Cancer can't keep down Ohio State football fan Josh Meyer, who gained hope from Buckeyes

USA Today

12-02-2025

Cancer can't keep down Ohio State football fan Josh Meyer, who gained hope from Buckeyes
Cancer figured that attending one national championship game was enough. Josh Meyer figured differently.
Ten years ago, Meyer was on site in Arlington, Texas, when Ohio State defeated Oregon 42-20 in the first College Football Playoff national championship. Five months prior, he had been diagnosed with stage 4 appendiceal cancer, a rare form of the disease that annually affects one person in a million in the United States.
Doctors gave the 2002 OSU graduate two years to live. Meyer was 35 and single. His bucket list needed a quick fill-up, so he and friend Jay Warner bought tickets to the 2015 title game against the Ducks. Texas. It was glorious.
Fast forward a decade, to Jan. 20, 2025, when Meyer and Warner attended Ohio State's 34-23 win against Notre Dame in the CFP championship game in Atlanta. More joy.
Take that, you insidious disease.
Cancer cares nothing about Ohio State football. Jack Sawyer's scoop-and-score meant nothing to it. Ryan Day can't beat Michigan? Yawn. Cancer shows no interest in recruiting rankings or who the Buckeyes hire as their next defensive coordinator. Its only concern is making sure our bodies don't beat the spread … of bad cells from appendix to abdomen. From kidneys to lungs. To anywhere it can cause more damage.
In that way only, cancer gets it right: Ohio State football is not life and death.
Difficult life circumstances bring different perspectives
Tragedy, heartbreak and health scares all have a way of providing perspective, of redefining importance. Suddenly, losing to Michigan does not seem as life-threatening as the lunatic fringe makes it out to be, as they turn fun into a fun-eral.
'Personally, I was kind of appalled with all the Ryan Day stuff,' Meyer said, addressing how Day and his family were targeted by Buckeyes Nation extremists after the 13-10 loss to Michigan. 'Obviously there is going to be criticism, but outside of that game, his record is impeccable.'
Meyer went on, connecting OSU's positive outlook to his own.
'As far as my overall perspective, it's about resiliency and hope,' he said, referencing this year's team that rebounded from the Michigan loss by winning four playoff games against top-10 opponents. 'They never counted themselves out. Those are the things magnified in my life.'
Meyer, now 45 and married with a family – wife Jenna and 6-year-old daughter Elliana – wishes Ohio State had collected a few more national titles since 2014, but the resident of Lewis Center is grateful he was around to see what many describe as the good, bad and ugly. To him it is all beautiful, considering what he has gone through.
'From a health standpoint, I still have stage 4 cancer,' he said, explaining how tumors continue to grow in his gut. 'They think a lot of cancer cells are still there. The last 10 years have been a three-year cycle of progress followed by a 10- to 12-hour procedure.'
The last surgery, in 2021, led to doctors removing three-quarters of his intestine, and that has created digestive issues.
'The first time it was diagnosed, the doctor's direct words were, 'This is going to be what kills you. Whether in two weeks, two months or two years. You won't die from anything else.' Basically, a death sentence.'
That was 10 years ago. Bleep you, cancer.
Through it all, and especially this season, the Buckeyes modeled for Meyer what it looks like to persevere.
'Interesting how life and football seasons mirror one another,' he said. 'One of the big things (Ohio State) provides is something to look forward to. The spring game. A new season. For a long time I dreaded what I would find out from the scans, which are every 90 days.'
Ohio State put faith, trust and hope into practice in playoff
Those three-month windows now offer a chance to put faith, trust and hope into practice.
Similarly, after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan, they viewed the next 50 days as a chance to not only stay alive but thrive, by winning a national championship.
'It is kind of parallel thinking (to OSU's),' Meyer said of his perspective. 'It's looking toward something positive … and it's resilience. Don't believe you're ever really out of anything.'
Meyer, who grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, returned to Columbus two years ago after living 19 years in Florida. The move back allowed him to bond more closely with family. Jenna's parents last year bought him a brick paver outside Ohio Stadium that reads, 'Buckeye Strong.' This year, he took Elliana to the Indiana game – just father and daughter.
'When (Caleb) Downs returned the punt for a touchdown, she screamed and pumped her fist in the air. I had tears in my eyes,' he said.
Meyer, who owns his own legacy-planning business in Columbus and Florida, also attended the Dec. 20 Tennessee playoff game. This is where things shift into signs and wonders. As Meyer's brother-in-law in North Carolina attempted to find two tickets to the game, Meyer's brother in Hilliard was doing the same in Columbus. Feelers went out and tickets were purchased independently, seat locations left to chance.
You can probably guess what happened. All four seats ended up being together.
'Four directly in a row,' Meyer said.
With luck like that – or maybe providence? – no wonder Meyer believes everything happens for a reason.
'I try not to get caught up in the negative,' he said, adding that things tend to fall in place when good influences combine with the right people at the right place.
'And I think coach Day is one of those people,' he said, pausing. 'I would love it if this (column) could include some aspect of faith, belief and hope.'
Consider it done. Now a requested favor in return – keep fighting so you can watch in person as OSU wins a few more nattys.
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