Enough Room in the Buckeye State for More than the Buckeyes
There was a Buckeye football game and a Blue Jackets hockey game this Saturday. Which brings us to a question that many fans asked over the summer: Is this town big enough for the both of them?
Can fans find enough room in their hearts...and their busy schedules to root for both programs? Is there enough room on the sports page to satisfy the appetites of both fan bases? Can fans hate Big Blue and love the Blue Jackets with equal passion?
Well, there is at least one man who has found a way to invest himself personally and completely in both teams, and RJ Umberger wouldn't have it any other way.
In fact, while some people wonder how to balance their love of the football Buckeyes and the Blue Jackets, Umberger has fond memories of three teams: the Buckeye pucksters, the CBJ, and the OSU football squad.
After the Flyers traded Umberger to the Jackets, he came to watch OSU hit the gridiron. There in the press box he recounted one of his favorite recollections as a member of the Ohio State hockey team.
It was January 3rd, 2002. RJ had just played in a 4-1 victory over Princeton. The eventual second team All-American had scored that night, and the game was played in front of the Pittsburgh native's family at Mellon arena.
Now playing well in front of loved one's at an NHL barn would have been exciting enough; but after the game, the team deviated from their usual procedure. They did not return home.
Instead, the Scarlet and Gray, had "a nice room set up...and a big screen TV." They watched coach Jim Tressel's team take on the Miami Hurricanes.
"We were all cheering real hard," Umberger says. "We were all real big football fans and we watched them all the time and would get together during the season to watch them."
He remembers Miami running back Willis McGahee leaving with injury. He remembers the overtimes. He remembers Terry Porter throwing the pass interference flag that gave new life to OSU. Most of all, he remembers the result.
"It was such a nailbiter, such a great game, and we came out on top."
He smiled and described it as a night he'll never forget.
So don't you forget to wear Scarlet and Gray and Carry the Flag this season. It can be done. Umberger is proof of that.
posted by Lori @ 3:14 PM
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