the latter.

Maybe I like Bob Knight for the same reason that I like Woody Hayes -- that is, I'm practiced at looking past irascible demeanor and forgiving childish outbursts. Or perhaps it's because Knight and I both were born in Massillon, albeit 17 years apart, and we grew up surrounded by the same Heartland culture.

The story of his formative years is familiar to me, as mine would be to him. Less than nine miles of Ohio countryside separates the brick ranch-style house of his childhood and the brick cape where I spent my own. I know well the crackerbox high-school gym where he was a star -- years later I played there, too, once or twice each season.

This morning's edition of The Columbus Dispatch features an article about the coaching icon's loyalty to his hometown of Orrville. Dispatch scribe Todd Jones writes of this rural company town as the source of Knight's unshakable pride and old-school values. It's a great piece, no doubt introducing many readers to another side of the man.

Not me -- Bob Knight and I share the same Heartland roots.

Can't lose

The KintlaLake household has a rooting interest in both of our town's high schools -- we live in the shadow of one and our 16-year-old attends the other. They met on the football field last night, just the fourth time they'd played each other.
All-day rain made for a slow track, sloppy but much better than artificial turf. The sounds of the bands, the crowd and the public-address system traveled through the heavy air to our house, as clear as if we'd been sitting in the bleachers.

Our spawn's school, always the underdog, gave its cross-town rivals all they could handle (and then some) this time, falling by just three points. A touchdown in the final minute was the difference.

Gameday recap

Yesterday's noon kickoff had Mrs. KintlaLake and me arriving on the Ohio State campus around 9am. Once there we strolled north along Neil, crossed Lane and, in a parking lot next to a venerable OSU watering hole, resurrected one of our favorite gameday traditions.

It had been three years since Danger Brothers left Lane Avenue when Hineygate, "the world's largest tailgate party," ended its 26-year run. The band played on, albeit at a tiny outdoor venue over a mile away, but pre-game hasn't been the same since.
But there we were behind the Varsity Club yesterday morning, sipping ice-cold Budweiser at an hour more appropriate to cereal and milk, digging Danger Brothers' wonderfully adolescent shtick. We'd been there less than a minute, I'd guess, when another member of the Beer-for-Breakfast Club approached me, grinning.

"You're here!" he shouted over the music, reaching to grab my hand. "My buds and me wondered if you'd be here -- I knew you would!"

I have no idea who that guy was -- and yeah, the encounter was just a wee bit disturbing -- but the spirit of Hineygate, cultivated over a generation of football Saturdays, has returned to Lane Avenue. It was like a big ol' reunion, familiar faces in a new place.

The missus and I hung around through Danger Brothers' first set so that we could extend a personal "welcome back" before heading over to The 'Shoe for another band and another reunion.
The first game traditionally hosts the annual return of TBDBITL alumni. The sight and sound of nearly a thousand bandsmen -- 225 current members and more than 750 scarlet-shirted alums -- is unforgettable, stirring our souls in ways I won't even try to describe.

As for the game, I'll cut to the chase: Ohio State 42, Akron 0. (Maybe there's a reason they're called "Zips.") The Bucks looked good, not great, and a win is a win.

My wife and I didn't see the whole game, however. We didn't even make it through the first half.

In 49 years of watching OSU play football in Ohio Stadium, I can't recall it ever being as brutally hot as it was yesterday -- upper 90s, heat index well above 110°F, stifling humidity and a smog alert.

An official went down from the heat ten minutes into the game. After the first quarter, fans started bailing down the aisles like they often do when the Buckeyes are up by four touchdowns at the end of the third. We went below shortly before halftime.

The concourse under the stands was jammed, the walls lined with people trying to cool off. Woozy patrons packed first-aid stations, with more standing in long lines awaiting medical help. Ambulances came and went like cabs at Grand Central -- hundreds of fans suffering from heat-related maladies, some reported to be serious, were transported to area hospitals. I'd never seen anything like it.

