College football analysis and opinion with a heavy Ohio State bias

(Please excuse the unsteady camera and missing the beginning. I started out taking notes and realized that this needed to be preserved.)

I have to admit, when I first saw the press release announcing this year’s “throwback” uniform, I was worried. I had visions of camo pants and and a jersey made out of the American flag. After hearing Charles Csuri, former member of the 1942 National Championship Ohio State team, my thoughts quickly changed.

You see, not only is Csuri a Buckeye veteran, he is a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge and the recipient of the Bronze Star. Unlike Michael Irvin, who spoke just before Csuri and talked about “The U” and how they are “Money” and that we’d see “The U” as they went running past, Csuri talked about the real meaning of “Combat.” In a moving speech, Csuuri went off script saying that when he hear’s terms like “boom,” and “combat” he feels it’s important to point out the realities of true combat. “We were in the war,” Csuri said. “I was in the Battle of the Bulge. There were more than 400,000 Americans killed in Word War II.”

And at that moment, the Ohio State Uniform took on a new meaning. Yes, it’s lightweight and all but the boys who played on that 1942 national championship team saw something different.

Csuri said that after that season, they all went off to war. When they returned three years later, they were different. Things had changed.

A contrast that says it all
As I sit in the Nike Studios writing this, Micheal Irvin is just a few steps away highlighting the benefits of the lightweight technology. During his speech, he bragged with all the bravado we’ve come to expect from “The U” as he referred to it. Not once did Csuri talk about the color of the shoes or how it made the players butts look good (yes, Irvin kept bringing that up.)

For Csuri, it was about honor and tradition. An honor that went well beyond the boundaries of a football uniform. After giving his moving speech, instead of holding up the gloves so that the media gathered could see the vanity logos on the palms of the hands, the Ohio State model was asked to turn around. As a surprise to Csuir and in honor to him, a replica of the Bronze Star is proudly displayed on the back of the helmets.

So while the debate may go on as to the need for Ohio State to wear the uniform, Nike put Ohio State fans in a tough position to argue this one.

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