Hello World, One Year Later
One year ago today, a coworker of mine and I started an experiment out of what was then lingering frustrations following the second go-around with the SEC in the BCS title game and my love of web design. The goal: cover the Buckeyes, but not completely suck at it.
True to my prophecy one year ago, this blog still sucks with an unmatched fury.
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Rather than delete it, I think I’ll just add something more substantive to it. This is the start of a hopefully long, but perhaps inevitably fruitless, endeavor to cover the Buckeyes with some kind of… some kind of, umm, hmm… originality. We realize that there are much, much more interesting, original and flat-out better blogs out there that cover the Buckeyes. We, on the other hand, are the law of diminishing returns. This blog will no doubt suck with an unmatched fury, which is why we recommend that this blog be read by no one.
With 3 bloggers — 2 of whom have opted to keep a lower profile around here — using pseudonyms borrowed from philosophical antiquity, Super Punch-Out! and The Simpsons, this blog never stood a chance, did it?
But one year later, things have changed somewhat. Granted, we’re all still frustrated with Ohio State football (but we did get some championship t-shirts at long last!) and, granted and this blog still totally wangs chung, but some other things have changed around here, right?
- When we started this blog, we had no readers other than ourselves: the protagonists of this sad, tangled narrative. Even then, we couldn’t stand the sight of it either. Now, our data suggests we have, at the very least, 4 readers not including ourselves. At least two of those are my parents. The other two may not even exist, and the data might be rife with measurement error. All readers would surely agree, though: that this blog is terrible. Further, they would surely agree that it should not be read by anyone.
- The former layout, if you remember but probably don’t because you don’t read this blog, was hideous. In my defense, that was a quickie layout I threw together in about an hour just to get it online. OHD 2.0, the current layout, is obviously much nicer. It is 100 percent standards compliant, at least it was when I created it. A few posts here and there may have violated that now.
- When we started, I was shocked to see the absolute dearth of Buckeye YouTubes. Seriously, Keith, formerly of Buckeye Commentary and a man who I’m considering suing to get him back to blogging for the better of this country, had a decent collection of stuff online. Jeff, friend of the program at The Buckeye Battle Cry and screen-captured here as a youth (in the #2 jersey) at the 1987 Michigan game, had stuff online as well. Sadly, only Keith had some vintage goodies, and not a lot of it. Buckeye fans had no equivalent to WolverineHistorian, and the current influx of Buckeye fans wouldn’t know Earle Bruce and Brian Baschnagel from Adam’s housecat. That wasn’t okay with me. I’ve started amassing a big collection of Buckeye games and have put them online. YouTube-o-Vision ™, so named for a reason I haven’t conjured yet, is the latest and greatest paradigm-shifting innovation breakthrough business-speak of the Buckeye experience today. Until recently, the Terry Glenn 82yd catch and run against Notre Dame in 1995 had been far and away the most popular, and deservingly so. Now, the most viewed is Eddie George’s 64yd TD run against Illinois in 1995. Keep checking it for updates, since there’s surely more to be uploaded.
- I’m still not sure who reads this blog… and I don’t know why anyone would, but a few posts have caught on like gangbusters on the internets. The most popular has unmistakeably been the Better Know A Buckeye feature on Terrelle Pryor, which netted almost 40,000 (39,130 to be precise) page views by its lonesome. It was even linked to by SI and The Big Lead. The next 4 most popular posts aren’t even close in terms of page views: 2) The Pryor Saga coming to an end? (9932 page views) 3) Big Ten Coaches/Programs as WWF Wrestlers (8506) 4) did Rodriguez just predict victory in Columbus? (3039) 5) Better Know A Buckeye: Michael Brewster (2516). I’m curious to know who’s been reading the WWF Wrestlers one, since that’s the only post that I couldn’t figure out who was linking to it.
- With that in mind, I think the Better Know A Buckeye series is where this blog really took off and earned the single digit audience it has now.
- Along the way, I have been subtly trying to get the attention of Earle Bruce and Brian Baschnagel, because I think both are awesome. I guess I could say that I’d want to get an interview out of either one of them, but nothing too serious. It would basically just be me ooohing and awwing over the fact that I had gotten Earle Bruce and/or Brian Baschnagel’s attention. That said, if I ever get a hold of Earle Bruce, I’m going to try to coax him into doing a feaux-MySpace photo-op that the young girls do, with holding up a sheet of paper, whipping out a peace sign, and smiling for the webcam in a dimly lit space.