We chugged water and cuddled cups of ice for a half-hour, but we knew that if we returned to our A-deck seats it wouldn't take long for the relative comfort to broil away. Ultimately we decided to call it a (game)day.

I snapped this photo of Mrs. KintlaLake just before we walked out of the stadium. The sign means to convey that once we left, we wouldn't be permitted back in.

The double entendre, certainly unintentional, suited the occasion.

Overall it was a great day, despite the fact that we ended it utterly gassed. We still are, stumbling through the middle of our long weekend and trying to re-charge.

Nine two eleven

More than two dozen tomatoes, harvested from the garden yesterday morning, finish ripening on stone windowsills in our kitchen. Over in the fridge there's a tub of chunky salsa fresca, made with home-grown tomatoes and hot peppers, along with a bowl of cucumbers-and-onions salad marinating in red-wine vinegar.
Out back, the garden is a rat's nest of ridiculously productive plants and unreachable (but harmless) weeds. Our cuke vines are withering at the base but still setting fruit, about half of it small and stunted. We'll have a modest crop of peas from a second planting. More long green peppers are on the way and, obviously, three tomato plants are giving us more than we can handle.

As I hoped, we'll have a late-season bounty of habanero peppers.

I don't recall ever being this gratified with a backyard garden. As autumn approaches and takes hold I'll clear some of the beds, prepare the soil and plant wintering crops. The cycle never ends.

Recently I did a different kind of "planting" (so to speak) that'll bear fruit after the Labor Day weekend. Although I didn't mention it here, I took a temporary warehouse job a couple of weeks ago, filling in for four days at the shop my wife manages.

To my surprise, I really enjoyed the work. Apparently I proved my worth to the rest of the crew, too, because the corporate office called Mrs. KintlaLake this week and offered me a full-time position.

My first day is Tuesday.

Such a tape-and-boxes proposition requires a proper knife, of course. I rummaged through the blades I own and didn't find what I was looking for, exactly, so (naturally) I had a good excuse to go shopping.
After surfing KnifeWorks for a while, I picked up a Blade-Tech that fills the bill. The Ratel Lite is inexpensive, small, one-handed and equipped with a pocket clip -- perfect. I'll offer my impressions here once I've used it for a week or two.

Between now and the moment I punch the clock on Tuesday, however, I'll reach down and pick up "the longest continuous thread in the fabric of my life" -- Ohio State football.

It's been a rocky off-season, to say the least, an agonizing time for life-long fans of the Buckeyes. Just yesterday, three more players were suspended for the first game.

Tomorrow, the bullshit will end and football will begin.

Life in Buckeye Nation will get back to normal. Traditions cultivated over 122 years will resume. All will be well once again.

Like a storm leaves the air clear and fresh, scandal may have stripped OSU football to its essence. We have a new coach, an interim coach, a young coach. Expectations for this 2011 team are modest. Critics are likely to be uncharacteristically forgiving.

In other words, the pressure in Columbus is as low as it'll ever get.

This is one football season that everyone should be able to enjoy. Mrs. KintlaLake and I will settle into our seats in The 'Shoe tomorrow at noon, intent on doing just that.

Condition: Disappointed

"His integrity was one of the great myths of college football." (Sports Illustrated)

Jim Tressel did the right thing yesterday morning, resigning as Ohio State's head football coach. The news dominated beer-fueled conversations at Memorial Day cookouts throughout Buckeye Nation, no doubt, but Mrs. KintlaLake and I virtually ignored the subject and concentrated on our third straight day of yard work.

We weren't engaged in denial, mind you, simply overwhelmed with disappointment.

Regular readers know well my passion for OSU football -- I've referred to it as "the longest continuous thread in the fabric of my life." Now, ten years into what seemed to be a return to glory, the program is mired in shame.

