WE ARE FAMILY
Football coach Jim Tressel learned early in life that Buckeye passion can be a beautiful thing.
My dad was a Buckeye through and through.
Like me, he was a football coach, and that kept him busy in the fall.
But his season ended before Ohio State and Michigan played, so when I was a kid he always made sure we watched that game together.
Dad had grown up as a fan of Ohio State, and he played for the Buckeyes before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Later, even as he was guiding his teams at Baldwin-Wallace, he always had one eye on what Woody Hayes was doing down in Columbus.
The passion Dad showed for Ohio State resonated with me. I can’t say I understood at first, but I realized early on that the Buckeyes were something special, something more than a team. They were a rallying point for the entire state and a unifying factor for fans of every generation.
I became a full-fledged Buckeye fan when I was in junior high school. The teams during those years were among the best in Ohio State history. In 1968 they earned the national championship. I recall picking up the Cleveland Plain Dealer the morning after the Buckeyes won the title by beating Southern California in the Rose Bowl. A photo of quarterback Rex Kern was on the front page. He was holding the Rose Bowl MVP football in one hand and a Bible in the other. That really struck me.
Rex was one of my first sports heroes. I liked what he was about. He was the consummate leader, and it was clear he had the respect of his teammates.
In many ways, I think Rex personifies what a Buckeye should be. He played hard and fair on the field and lived a good life off the field.
That’s something I teach my players, and something I hope our fans have learned. If they’re going to be good Buckeyes, they need to be good sports. Like our players, we want our fans to make things tough on the other team, but in a sportsmanlike way that reflects class and dignity.
As a coach, I have a special responsibility for upholding Ohio State’s great traditions, both on and off the field. Believe me, I think about that every day. I know there’s a huge Buckeye family out there watching, and I don’t want to let that family down.
Generation after generation of people root for the Buckeyes with a passion that has been passed down like a valuable family heirloom.
But unlike an heirloom, this passion is a living thing. It lives in the enthusiasm of the tens of thousands of fans who crowd into Ohio Stadium every football Saturday. It lives in the people throughout the world who are dedicated to this great university. It lived in my father as he cheered his team, his Buckeyes, to victory over Michigan.
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet Ohio State fans from all walks of life. I’m always amazed at the stories they tell of how their family and friends have been drawn together by their love of the Buckeyes.
Truly, it’s all about family—a family I’m privileged to call my own.
Jim Tressel
This essay appeared in the January/February 2006 issue of Ohio State Alumni Magazine. The magazine is a benefit of membership in the Alumni Association. Learn more about the benefits of membership and how you can make Ohio State stronger at membership services, or call 1-800-762-JOIN.