- Rather than get the attention of Bruce or Baschnagel, I did get the attention of Nathan William’s mom… and boy did I get it…
- There have been some Photoshops here and there, but I don’t want to take the time to look up all of them. Gabby did the first set of Photoshops until I taught myself some Photoshop techniques. Gabby is responsible for the Photoshops in Big Ten Coaches/Programs as WWF Wrestlers. I’m the one responsible for these two regarding the deification of Tim Tebow. I would say that I’m surprised that those two didn’t get me into more trouble, but then I remind myself that no one reads this blog.
As you can see, the subtle differences aside, this blog hasn’t changed a bit. That is to say: we still suck… and hard. But I do have some ideas I’m pitching around as possible changes to this blog. Feel free to chime in with any improvements you would want to see as well.
- Since I do most of the heavy lifting around here because Gabby and Max have opted to keep a lower profile, I’ve been thinking of incorporating someone else as a co-author. I’m especially interested in someone who can follow the ladies’ hoops team with more of an interest than I can living down here.
- The demise of the M-Zone touched us all, and in its wake was left the Buckstache. Rather than feel any shame for the Buckstache, we’ve decided to embrace it. For Gabby, it’s a regular part of his wardrobe. For me, it’s akin to a rally cap. Further, it’s something that I’m trying to out on anyone and everyone who has come through Ohio State, be it Urban Meyer or Nick Saban. After putting together a good collection of Buckeye games, stemming as far back as the times when Keith Jackson did the player introductions, I’ve also got some good screen caps of some legendary Buckstaches. I’ve thought about putting together a Buckstache Wall of Excellence, or something similar, but I don’t know how well it would go over.
- I have a lot more games in store to upload to YouTube, and plan to do so during the year.
- I will be doing another round of Better Know A Buckeye features shortly as well.
- I’m not sure if WordPress has similar technology to that of SB Nation, but I like the fan blogs that people can do on sites like Black Heart Gold Pants. If WordPress permits, I may do something like that as well.
With that said, there’s no guarantee any of these changes would be improvements on what is otherwise a terrible product. That said, if you happen to be reading this, regale us how OHD has touched you… and whether or not it was good touch or bad touch. How has the poor quality of this blog been injurious to your livelihood and how have you thought about giving us some money? It’ll make you happy, just as the graphic says on the right hand side of the front page.
Thanks Vico. I love you guys, and the BKAB series was fantastic. It’s easily among the best Buckeye-related blog posts/series in the history of blog posts/series.
Vico,
So you’re saying that if the Buckeyes would have won the MNC’s you wouldn’t have created this blog?
A few things this morning. First of all, happy anniversary; one year; who’da thunk?! In terms of thelayout, if you are going to carry the burden, move your name up to headliner position. Who’s going to stop you?
OHD is one of my semi-regular tOSU sites that I swing through, and the read hasn’t been too disturbing. This is my 1st stop on my Buckeye Tour; I finish it off with BBC, 11W and MOTSAG. By the time I finish, the other site have pretty well diluted the impact from what I’ve read here.
Seriously, keep up the good work, especially with the You-Tube thingies that we can watch. The little “Our Honor Defend..” music clip intro to teh videos is a nice touch, as well.
We haven’t broke the internets, so year one is a success.
When can we start referring to ourselves as the defending champions of the blogosphere?
Big fan of the site, as you very well know. I have been sitting on this one for a while and waiting for the right time to bring it up, I read the original post way to late to remark about it but you have now given me a second chance.
As a man who loves a good rendition of bad facial hair, I demand more Buckstaches. I have been one to always support the Buckstache, hell my dad has been sporting a Buckstache for some 30 years now. What does sadden me slightly is that two of the best Buckstaches ever have not been included and must make the hall of fame. The first being the Chris Spielman Buckstache, awesomeness, the second being Archie’s Buckstache and complimentary Buckchops.
Also love the uploaded Buckeye games of yesteryear.
Happy First Birthday. You’ll be ready for potty training before you know it.
I enjoy the site a lot. Thanks for the good stuff.
Ken,
Even though I bought the domain a little before last year’s title game, if the Buckeyes had won that game I absolutely would NOT have started this blog. So much of this blog started as a release for the both of us here, since with that loss to LSU came face validity of the Noble Lie of SEC Speed and the Buckeyes as slow, plodding clubfooted sloths. Worse yet, with it came the litany of coworkers to continue to harass me. They ease up on Gabby, but they give it to me because they know it bothers me.