Things will get worse from here, of course. The NCAA is expected to throw the book at Ohio State, probably involving scholarships and post-season play, maybe more. No matter who takes the Scarlet-and-Gray reins, the process of restoring luster to the Buckeyes will be long and excruciating.

I have a long view, both retrospectively and prospectively. I suspect that after the present dust clears -- which will take many years, to be sure -- Jim Tressel ultimately will be recognized more for his honor than for his failings.

Scoff if you like, but consider that there's a Woody Hayes Drive and a Woody Hayes Athletic Center -- both named for the irascible OSU football coach who was fired after he punched an opposing player. In Columbus, hell, anything is possible.

The monkey's gotta walk now

Ohio State bolted to a 28-7 advantage early in last night's Sugar Bowl. From there they hung on, got lucky and beat Arkansas in a nail-biter, 31-26.

It's the Bucks' first win over an SEC team in ten bowls -- curse over, burden lifted. More important, the victory capped a 12-1 season and ensured a likely top-five ranking when the final polls come out -- but if you read the national media this morning, football doesn't lead the stories.

See, a couple of weeks ago five OSU players were found to have broken NCAA rules by selling memorabilia and getting cut-rate tattoos. All are suspended for the first five games of the 2011 football season, and yet they were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl.

I can't wrap my brain around an athlete parting with a championship ring, an MVP trophy or a gold-pants charm. I'm sentimental that way, I guess -- I mean, I still have every ticket stub from the Bucks' 1968 national-championship season.

Color me scarlet, gray and disappointed.

Then again, awards belong to the players who earned them -- or they should, anyway. The NCAA rulebook bars athletes from profiting from the sale of that kind of stuff.

It's a rule, another dumb NCAA rule, but a rule nonetheless. Like it or not, punishment is in order -- and the suspensions should've begun with the bowl game, not eight months from now. So why were those five Buckeyes permitted to play last night?

Because the sport's governing body, the schizophrenic NCAA, said so.

The whole affair gives the media plenty of rocks to throw at the NCAA, certainly. Leading up to the bowl, however, and continuing this morning, sports pundits have castigated Ohio State for not voluntarily holding the offenders out of the game with Arkansas.

That kind of moralizing is, to me, as much of a head-scratcher as the NCAA's rule and ruling. It's like demanding that Jim Tressel throw himself on a grenade -- and insisting that he supply his own grenade.

Fortunately, Coach Tressel let his players -- all of them -- decide what to do. The team voted overwhelmingly in favor of letting the five violators play in the Sugar Bowl, and so they did. When the chips had finished falling last night, here's how they fared:

• Offensive tackle Mike Adams played every series.
• Wide receiver DeVier Posey caught three passes for 70 yards and one touchdown.
• Running back Daniel "Boom" Herron rushed for 87 yards and one touchdown.
• Backup defensive end Solomon Thomas made arguably the game's decisive play, intercepting a pass in the final minute to preserve OSU's victory.
• Quarterback Terrelle Pryor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 115 and was named the game's MVP.

Now that's sweet. I couldn't be happier for those guys.

All five are juniors, eligible to return next season. They say they will, but you never know. If they do, none will see the field 'til October.

Will their stand-ins be able to carry their load? Probably not. We'll answer that question later.

Right now, if you don't mind, Buckeye Nation would like to get back to celebrating a great season and a Sugar Bowl win.

Bonus motivational poster!

You know he's right

"It goes against everything that football is all about. This is football; football's played in bad weather."

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country. I think we've become wusses.

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would've called off the game? People would've been marching down to the stadium, they would've walked -- and they would've been doing calculus on the way down."

"I think it's part of the wussification of America. We've lost a lot of our pioneer spirit. We've lost a lot of our independence. We've lost a lot of that ability to think for ourselves and make decisions for ourselves. We gotta get it back."

"As far as the 'public safety' argument goes, it's a little bit like the 'nanny state' again -- telling us what we can't do."

(Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, reacting to the NFL's decision to postpone last Sunday's Vikings-Eagles game until tonight -- because of snow. All you zero-sum right-wingers take note: Gov. Rendell is a Democrat, while NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is a Republican.)

