The Buckeyes are undefeated this season when Thad Matta wears a necktie.
Ohio State began its season 0-4 in the Big Ten with no quality wins and a horrific loss to Florida Atlantic (who is ranked 334 of 351 in the latest RPI). Things were looking bleak in Columbus. The only talk surrounding the basketball team seamed to be how terrible it was and how much longer Matta would last as its head coach.
There was nothing fun about the BasketBucks, and that's a problem. See, at its core – regardless of the level of competition or the quality of the athlete involved – basketball is a game played for fun. When the fun's not there, it's much more of a chore than it is a game; Buckeye fans were starting to feel that.
Sunday, when Ohio State took on Michigan State, a bit of the fun came back. Matta, who hadn't worn a tie to a game in two years, strolled onto the court rocking some scarlet-and-gray-striped neckwear and promptly coached his team to its first Big Ten win of the season.
It shouldn't have been a big deal – it's just a piece of fabric tied around his neck that he wore to please his daughters – but we're talking about sports fans here. Of course, it was a huge deal.
@11W I think all that needs to happen is Thad putting his tie back on.
— Ryan \_()_/ (@UncleRizDawg) January 13, 2017
Thad Matta with a tie is unstoppable
— Matthew Duvelius (@MattDuvelius) January 19, 2017
@11W Thad HAS to wear a tie the rest of the year!
— Taylor Andrew (@Tlack20) January 15, 2017
@11W I say Thad goes Old Skool Woody Hayes and wears a tie the rest of the year! Superstitious...
— Tony Fenton (@drtfenton) January 15, 2017
"My phone blew up after the game saying 'keep the tie, try again, try again,'" Matta said on his radio show. "I didn't think other people paid that close of attention."
Matta responded by doing what any rational human, well aware that a simple necktie should have no impact on the score of a basketball game, would do– he wore it again. And the Buckeyes won again.
So here we are. After losing four-straight Big Ten games to start conference play, Matta knotted up and won back-to-back.
I'm not about to boldly claim a causal relationship between winning basketball games and the neck attire of a head coach, because that doesn't exist. However, one thing Matta's ties have caused is a slight resurgence of fun.
The ties have given a student body that hasn't had much to cheer about this season a reason to be excited for a mid-January clash between two middling Big Ten teams. They've given Matta something light-hearted to talk about in the midst of one of his most challenging seasons ever. They've given fans an unrealistic and completely unreasonable reason to be optimistic about every game going forward.
@BuckeyeNutHouse Don't leave without it! #GoBucks Beat ! pic.twitter.com/sjCDM0bG4T
— Brutus Buckeye (@Brutus_Buckeye) January 21, 2017
Let's be clear, it's absolutely ridiculous to pay this much attention to the wardrobe choices of a man who teaches students to play a game, but its' also fun. And that's really what sports are – dumb and fun.
So here's my advice: go to your closet right now, pick out a tie and put it on. Wear it over your t-shirt, your hoodie or your pale bare chest. Just wear it. If anyone asks, tell them an odd college student on the internet told you to do it.
Is it going to help the Buckeyes win? No. But it might help remind you that sports are dumb and fun, and you're allowed encouraged to be dumb and fun while you watch sports.
