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It is(n't) my university.

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OSUK said:
Buckeye Nation takes some criticism for having a lot of non-alumni fans. I've never understood this. I will hold my credentials up as a certified member of the Nation next to anyone's. I was born into it. My dad was a very hard-working man, and he worked my arse off on our little farm even as a small boy. We would get up at the ass-crack of dawn on fall Saturdays, and work like crazy - until the Buckeye pregame show came on the radio. Then everything stopped. My dad loved that team, and he passed that love on to me. Radio was the main way we experienced the team in the 1970's. They were on TV once or twice a year. The scUM game or occasionally a big OOC game would be televised.
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Screw the credentials of being a fan requiring going there. Some of you know more about Buckeye history and lore than I ever will. My history as a Buckeye began in 1995 when I showed up there. Prior to that, I only knew OSU had a good marching band and a decent science program when I was deciding where to attend. Had you asked me then, I wouldn't have been able to tell you who Woody Hayes was. I wasn't from Ohio, I didn't grow up following the Buckeyes. But my love for them formed when I set foot on that campus. I don't think not attending there makes anyone less of a fan. Just like I don't think my lateness to becoming one makes me any less of a fan.
 
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Great post. I was raised in a family in which none of my family members actually attended OSU, yet they had a deep love for Ohio State and I think being raised an Ohio State fan is something special in and of itself. My dad is the biggest Buckeye fan ever and never even applied to go there.

I developed my love for the athletics well in advance of attending OSU but once I went there and graduated, I do have to admit it changed everything. Walking to class every day and traversing the Oval after the ever-satisfying trip to Buckeye Donuts, looking out from Campbell Hall on Mirror Lake on a Thursday thinking that Saturday would never come, drooling at the mouth thinking about Adriaticos Pizza, waking up at 6 am to our entire house yelling "#$!^ *ichigan" in unison before heading to Kegs and Eggs, lifting in the RPAC while looking at The 'Shoe and looking forward to the upcoming game, and most of all linking arms for Carmen Ohio win or lose (not sure I ever had a dry eye singing it). The "time and change" part of our alma mater resonates deeply with me because I truly feel a connection to each generation of our university regardless of the time that has passed, whether before or after. To me, the Ohio State campus is more of a home then the brick and mortar structure I was raised in. If I had a chance, I would relive those years again and again until the end of my life, not one bit of exaggeration. Every time I step on campus, it is nearly impossible for me to leave.

That being said, I don't have some exclusive right to be a Buckeye. We love our team, we love our state, and we HATE HATE HATE that damn team up north. Anyone who agrees with that is always going to be a true Buckeye in my book.
 
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I didn't go to Ohio State. I'm not from Columbus. Hell, I'm not even from Ohio. I'm a beach bum from Daytona. But as a kid, I watched a lot of college football. I loved watching Woody's teams. Smash mouth football. Angry football. His teams spoke to me. I had a deep admiration for the football team long before I grasped the concept that there was an institution of higher learning attached to it. Out of high school, I chose the Marines over college or joining the civilian work force. I had to get out of Daytona. I was drinking myself to death. While stationed in Cali, I met the girl who would be my wife. A 1990 graduate of Upper Arlington High School, she grew up blocks from the 'Shoe. We settled here in the Columbus area after we both EAS'd (She was a Navy Corpsman serving at the Naval Hospital and with 7th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Pendleton).

For about 10 years, her dad had been working on the parking crew for the AD's office for football games. They needed someone in a hurry one morning in the 1996 season. He called, I went. It was September 21st. The opponent? The Pitt Panthers. My first game in the 'Shoe. This will be the first year since then that I am not working the RV lot for Ohio State Football. I've seen some great games, I've seen some tough games. I have attended Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball events with my wife and kids. My youngest daughter went to Softball Camp there the year they released Coach Kalafatis. I've seen that campus change a lot. I've seen the fans change a lot. I've seen kids become students and then parents while I was working in that lot. I didn't go to Ohio State, but I'm a Buckeye. Period.
 
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ORD_Buckeye said:
No Bernies/Distillery? Disappointed.
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Always enjoyed watching Mark Haynes and the Remains there. Had a pewter mug there too.

I'm 54 years young and have been a Buckeye fan since the day I can remember anything lol. My dad worked as a statistician for Marv Holman back in the days when he called the Buckeye games. I never went to Ohio State, I went to CCAD, but the Buckeyes have ALWAYS been my team. The same as it was with my whole family. I grew up here. Went to school at Olentangy and finally got to see an Olentangy alumn play at Ohio State so of course I root extra for Joshua Perry. Now.. My wonderful wife attends the Ohio State University. We are raising our two daughters to be Buckeye fans and they talk about going to school there. I don't sing Carmen Ohio because I am not an alum, but I love to hear those who are, sing it!
 
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