Bob Feller: 1918-2010

Back in my bachelor days, my home office was a veritable shrine to sports. Truth is, all of the memorabilia paid tribute to Ohio State football, with but one exception -- an autographed photo of a reared-back pitcher wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform.

Bob Feller and his blinding fastball burst into Major League Baseball in 1936, skipping the minors entirely. During his 18-year career, all with the Tribe, he recorded 266 wins, 2,581 strikeouts and three no-hitters (including the only no-no ever pitched on Opening Day).

"Rapid Robert" was an eight-time All-Star and in 1962 a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. In 1999 The Sporting News ranked him 36th among its 100 Greatest Baseball Players.

My father gave me the yellowed old image of Feller that once hung on my wall, a prized souvenir of a summer day at old Municipal Stadium. Dad was a big fan, but he spoke to me less often of the player than of the patriot.

On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the U.S. Navy, one day after the Pearl Harbor attacks and the first major-league player to do so. Missing four baseball seasons at the height of his pitching prowess while serving in World War II, Chief Petty Officer Robert William Andrew Feller earned five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars.

Feller returned to the Indians after the war and picked up where he left off. His 1946 season was one for the ages -- 42 starts, 36 complete games, 26 wins, 10 shutouts, 348 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.18. Two years later he'd lead Cleveland to a World Series title.

We're all left to wonder what his numbers might've been had he not interrupted his career to serve his country.

Bob Feller died yesterday at age 92. Over the next few days we'll hear countless remembrances of his feats on the ball diamond, and that's as it should be, but I'll recall the man the way my father did -- as an American patriot.

I don't think that's what she meant

We see this sort of thing from sports fans whenever they feel they've been "wronged" somehow by a player, a coach, an owner. It's the graphic equivalent of the sputtering, red-faced outburst, "You SUCK!"

LeBron James left the North Coast for South Beach in decidedly (or at least arguably) arrogant fashion. Cavs fans can be forgiven for being pissed about that, even for hoping that he fails miserably in Miami.

As often happens, though, the vitriol has gotten way out of hand. To paraphrase Stewart Mandel's observation of another group of fans after they watched their football coach leave for fatter paychecks:

"Don't you see what you've become, Cleveland? You're the psychotic ex-girlfriend."

Last night the Cavaliers hosted the Heat, James' first game against his former team since his departure. Predictably, Cleveland fans behaved like a bunch of spoiled third-graders.

James responded by scoring a season-high 38 points -- that's ten more than the Cavs' entire starting lineup -- despite not playing at all in the fourth quarter.

Star-studded Miami won, 118-90, raising its record to an admittedly disappointing 12-8. LeBron-less Cleveland, however, falls to 7-11.

Whatever happens from here borders on irrelevant. This was a moment, a righteous moment, a winner-take-all game in which hordes of juvenile fans got owned by the best baller in the business.

And by the way, Clevelanders, this is a business. It's not about your bruised feelings -- it's about winning.

Right now the score is LeBron James 1, Psychotic Ex-Girlfriend 0.

Today's crystals

"Republicans love America, they just seem to hate about 50 percent of the people who live in it. Democrats...love this country, they just somehow wish it were a different country."

"It feels to me like the right wants to take us back to a time in America that never really existed, and the left wants us to advance to a Utopian environment where no one can say anything about anybody...where we're all just worried about the fragility of stepping on each other's toes." (Jon Stewart, on last night's edition of Larry King Live)

"It's freaking football. There are going to be big hits. I don't understand how they can do this after one weekend of hitting. And I can't understand how they can suspend us for it. I think it's a bunch of bullshit.

"You know what we should do? We should just put flags on everybody. Let's make it the NFFL -- the National Flag Football League. It's unbelievable." (Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears linebacker, to the Chicago Tribune, reacting to the NFL's announcement that it'll begin suspending players for flagrant hits to the head-and-neck area)

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?"

