Saturday, August 13, 2005

should I forgive Mo'?

No, not Moe Hoffman. I've got no problems with him. I'm talking about Maurice Clarette. I bashed him pretty hard on a previous post and have been going back and forth with Woody about the subject.

My stance: He disgraced my university and football team and he deserves no love from OSU fans.

Woody's stance: He was a big reason for Ohio State going 14-0 and winning the National Title, so I should take it easy on the guy.

Really, Woody has some good points and I respect his opinion. It angers me to think about it, but without Maurice Clarette and some of the plays that he pulled out of no where, Ohio State probably would not have won the title. I became a huge Clarette supporter after he ran through two players during the NC State game. Does that mean I should give him some slack? After much thought on the subject, I have come to a resounding NO. I cannot show any love to someone who is given everything and then bites the hand of the delivery guy. All he needed to do was keep his mouth shut and follow the rules for a few years and he would have won at least one Heisman and would have been a first round pick. The bottom line is, even though Maurice Clarette did help the Buckeyes win a title, he almost got them in some deep trouble by running his mouth when he didn't get his way. To me that is unforgivable. OSU could have been stripped of the title and the program could have been seriously hindered. As I respect Woody and his opinion, he is looking at the situation from the outside. As an OSU alum and a former member of the OSU Marching Band (which is tied very closely to the football team) I find it very difficult to look past the negative press caused by Maurice Clarette. Maybe, in years to come, after Maurice fumbles a few balls to help the Browns beat the Broncos in a playoff game, I may be able to like him again. Until then, whenever someone notices the number 13 on my OSU Jersey, I will immediately say that it's for someone other then Mo C. Sorry Woody.

4 comments:

Woody! said...

You got a right to be mad. As long as you understand that he did bring some good to the football team, that's fine. Like you said, he dragged down OSU and he tried to drag down the NFL. I'm glad he missed out on a Heisman or two, being a first round draft pick, and all the rewards that would have come his way if, like you said, he paid his dues and just played. That's enough for me.

Woody! said...

By the way, good post. It was organic, came from an actualy debate/discussion, and very passionate. Nice work.

Eric Rhodes said...

Thanks for feeling my pain Woody. I'm just sorry that the schmuck went to your Broncos. Well, not too sad....

Woody! said...

Fine with me. I pretty much drifted away from the Broncos ever since Elway retired. I shifted loyalty over the Bengals. Yeah, that was a smart call.