…and therein lies another point. It’s just amateur athletics and, reduced one step further, young men ages 18 to 22 colliding into each other at full speeds whilst wearing exotic costumes. Yet, the series of losses stung. Try as I might to mitigate how much I put into Buckeye football, I can’t escape that it’s that much a part of who I am… and hence the energy I put into blogging.
So yes, long story short, if the Buckeyes had beaten LSU, I don’t think I would’ve started the blog as there would be no motifs to college football worth exploration. The Florida game would be regarded as a fluke, Ohio State as a national contender to be feared accordingly and the Noble Lie of SEC Speed to be taken with a grain of salt. I think Gabby was interested in starting a blog regardless, but I wouldn’t have put the design together and he doesn’t know squat about HTML.
Oh, and yeah, I probably wouldn’t have started blogging if not for Vic’s web designing. I may have gone the blogspot route but I think I would’ve lost interest quickly.
Congrats guys. I’m a daily reader, grabbing the RSS on my desktop and my phone. Keep up the great work and, please, no lawsuits.
Perhaps one of these days I’ll throw my hat back into the ring.
Vico, Gabby, Max;
Whatever the hell you’re doing, keep it up. Nice job with the coverage, and especially with your, ah, perspective on all things Buckeye.
Big fan and supporter of the site. I would say it is the only blog about The Ohio State University that I read on a regular basis. I have it bookmarked on my home computer and work computer. Much like Kip-I also enjoy anything and everything regarding the Buckstaches-please keep that up. I also really enjoy the old time rendition of the Buckeye Battle Cry at the beginning of the YouTube clips. I have to say that my favorite part of your site is the weekend preview of the games with the running commentary. Keep up the good work. Also-nobody cares about Women’s Basketball.
I read your internets webbloggification with great interest on a regular basis. I bid you congratulations on the maintenance of your self-proclaimed sucking!
Oh, c’mon, you have at least 12 people that subscribe to your RSS feed via Bloglines… and who knows how many more via Google Reader.
Thanks for the regards fellas, I think I can up my speculated readership now to at least a dozen… maybe even two dozen, perhaps?
On women’s basketball: I pull for women’s basketball rather hard because it is the third most advertised college sporting endeavour behind football and men’s basketball. I so desperately want the women’s game to be on the same par with the Volunteers because, well, I want EVERY team we field to be so dominant. I’m kind of like Gene Smith, in that I expect to win at everything. The Ohio State University is the overarching metanarrative that ties together the fabric of our existence. Everyone must know about our peaceful tale… by force. If I could, I’d put together a staff here that could blog about every sport we participate in. Women’s basketball in particular would be a swell title to have in tow because of the effort the athletic department puts in promoting it. Ladies deserve props too.
On the Buckstache: Now that I see there’d be an audience for it, I think I’ll eventually put together that Buckstache collection I’ve gathered. I just need a name for the project. I’m leaning towards the Brian D. Baschnagel Institute for the Buckstache Arts, or something similar. I’ve thought about even giving out an award to a member of the current team titled the Brian D. Baschnagel Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Facial Hair. If I do, it’d probably go to Beanie or Malcolm Jenkins for their introduction of the Buckeye Beard into Buckeye lore.
Either way, Brian Baschnagel is becoming the emblem of the Buckstache when I get around to it.
I really enjoy the perspective, you cheer when it’s appropriate, and hand out verbal ass kickings when the time is right as well.
I also dig the humor.
I love this fuckin’ site.
I have a man crush on you Vico.
Go Bucks!
Hey guys,
I just want to say as an out of state Buckeye (working in Georgia, but from Columbus and an alum of The Ohio State University), I really enjoy your site. The videos bring back great memories, and the Better Know A Buckeye is my favorite part of this blog. Oh, and great job outing Urban Meyer’s stache. That pic should be sent to Gainesville, reprinted and posted everywhere, so it can get him fired and ole Urban can go back to coach his “dream job” at Notre Dame (just so long as he’s away from the SEC). Oh, yes, and for God’s sake, please, someone get rid of Jim Bollman.
one year – wow. good times, noodle salad.
thanks for the all the great work fellas…………you make work less painful………..and for that I am extremely grateful……….keep up the fantastic stuff in ’09 and am already looking forward to the new bkab entries…………..
Thank you for the mention, but I must say that you have indeed succeeded on your trailblazing path and it is impressive.
I have steered many a person towards OHD, and I’m proud to consider you a friend. Please keep up the excellent work.
Happy Anniversary, my friends!
Jeff at The BBC
Oh, and Terry Glenn’s TD catch is the most popular because I watched it 8,000 times just to see Regis Philbin eat his words 10 seconds after they leave his piehole.