"You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"

"I'm sorry I didn't bring my Constitution with me. Fortunately senators don't have to memorize the Constitution -- can you remind me of what the [14th and 16th Amendments] are?" (Christine O'Donnell, GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Delaware, during Tuesday's debate with Democratic candidate Chris Coons, reminding us that while she may be entitled to run for office, she's anything but qualified to serve)

Toppled

To the Ohio State Buckeyes football team: That's what it feels like to get your butt kicked.

It didn't matter what plays Tressel & Co. called, the Wisconsin Badgers were stronger, faster, quicker, meaner, better. Despite the Bucks' heartening third-quarter surge -- which made the game interesting if not respectable -- this was Wisconsin's night.

I'd like to say that being #1 was fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long enough to know for sure. Sheesh.

Beat Michigan, anyone?

This dog's day

My #2-ranked Buckeyes stomped Indiana yesterday. (Natch.) Michigan went down to rival Michigan State (for the third year in a row) and South Carolina upset #1 Alabama.

Now that's a good day.

The scribes and coaches who vote in the major polls must feel like they're stuck in a bad dream -- since 2003, OSU has squandered its high rankings and was embarrassed in its last two national-title games.

None of that matters this morning, and figuring out how the hell we'll beat Wisconsin at Camp Randall next Saturday night can wait 'til tomorrow. Right now, here in Buckeye Nation and beyond, what's important is this: We're #1!

* * *
Saturday also brought a few other reasons to smile, decidedly more personal reasons.

One of our neighbors, a kid who played his high-school football across the street, had himself a highlight-reel moment (pictured) in the first quarter of Bucks' 38-10 win over the Hoosiers.

Mrs. KintlaLake's WVU Mountaineers rolled UNLV, 49-10.

I attended OSU-Indiana with our 15-year-old, his first trip to The 'Shoe for something other than a Spring Game. Later I recounted the day's events to my wife, telling her what a great time the spawn and I had together.

"You got to see everything through the eyes of a child," she said, gauging the emotion in my voice.

"No, not exactly," I replied. "For the first time I got to see it through my father's eyes."

So do we, Coach...

The sound of the lights

Our town has two high schools, one of which sits behind a stand of trees across the street. The football stadium, which is hosting its first home game as I type this, is less than a quarter-mile from our house. Naturally, we can hear the crowd, the band and the public address system as if they're in our front yard -- which, essentially, they are.

After tonight's pre-game festivities, we were treated to the PA announcer reading the Preamble to the United States Constitution, followed by the singing of the National Anthem.

That's what I'm talkin' about -- Happy Constitution Day, People!

Where were you on 9/11?

No, not in 2001 -- I'm talking about last Saturday, on the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Ok, I'll go first.

Where I was
As you might expect, on a football Saturday I spent my daylight hours in and around Ohio Stadium for the game with Miami.

Buckeye Nation is the heart of the Heartland and we have our priorities. Before the teams strapped on their helmets and drew first blood, we paid reverent tribute to the occasion.


The Ohio State University Marching Band unfurled a big American flag on the field and played "America." After a moment of silence -- observed by all but the classless and poorly self-policed Miami fans, who wouldn't shut up -- the National Anthem was performed by Columbus' own Rascal Flatts.

It was a stirring rendition and a significant break from tradition. As I said here two-and-a-half years ago, when it comes to the "Star Spangled Banner" I have a problem with performances:

"The national anthem is our national anthem -- it should be joined and sung by The People, not performed for The People. The People should celebrate -- insist on celebrating -- the privilege of honoring our freedom in unison."

I love Rascal Flatts and they did a spectacular job, but let's not make a habit of this, ok?

Toward the end of the first half, the public-address announcer directed our attention to the South end zone and introduced first-responders from throughout Ohio, men and women who serve us every day. Then, before TBDBITL took the field for its halftime show, another group was honored -- FDNY firefighters and paramedics, NYPD officers and other first-responders who bear the physical and emotional scars of Ground Zero.

