When you look back on the past three years, 2014-2016, you can see that it has literally been "Ohio Against The World." Yes, even though Ohio Against The World is an amazing clothing brand, saying OATW is a statement that many Ohioans feel because of how amazing our sports teams are.
Let's start with THE Ohio State Buckeyes. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to go to the Ohio State vs Michigan game and I got to see first hand how good Ohio sports could be. Ohio State went into the game ranked 6 in the country only having lost one game this season and even during the game, the starting QB broke his ankle (JT. Barrett) and the backup, Cordele, ended up shining, thus leading Ohio State to victory over the Wolverines 28-42. It didn't stop there because that was also the year they went 11-1 and Won the National Championship, beating Alabama in the first round 42-35 and then Oregon 42-20 to win the title. That's when Ohio started to get put back on the map.
Fast-forward to one year later and Lebron James makes the decision to come home back to the Cleveland The Cavaliers and myself particularly couldn’t be more excited for the Cavs to make a comeback and a comeback did they make. They ended up going back to the playoffs after a four-year drought, won the Eastern Conference Finals, and then lost to the Golden State Warriors 4 games to 2. Even though they had lost the series there was no question that Cleveland Basketball was back on the map and the next season during the playoffs the Cavs won the first and second round series 4-0. They took the Eastern Conference Championship in a 4-2 series and everyone remembers how the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead, making the Cavaliers Undisputed Champions of the World and once again everyone's eyes were on Ohio.
Let's fast forward one more year and now we turn to baseball. The Cleveland Indians are finally back in the world series since '97 and that's when talks started about Ohio being the new sports capital of the world. Let’s face it, Ohio is a great state and making sure that Ohio professional sports stay at the top of everyone's mind is key. The only problem I have with Ohio sports is the sports in my hometown. Don't get me wrong, the Bengals have consistently made the playoffs but the fact they haven't made it out of the first round since 1991 is a huge problem. The Cincinnati Reds aren’t that much better making it to the playoffs was 2013 and the lost the wild card game. Personally, I think they need Dusty Baker back but that's just me.
All in all, I love Ohio and I really enjoy that sports here are really on the up and up. Just ask the Columbus Blue Jackets. They’ve been on the NHL radar after blowing out the Montreal Canadians by ten and the St. Louis Blues by eight! It’s pretty much clear to say that sports in Ohio have gotten generally so much better (not including the Browns, Bengals, or Reds) and makes life in Ohio generally more exciting.
