O-H...OH-NO

The word upset can be quite decieving.

Last night, THE University of Flordia upset Ohio State University by the embarrassing score of 41-14. I can tell you the members of GatorNation were not upset. So who was upset? I wasn't. Most of the nation wasn't. Only the poor souls from the great state of Ohio who cherish their Buckeyes were upset. And why wouldn't they be?

This is not intended to be an Ohio State fan bashing (although at times i can't contain myself), but rather its intention is aimed more for the praise of the Flordia Gators and a wag of the finger (Colbert-style) to the sports media.

I had the pleasure (I use this word loosely) of watching this game with a few friends of mine who happen to be of the Ohio State persuasion. I, being from Pennsylvania, could not care less. I, like most other non-Gator or non-Buckeye fans was just looking to watch a good game. It wasn't until about the first 16 seconds and a Ted Ginn, Jr. touchdown that I decided that I wanted the Gators to win. Only because I enjoy the underdog. Who doesn't?

At about the same time Tim Tebow scored to make the score 41-14 in favor of the Gators, one of the female Buckeye fans that I was in the same room with as the game was unfolding commented; "This isn't supposed to happen."

Why not? Why is this not supposed to happen? This completely dumbfounded me. As a side note, the same girl was one of the girls' that tried to convince me that I should be a Buckeye fan because I go to school at the University of Dayton. WHAT?!?

Then it hit me. It wasn't her fault. This wasn't a dumb statement. It was a statement of fact, as far as the sports world was concerned. Yes, we all know that in sports anything can happen, but the media would want you to believe that only one outcome is possible. Conventional wisdom said that the final score was about right, but the teams should have been reversed. Everyone and their mother had OSU to win by 30. In fact, on a local pregame show, an ignorant Buckeye fan - on television - predicted the score to be 112-5 in Ohio State's favor. I kid you not. Yes, a fan should think his or her team will win the game, but come on. That is absurd. What made her think that a team could score 112 points and still give up a safety? Use your head.

The OSU faithful believed it would be a blowout, and it was, but not how they wanted it to be. The media crowned OSU as the best team in the land. For good reason I might add. They had won all their games including two #1 - #2 matchups over Texas on the road, and Michigan in the Shoe. Impressive. I'll be the first to admit, but there is something to be said about letting it get to their heads. The media wanted OSU to win. It was a lock. With Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the likes of Ted Ginn, Jr and a stiffling OSU defense how could they lose? The answer: Easily.

Congrats to Urban Meyer and the Flordia Gators. They wanted it more. They sat back for the past month and listened to everyone explain to the world how there was no way the Gators even stood a chance against the Buckeyes, and they used that as motivation. Troy Smith (Heisman winner) was held to 35 yards of offense. He was sacked more times (5) than the number of completed passes he threw (4). The Buckeyes, as a team, were held to a BCS-Bowl-low 85 yards of total offense. No one in the media predicted that (not even Herbie). All the experts kept commenting on the Flordia and SEC speed they possess on defense, but did they mention that the Gators wanted it so bad that D-linemen were willing to go Jermey Shockey on everyone and make a sack without a helmet? No.

The point is that nothing is supposed to happen in sports. Things can happen. Things can be more likely to happen than others, but there is no way that anyone - especially the media - should talk as if something is SUPPOSED to happen.

As a good man at ESPN says often "That's why they play the games."