Urban Meyer inherited a 6-7 team and went 12-0. That was a pretty big leap!
The Silver Bullets were 71st in Total Defense in 2018, but just one season later they finished atop the FBS - that's a huge leap! Keita Bates-Diop scored more points in his final season at Ohio State than in his previous three combined. Leeeeeeeap.
February 29th makes its quadrennial appearance this weekend and as you might have expected - there's not only a bourbon for that, there are a whole bunch of Buckeye themes we can have fun with to celebrate having one extra day of February. It's everyone's favorite month!
First, to Berlin! Lassen sie uns Situativ Werden -
THE LIFTOFF
Jesse Owens' gold medal-clinching jump at the 1936 Olympic games.
The first globally-televised Olympics were the 1936 games in Berlin. That year, Adolph Hitler (google him if the name is unfamiliar) transformed how the Games were presented into a global dick-measuring contest for the first time. Apparently he had something he wanted to prove (you can google that too).
So this is a tradition Nazi Germany came up with, and every host nation since then has followed suit. Awkward! Anyway, Ohio State undergrad student Jesse Owens provided der fuhrër with a legendary moment of shrinkage, to which a humiliated Hitler reportedly shouted, “I was in the (gene) pool!” Then things got even more embarrassing.
Owens defeated Germany's Luz Long in the long jump final. The gracious runner-up sprinted to the American winner to congratulate him - and then took a victory lap around the stadium with him, passing right by Hitler's section. Owens appreciated the sportsmanship:
It took a lot of courage for (Long) to befriend me in front of Hitler. I would melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for (him) at that moment
The entire final attempt sequence from Olympia: Fest der Vöker is recommended. You can watch the segments between Owens and Long here. As far as Buckeye leaps go, this is still the only one seen around the world. That's why it's at the top.
THE JUMP
Block O will serve your ass like John McEnroe.
Wisconsin's tradition of playing Jump Around in Madison turned 21 last season. Ohio State has beaten the Badgers eight times away from Camp Randall since then, which is why it's mystifying this took so long to happen.
Troll level for @OhioStateFB
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2019
(Sound up ) pic.twitter.com/GGoXLJ09TM
Wisconsin was not happy that Ohio Stadium disrespected the Badgers like this, and used that pent-up aggression as motivation to lose to the Buckeyes by fewer points several weeks later. This too is technically a leap. Congrats Wisconsin, you made the list. Kind of.
THE 1980s SAX SOLO INTERMISSION
No song has ever gained EGOT status, but this ^ one won a Golden Globe, a Grammy and an Academy Award. If Dirty Dancing had adapted itself for television and stage with any success, EGOT might have been within reach.
Patrick Swayze's She's Like the Wind (which also features a sax solo that bangs) and Eric Carmen's Hungry Eyes (we covered it previously) were both overshadowed by the song of 1987. The soundtrack they all appeared on sold 32 million copies. That's more than Abbey Road. Chew on that a bit.
Let's answer our two questions.
Is the soloist in this video actually playing the saxophone?
Hold on. Let's make sure everyone understands why this is showing up in our Leap Year episode.
No one had picked up Ferris Bueller's sister like that since Charlie Sheen. Okay, let's try again -
Is the soloist in this video actually playing the saxophone?
That's Gary Herbig on the saxophone, and if you've ever watched Cheers, Knots Landing, The Young and the Restless (cc: Chris, Johnny), Roseanne or Home Improvement - you're familiar with his work. For my money, his tenor sax on Time of My Life rivals his clarinet from the Cheers theme song. VERDICT: It's him. You've never felt this way before. I swear.
Does this saxophone solo slap?
Uh, in the movie it even got Jerry Orbach dancing (sorry, spoilers). VERDICT: Yes
HALFTIME: ONE GIANT LEAP
You really thought the intermission was over? Haha you're silly.
It's not halftime without TBDBITL. You knew this. You just forgot.
THE BOURBON
Black Fly. Worth taking the leap.
There is a bourbon for every situation. Sometimes the spirits and the events overlap, which means that where bourbon is concerned there can be more than one worthy choice.
Leap Year bourbon? You could go in several directions with this, from something you'd only have once every four years to something with Leap printed on the label. To my knowledge there's only one of the latter, and bourbon is only like the sixth-most important thing they do, so we'll pass.
Black Fly (it's not just an insect; it fits our theme) is another one of the many New York State hipster bourbons flying onto and off of shelves. The construction is a bit mysterious, but my palate sensed that they locked buttered corn and maple syrup into a seedy motel room with an hourly rate and then let them go at it until someone got pregnant.
Then they transplanted the embryo into a charred oak barrel to gestate and voila Black Fly bourbon. This bottle was shipped to me so I don't know the retail price, but hunting around online - it doesn't seem to be an arbitrage bourbon as of yet. I saw it priced from $50-$80 on legitimate sites, which suggests the expensive outlets were lukewarm on investing in something named after a bug and didn't order enough volume to scale.
If it catches on in the right window, the prices will slide as it becomes a trusted label. But if it becomes too cool, Black Fly will be rare like Feb 29. Serve it with pancakes in the Super 8 parking lot.
THE FLIGHT
Cardale Jones, Cardale Jones, the entire concept of gravity is terrified of Cardale Jones.
What is it about football players leaping over other football players that captivates us?
Don't get me wrong; I enjoy it as much as you do. Fat Guy touchdowns and aliens jumping over other aliens are both a delight. Sprinkling those elements into a football game keeps it from getting too transactional or wonky with strategy. But it's...really not that impressive? Of course these guys can jump.
It's similar to how there's a collective freakout among baseball geeks when a fielder gets called to pitch on the odd occasion. Oh my God, did you see who pitched last night? Yes, a millionaire who has accumulated his fortune by playing baseball. Who knew he could...throw?
The novelty of elite athletes doing moderately athletic things should not freak us out like this. But it does. And I love it. Let's look at Beanie again.
Beanie flying over the Illini in 2008.
Tackle his legs, they said. He's too thick up top so go low, they said.
Carlos Hyde leaped over guys. JK leaped over guys. They're elite athletes. They can leap. We shouldn't be in awe of a football player who can simply lea-- *record scratch*
Gentle reminder that the officials tried to take this away from Ohio State too. They lost the battle, but they won the war. Blah.
SAY SOMETHING NICE
Katie Smith did everything.
You have reached the end of an article about leaping that only made a passing mention about KBD but didn't really showcase a single Ohio State basketball player. Let's fix that.
Katie Smith was basically the Buckeye women's Chic Harley. She won every basketball award possible, as well as an Olympic gold medal. She was successful at every level of the sport. She's the all-time leading scorer in women's professional basketball history. She's in all of the Halls of Fame. Katie Smith: Elite Leaper.
Thanks for getting Situational today. Go Bucks. Beat Leap Year.
