Ok, so I've finally stopped bouncing around the house and can sit down to write about the amazing day that  was January 1, 2010.

Smarter and better scribes than I have already discussed the ins and outs- so this will be more of a "fan's experience". You know, give you some insight into what was happening while I was trying to text into the live chat. Feel free to totally disregard- this will probably sound a lot like those Christmas card letters you've been avoiding.

Those of you who've been around since before the big switcheroo remember that I get to be not only the "random" member of tBBC team, but also the West Coast correspondent. As such, I've heard nothing but "slow-hio" cracks since the U$C game (in spite of how their season ended- how were the Emerald Nuts?). The media out here is understandably Pac 10 biased- unreasonably so, if you ask me.

On top of that, I lived in Seattle and have a lot of in-laws in Oregon. So the comments that we've seen here I've been getting in emails, texts, phone calls, etc. since the "Civil War" game.

But yesterday was sweeter because of it. And, given what I'd hoped for, it was one of the best days of my life.

I can't believe I forgot to include this in the original post- it was playing right before the Buckeyes came onto the field:

Nice foreshadowing, huh?

Growing up in west-central Ohio (Champaign County, represent!), from an early age I dreamed of making it to Pasadena one day.  Granted, like most kids playing high school football, I was hoping to do so as a part of the Buckeyes; it was painfully obvious early on that this was just a pipe dream. However the hope was still there- Some day, Ohio State, Rose Bowl.

As a matter of fact, my mom called my wife yesterday to talk about this- it was emotional for her that I was getting to live out my dream. We are looking into upping her medication, but still...

We decided not to drive (LA parking inhales), and were dropped off by my friend's wife. On the way into the stadium, we could see the tailgates all throughout the golf course that surrounds the Rose Bowl. Lots of big tents for alumni and VIP parties; I was more interested in getting to my seat and soaking up the sights. During our walk, we had a chance to talk with Dan Herron's parents, welcoming them to So Cal and wishing them luck for a big game for Boom. We were able to catch the cheerleader's and band's entrance into the stadium and after looking at some of the overpriced trinkets, we headed for the stadium.

I was lucky enough to get tickets from a friend with connections on the Tournament of Roses Parade. They weren't the greatest seats I'd seen for sale, but I was on the Ohio State sideline, in that border section between them and the Duck fans.  Our section was primarily Buckeye fans, but there were a good number of others- on top of the Ducks, there were USC, Virgina Tech, South Carolina folks who were there because of the legacy of the game. The Oregon fans, as I mentioned earlier in comments on Jeff's post, were pretty easily dividable by age- over 25 or so fans were great to talk to, loved their team, were excited about the game; The 17-25 crowd was obnoxious and seemed to expect a blowout. I'm sure there were more than a few Buckeye fans who fit that same characterization.

I'm actually watching the game on DVR while typing this... Shugarts just jumped offsides. Frick.

The pre-game rituals and traditions have always fascinated me. What fans, coaches, players do before a big moment says a lot about them.So watching the Oregon kickers and receivers play games with each other before warming up; seeing Tressel and some of the other coaches talking with dignitaries and families before the game helps put perspective into this event. These are people, not imaginary men who live in our televisions.

Oh, and I was wrong. Nike/Oregon gave all the fans in the endzone those stupid yellow shaker/pom-pom things. The people who had the thundersticks got them from one of the tailgate parties. They were still obnoxious.

Several years ago, I got to see the UW game when the Buckeyes were in Seattle. I missed pre-game, though, and was really impressed to see the full team warm up, including "The Hive". Even in a stadium that was still 50% empty (did I mention LA traffic and tons of tailgates?) the energy when the huddle broke was palpatable- even though we were at the other end of the stadium.

How can you describe "Script Ohio" for people who haven't seen it? A couple of the "under 25" crowd behind me said "So what? They spell their name... it's only got four letters".  As it unfolded, I distinctly heard an "Oh. Now I get it..." I'm sure you could google around and find the names of the sousaphone players who got to dot the i before the game; what a great moment for these seniors.

Homan just intercepted Masoli on the DVR. We were sitting four seats away from part of his family; I think they spilled beer on everyone around them when he made that play.

While on the topic of the band- no disrespect to the students who are part of the Oregon team, but they were outclassed musically, in their on the field performance, and particularly with their attire. Not much you can do with those colors, I guess.

As the game developed, one of the things that I noticed was how loud Oregon fans were. The "O face" thing they do can really over power a stadium; although it may also just be where I was sitting. The Buckeye fans came alive in the second half though.

We were able to get "four corners" of O! H! I! O! going, although it was really endzone (student section), north sideline, south sideline, and small quarter of folks who got stuck on the Duck side for some reason. Must be some Oregon folks who needed Christmas money. It was great, but I've heard better.

Even from the outset, the non-OSU fans around me were stunned by Ohio State's defense. They were, as you know, flying to the ball and for the most part stifling the Oregon offense.  Even among the Duck fans, perceptions were mixed regarding the decision to let Blount play in the game. No one complained when he scored, but you heard a lot of second guessing when he fumbled through the end zone.

I was frustrated (as I'm sure everyone around me knew) with our inability to have effective coverage for our kickoff teams. Especially given that special teams are a hallmark of Tresselball; the fact that we won in spite of Oregon starting at the 42 yard line is astounding.

This is probably not news to anyone, but Pryor is deceptively fast. The only thing that I can think of to compare him to is Eric Dickerson- effortless stride, eating up huge chunks of yards and just running away from people.

Ballard's catch was amazing, and right in front of us. Holy crap, why didn't the Buckeyes do more "jump balls" for him in the red zone instead of playing for field goals?

Alpenglow over the Rose Bowl

As the day turned into night, it was becoming obvious that the Buckeyes were dominating the game. Oregon fans were becoming more and more frustrated, and our section was screaming for the clock to keep rolling. As someone who's still in therapy to recover from the Cooper era, though, I wasn't satisfied until the last seconds ticked down. Even after Oregon missed the field goal and Ohio State got the ball back, it wasn't until all of the Duck fans started heading for the exits that I started to feel that it was time to savor and celebrate.

Hearing "Carmen Ohio" echo across the San Gabriel mountains is an amazing experience. And Tressel's ability to honor the moment even though John Saunders wanted to discuss losses to USC and Purdue or look ahead to next year confirms my trust in him as coach.

After the game, there wasn't much in the way of "chippy-ness"; most Ohio State fans were enjoying the win, and most Oregon fans were mourning in silence. There was some discussion about "well, we only graduate three people..." from Duck fans; Buckeyes were heading to Colorado Street to get their party on.

The friend that I went with was also at the Florida game in Tempe: we've decided, though, that we're headed back there next year since we're undefeated attending bowl games.

So, if you've stuck with it this long (hi, dad), thanks. I wish I had more to give you, but the emotions and spectacle of it all were a bit overwhelming.

For Christmas, the wife got one of those cute little portable video cameras that I took with me to the game. So, here you go- no fancy nu-metal music, and probably shouldn't have recorded all of Script Ohio. But it's something I wanted to do to so my kids would have something to watch and dream about.

Although, I've got a feeling it's not going to be another thirteen years before we're back.