A Look Down Memory Lane - OSU vs. PSU

Ever since Penn State joined the Big Ten in the early 90's, this Pennsylvania boy living in Ohio has enjoyed some good ribbing over the annual OSU vs. PSU football rivaly.  From a Penn State perspective, Ohio State and Michigan have replaced the old Penn State/Pitt annual rivalry in terms of game build-up and excitement.  From an Ohio State perspective, Michigan is still the game circled on the calendar for all Buckeye fans, but the Penn State game is not that far behind.

Having said all of this, what a strange pre-game week this has been!  Gone is the ribbing and the good natured trash talking.  The child abuse scandal at Penn State has changed everything.  While the game today will still be filled with a lot of passion and emotion, the real focus for many who watch this game will be on this tragedy and the missed opportunities by a university that has provided itself in following the motto, "Success with Honor." 

Instead of fun jabs being exchanged between me and my congregation this past week, I have received e-mails, facebook messages, and phone calls from wonderful Buckeye fans offering their support and prayers for everyone involved in this child abuse scandal.  All of this has reminded of how our faith supersedes any pride or passion in winning "the big game."  Another case in point is the recent news of the tragic death of the two basketball coaches of the women's team at Oklahoma State University.  There was definitely a cloud over their game with Iowa State last night on ESPN.  I was moved by what the Iowa State announcer told the people in the stadium just before kick-off last night.  He referred to this being "our" loss as well as "their" loss.   College football tends to be an "us" vs. "them" game, whereas faith is about "us."

While this year is void of any good natured trash-talking due to the nature of the events that have transpired leading up to this game, I thought it would be more appropriate to simply make a trip down memory lane of the OSU vs. PSU rivalry as it relates to a Penn State pastor living in Buckeye country.  Here are some of the highlights:

• The year that I was forced to wear an OSU varsity jacket during worship after an OSU win.
• The year that my Associate Pastor (an OSU alum) had to briefly wear a Penn State hat during worship after a PSU win.
• The year when someone in my congregation kidnapped my Nittany Lion stuffed animal from my office and sent me ransom notices each day leading up to the big game.  The words in the ransom notes were newspaper clippings to protect their anonymity!  Eventually, Nittany was returned to me but only after I interrogated each of my staff members.  I even made the maintenance supervisor put his hand on a stack of bibles by the altar in the sanctuary and proclaim his innocence.  I never did find out who the culprit was.
• The year when the people of my new church surprised me when I came into worship one Sunday morning and the chancel railing was decorated with OSU items and many in the congregation wore OSU clothing! 
• The year when I wore my Penn State jersey to the bible study before the big game. (See picture above.)
• The year when an anonymous OSU gift giver from a previous church sent me a Penn State navy blazer (with Penn State written all over the inside lining) as a Christmas present.
• The year I officiated a wedding in the Shoe.  The famous "Buckeye Guy" was in attendance and tears came to his face after the service when he told me that he was so moved by my wedding homily.  He gave me an autographed picture.
• Same wedding but during the rehearsal dinner, the bride and groom gave me a Buckeye necklace that included the letters, "B-E-A-T-P-E-N-N-S-T-A-T-E."
• The year I officiated at another wedding and the rehearsal dinner was held in the President's suite at the Shoe.  The Buckeye alumni band surprised us by interrupting our dinner and paraded through the room playing, "Hang on Sloopy."

This is why I'm not as concerned about the final score of the big game today.  I will always remember this year as the year where our focus should be on much bigger issues like child abuse prevention and doing the right thing.  My Buckeye church members have taught me this with their kind words and support.

I can't believe I'm about to do what I'm about to do, but only for this one year only! 

                                                                  "O - H!"
                                      "I - O!"

Some things are more important than whether you win or lose a football game. 
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