There are no rules to being a Buckeye football fan but there should be. It is commonly thought that if you wear an Ohio State tee-shirt, a number 45 jersey or a necklace made of buckeye nuts, you are automatically considered a fan. Some folks prove that attire is only a disguise.
The term "fan" is of course short for fanatic. Is that the technicality that allows many faithful followers of the Buckeye to check their maturity and decorum at the gates to Ohio Stadium?
Saturday, Ohio State rolled to a 24-point win over Penn State. The post-game celebration was typical Ohio State with 100,000 gleeful fans celebrating, the victory bell ringing and the team singing Carmen Ohio with the band.
Getting to that point was more Howard Stern than Paul Harvey.
Let's start with this lovely scene outside of the stadium prior to gametime. A 40-something father was walking toward the stadium hand in hand with his son who appeared to be seven or eight years old.
It would have been easy to paint this as a traditional father and son bonding experience on a picture perfect Saturday afternoon on campus. Down the road, son would perhaps recount the story of going to the Ohio State game against Penn State with his Dad. Perhaps the story would include father teaching son about the legend of Hop Cassidy or Eddie George. Certainly Dad would make sure his son knew the importance of delivering a solid "I-O" when someone approached with an "O-H!"
Oh, just one other thing. The Dad was wearing a brilliant scarlet tee shirt with "F*** Michigan" emblazoned on the front of it. For the hard of hearing, there was also a depection of a huge middle finger between the words. Mom must have been proud when she sent her two boys out the door.
I'm no prude. I use the "F-word" every now and then. However, I could never imagine going to a football game with my son wearing that message on my chest all day.
Dad was sending a couple of messages to his young Buckeye fan. One: you can say anything you want about Michigan if you're an Ohio State fan. Two: It doesn't necassarily have to be creative.
Inside the stadium, fans stood and cheered for the band as it completed "Script Ohio". They stood as the team ran into the field lead by two captains carrying American Flags in honor of Veteran's Day. They stood and cheered as the Buckeyes got the ball.
Then things got ugly.
Ohio State didn't roll over Penn State the way they were supposed to. They fell behind by 11 points and those happy, cheering scarlet and gray clad fans turned into snarling, cussing, insulting fire breathing dragons.
"You suck Tressel!" yelled a middle aged man from the 4th row of AA deck. He wasn't the only one hurling verbal bombs at the coach.
Boos rained down from every corner of the Horseshoe as the team left the field. Somewhere a guy wearing a F*** Michigan tee-shirt was teaching his son that the message on his shirt could work equally well for any team you don't like at any given moment--even if that team is your own.
Consider yourself lucky that you are not that guy's dog.
The Buckeyes roared back in the second half and the first half misery was forgotten even by the most viscious "fan."
Ohio State won 38-14 and all was forgotten by everyone. Everyone except the players who absorbed all those boos in the first half.
"We didn't talk about what the fans thought," said captain Brian Rolle. "Because obviously boos, it let's you know what kind of fans we have."
"That's Ohio State fans, they are so spoiled." said DeVier Posey.
Spoiled or not, Ohio State were showing all of their colors on this day--Not just their scarlet and gray.
Jim Tressel did not address the boo-birds. Why bother? Tressel has won 103 games at Ohio State and fans have found something to complain about in all but one of them. The exception being the 2002 National Championship game--and they weren't supposed to win that one.
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