We occasionally see some local broadcasters using “we” and “our” to refer to a team they’re covering, but certainly not all of them. And it’s more unusual still to see a national analyst go with “we” and “our.” That’s what Fox college football analyst (and former Ohio State Buckeyes coach) Urban Meyer did Tuesday in response to a question from Clay Hall of Columbus’ ABC 6/Fox 28 about the Buckeyes’ forthcoming College Football Playoff clash against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl:
.@CoachUrbanMeyer sees a pathway to success for his former school. @TheFeverABC6 @OhioStateFB #peachbowl #CFP pic.twitter.com/8quJxmZo1A
— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) December 28, 2022
A transcription of that video, via Sam Marsdale of 247 Sports:
“I think it’s a great matchup,” Meyer told ABC-6’s and Fox 28’s Clay Hall. “I’m thinking our strength is our receiver room and our quarterback and throwing the ball. That’s relative, it’s really not a weakness of theirs. Their (Georgia) strength is stopping the run, and they gave up a lot of pass yards against LSU I saw. I’ve been watching a lot of film of them — doing stuff for Big Ten Network. They don’t play the ball real well downfield, but they (Ohio State) have to protect. (Georgia defensive tackle) Jalen Carter is one of the best interior d-linemen I’ve ever seen. So we’re probably going to have to use a (running) back to help the guards, because our guards are going to have trouble with this guy.”
Meyer also dropped some “we” and “our” references in other interviews, including this one with Columbus CBS affiliate WBNS:
“We’ve got health issues at tailback. …We’re going to play to our strengths.”
And he did so in a national interview as well, part of his ongoing “Urban’s Take” videos with Tim May at On3:
“I think we have strong, tough guys.”
That’s a whole lot of “we” and “our” for someone whose last season coaching at Ohio State was 2018. Granted, this game and the whole playoff will be on ESPN, so Meyer isn’t necessarily there for Fox duties. And two of these interviews were with Columbus sportscasters, not national figures. And he’s not the only former coach to drop in some we’s, with some others even doing that on national game broadcasts at points. (Charles Barkley also regularly does this for Auburn, but Barkley plays by a different set of broadcasting rules than most.
But it is a bit unusual to see this from a national figure. And it’s interesting to see how invested Meyer seems in the Ohio State side here, and how different that sounds from the past “they” comments he’s made about the Buckeyes on Fox. Viewers certainly know Meyer’s Ohio State history, and maybe they expect some pro-Buckeye comments from him. But it is a little odd to hear him talking so fervently in terms of “we” and “our.”
[Clay Hall on Twitter/247 Sports, via @BecomingBrandon on Twitter]
