22 Dec Brokeback Brutus
It’s the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year… college football bowl season. I am loving it already, and my Buckeyes have not even boarded the plane to Pasadena. The following poem was written as a result of a bet on last years Fiesta Bowl. I found it to be quite a journey in writing it and found out that it actually has become part of the Ohio State Football scrapbook. I hope you will enjoy, and hope for a much better outcome in the Rose Bowl. Stay tuned for the blogs to come in 2010.
Go Bucks!!!
It was the perfect clash of burnt orange and scarlet
Over a twilight Arizona sky,
The venerable Brutus faced his adversary,
His aspirations high.
And Bevo, as they called him,
From the mighty Lone Star State,
In the town of Austin they hailed him
As the greatest of the great.
Through that autumn’s season passion,
They both withstood their tests,
Each enduring their own heartbreaks,
And through them they had given their best.
Two times they had met before this date,
In Heisman seasons past,
Each left the other’s battlefield victorious,
Their opponent did they outlast.
Twas the Scarlet yearling that led the team
Who stepped into the role
That so many had held before him,
So many “Pryor” honors to extol.
This savior from a neighboring land
Wrestled from the hands of Mountaineer then Wolverine,
A single man’s quest to covet him,
His shifting allegiances viewed by all obscene.
While Bevo had gently reared his young Colt,
Who became a stallion before his eyes,
In three young seasons of experience,
His legend was on the rise.
Twice slighted by the ones who judged them all,
Bevo prepared for the battle to come.
While the mighty Brutus had been considered an imposter,
Twice silenced by the SEC’s drum.
With Beanie’s train awaiting at the Tressel,
And Brown’s promise to deliver,
The epic battle that had been staged and anticipated
Gave even the mightiest of the mighty a shiver.
The Phoenix had risen to meet them both
Over the celebrated field of green,
But who would vanquish their formidable adversary
Both clinging to their respective dream.
While Brutus fought to preserve Pride and Dignity,
And Bevo with something to prove,
Both carrying hopes and dreams of each nation,
Believing there was so much to lose.
As the shot rang out the epic battle began,
Bevo not respecting the strength and speed,
Of the mighty Brutus’s Animal and his Cavalry,
As they lassoed his legendary steed.
T’was Brutus to his yearling
And also to his stud,
Combined to overwhelm that Long-horned steer,
As Brutus drew first blood.
Stunned he was by the strength of his foe,
Bevo had not faced such a defensive battle,
In previous skirmishes that had been waged
With other Big-12 Cattle.
When from the jaws of momentum
Bevo’s Colt did kick and buck,
And threw Brutus from his saddle,
As the battle lines were struck.
For as the Scarlet sun had set into night’s Gray,
Many did not expect to see,
The mighty Brutus riding atop
Of Bevo’s legendary steed.
But Bevo and his Colt were tenacious,
Never losing their eye on the prize,
And when he found his stallions’ rhythm,
From the ashes did he rise.
Twice did he strike with fury and cunning,
The mighty Brutus began to look wary,
The prospects of another humiliation
Felt all too familiar and all too scary.
As his back began to bow and stress
Under the pressure of Bevo’s blows,
Brutus took a deep breath and reached down deep inside
And from the dust he again arose.
He stared into the eyes of his own fear
And swallowed down his pain,
And from the bowels of pride and determination
Brutus forged ahead again.
On to his yearling and to his stud
To the field they took their fight,
And fought and battled this Long-horned steer
Deep into the night.
Although few had given the proud Buckeye a chance
Brutus continued to wage his battle,
His stud passed the torch to his yearling,
And put the pigskin in the end zone of that Cattle.
As the fight was long and arduous,
It was coming to an end,
For Brutus and his Cavalry
Had eighty yards of battlefield to defend.
As Bevo was determined and Brutus was strong
The adversaries both drew upon their strengths,
But could Bevo and his Colt with so little time
Take the pigskin the field’s length?
As Brutus rode that Colt into submission,
He had but a single moment of distraction,
And the legendary stallion took advantage
Much to Brutus’s dissatisfaction.
For as Bevo’s pigskin crossed that line,
And Brutus’ back was broken,
The hearts and minds of the Buckeye Nation
Shared his pain unspoken.
On that night they both walked off the field
Respecting each other’s determination,
But at this time it would be Bevo and his Colt,
Taking the spoils back to their rejoicing nation.
It was a cold, windy day in Columbus
When Brutus rode back into town,
To find his fellow Buckeyes still cheering him
And from his yet wiser yearling stepped down.
For bones and muscles may be broken and torn
They will also take time to mend,
But the Mighty Brutus gave his all in this battle,
And like the Phoenix he will rise again.
Erik Fisher, Ph.D. aka, Dr. E… January, 2009