Rough Draft for Essay

It's Saturday morning. A 'Hungry Howies' sheet pizza sits on a small coffee table. Five men sit around it in the dim light of my families basement staring at a projector screen and watching college football. Welcome to the 'man cave.' This is no special event. This is the life to which I've been brought up. My father has pounded it in our head, but not on purpose. "You root for Ohio or you go jump off a bridge." Did he say this straightforwardly? No. Did he show it in his actions? Yes.

I am definitely not apart of a small sect. Pure-bread Ohio sports fans are around these parts by the dozens and it's in their demeanor that you recognize them. During College Football season Saturdays are off limits. Weddings are no obstacles either. When my brother was married on a Saturday about a month ago where was I at the end of it all? I was in the lounge huddled around a small television with my father and brother catching the final seconds of a Browns preseason opener.

Our devotion to our teams runs deep. Columbus is the farthest we root. We despise Cincinnati like we despise the Steelers. 'Hang On Sloopy' is going to be my first dance at my wedding--or so I've planned. I have a feeling my wife may not go for that. The day that Ohio State loses it's first game of the season is a day of mourning. I can take you back to when I first felt truly hurt. Ohio State was playing Vince Young and Texas in the second or third game of the season and my family had arranged to put up a projector screen in our backyard to watch the game (This is the kind of devotion that we show to our sports teams). When Ohio State struggled down the stretch and finally ended up losing I shuffled into the house and went to bed. I never wanted to lay eyes on a scoreboard in which my 'team' was on the losing end and when it finally happened I couldn't sleep a wink.

Of course this is all apart of being so highly devoted to a group of teams that, at times, have not had much success. The Cleveland Browns, The Cleveland Indians, The Cleveland Cavaliers; Usually these teams are the source of ridicule and insult--never a compliment. Even with the Cavaliers making the NBA Championship this past season there was plenty of 'haters', but we (northern ohio sports fans) stood strong.

As I've mentioned before, our life was not one chosen, but was one that we received at birth. Many choose to neglect their heritage as a Cleveland and Ohio State fan and to them we say, "Screw You." This life is not an easy one. For fans of places like New England and New York, their life is one of ease. Their teams are perfect and their devotion is never tested. But for Northern Ohio sports fans we've seen it all and yet we choose to persevere. "The Drive", "The Shot"(Michael Jordan), "The Fumble"(Ernest Byers), "The Run" (Vince Young); it's not something most fans would ever have to endure. It was not until recently that we saw Ohio State break it's thirty year drought.

I could elaborate on the hardships that I will face for the remainder of my life as a northern Ohio sports fan, but I shall choose to not bore you. We will have our triumphs, yet we will see the failure up close as well. northern Ohio is due for a Championship of some kind very soon and I will be in my basement, waiting, when it happens.