THE PLAINS, Ohio —
Athens High School is here, but the more picturesque and bustling college town of Athens is nine miles away. About 3,000 people live in The Plains, including Burrow’s parents, Jimmy and Robin. Close enough, say the people of Athens and the 20,000 or so students at Ohio University who have claimed a piece of him. Bars and restaurants have renamed menu items after him. There's a Burrow banner stretched across Court Street and signs all over town. Burrow spent plenty of time in Athens, so it's legit.At the center of it is a feeling that Burrow left but didn't leave the people behind.
Smathers, the former youth coach, is a 56-year-old retired electrician who now keeps busy driving a shuttle bus for the university. A big, gregarious guy with a graying ZZ Top beard, Smathers has lived across North McDonald Street from the scoreboard at the football field since 1988. “Everybody is seeing what I’ve seen for years — you put Joe Burrow on the team, that's the X factor,” Smathers said.