Thursday, September 02, 2010

You Know You're Grasping at Straws When...

1942 marked the turning point of World War II. In three major theaters of combat, the Axis Powers suffered defeats that reversed momentum in the war. In North Africa, Rommel was defeated at El Alamein, ending the Germans' hopes of conquering Egypt and threatening Great Britain's oil supplies in the Middle East. In the Pacific at Midway, the Japanese Navy lost four of the six carriers that had carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor and moved from a position of comparative strength against the U.S. Navy to a position of inferiority that would only get more pronounced over the course of the conflict. Midway came on the heels of the Battle of the Coral Sea, when the U.S. Navy first stopped the Japanese from achieving a strategic objective. Finally, the advance of the Wehrmacht was stopped at Stalingrad. The Germans lost an entire army when the Soviets cut off and then reduced the Sixth Army. In the process, the Germans had to withdraw their forces ploughing south in the Caucusus.

With that history in mind, does Ohio State really want to invoke 1942 when they play Michigan this year? A year that represents a massive reversal of fortune in a conflict that had been totally one-sided in the preceding years? If Michigan can win the game by virtue of stealing Ohio State's signs, I would have a nerdgasm. If they won the game by stealing signs and the sign for Dave is "AF," I would spontaneously combust.

[Update: I added a link so this post will make sense.]

3 comments:

WWII? said...

What are you talking about?

Robert said...

As long as OSU doesn't honor its 1969 team, I'm fine with it.

They're honoring the 1942 team because they won a national title, because the uniforms look good, and because one of their players went on to win the Bronze Star.

Michael said...

I look forward to Michigan honoring its 1985 team that won the national title according to jhowell.com's computer rankings. Lemme know if you want a t-shirt commemorating that title.