Last to be introduced: David and Peggy Beamer, parents of the late Todd Beamer. Todd spoke the words, "Let's roll!" on United Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 9/11.

More than 105,000, tears dimming our eyes, roared for our heroes.

Mrs. KintlaLake and I left the stadium at that point, piled into the truck and drove 130 miles northeast for my 35th high-school reunion. It was our second such trip in 24 hours -- we'd joined a smaller group of my classmates on Friday night for a tailgate party.

This wasn't any sort of 9/11 commemoration, certainly, simply a gathering of aging men and women who remember being children together. We reacquainted and reminisced, laughed and cried, poked and prodded and pretended we aren't getting older.


We're the sons and daughters of dirt farmers, steel workers, meat cutters and firefighters, so we didn't reunite in a fancy hotel ballroom for a seven-course gourmet meal. We came together in a picnic pavilion (a big garage, really) to feast on fried chicken, take-out pizza, grocery-store cookies and cheap beer in 12-ounce cans.

Returning to my old stompin' grounds and seeing the faces of childhood friends -- coming home -- was the right thing to do, putting a perfect cap on my September 11th.

Where I wasn't
I didn't travel to Anchorage, Alaska for Sarah Palin's fundraiser featuring her "buddy" Glenn Beck.


Maybe you think it's ok for public figures to exploit 9/11 to line their pockets -- I don't. The only people who deserve less respect than Palin and Beck are the simple-minded groupies who paid a minimum of $73.75 -- that's $3.75 more than a ticket for OSU-Miami, if you're keeping score at home -- and as much as $225 to see the carnival act in-person.

They're the same people who see these clowns as "thought leaders." I have a question, though -- is "thought leader" the same thing as "attention whore"?

Of course not -- the latter is closer to the truth. And after their self-serving Anchorage gig, maybe we should simplify matters and just call Palin and Beck what they are...

Perched

Ohio State's 2010 football season kicked off yesterday against Marshall -- on a Thursday night, of all things, which felt strange. It also was the first time in five years that my wife and I had been in The 'Shoe for a regular-season game and the first time in decades that I'd watched my Buckeyes from the thin air of "C Deck."

Our seats were (and will be for the remaining seven home games) ten rows below the rim of the stadium, roughly 120 to 130 vertical feet above the playing field. The American flag, waving atop the tallest flagpole in Ohio, fluttered at eye level.

Gulp. I mean, airplanes fly at lower altitudes.

Mrs. KintlaLake and I overcame our acrophobia enough to enjoy the annual TBDBITL Alumni reunion and the Bucks' 45-7 drubbing of the boys from Huntington, aided by a C-Deck-only breeze that made the muggy evening tolerable. (The temp at kickoff was 89°F, dropping to 86°F by the time we filed out of the stadium.)

We had a great time and, of course, it was a promising start for the Buckeyes. We'll know more a week from tomorrow, when #2 OSU hosts #13 Miami.


Observations: Security
As we approached Ohio Stadium last night, we noticed that the law-enforcement presence was more intense than we've come to expect. Now it could be, as a retired-LEO friend of mine assured me, that it's been that way since 2001 and we just haven't noticed. Still, I was struck by the veritable iron cordon establishing a 500-yard perimeter around the stadium.

Pedestrians were free to come and go from the area, but vehicles couldn't get close without weaving through "gates" created by parked tactical vehicles and maintenance equipment. At these roll-through checkpoints, SWAT and SRT officers eyed each vehicle as it passed.

I probably wasn't the only fan who came away with the impression, "Damn, this is serious."

I found the tight security neither disconcerting nor particularly comforting, though -- it is what it is. I tip my Block O cap to the pros who choose to pull such thankless duty, and I look forward to seeing them again on the afternoon of Ohio State's game with Miami.

The date: September 11, 2010.