There's a reason OSU's mascot is a poisonous nut -- the fans
<!--Text-->I'm glad Ohio State lost to Texas last weekend.
It's not that I don't like the school, the players or the coaches, or that I once attended a rival college.
Instead, it's the fans that are often the problem, and I reveled in the fact that their enthusiasm for their beloved Buckeyes took an obvious hit at the beginning of the season.
Why? Because a lot of college football fans are really obnoxious, and many Ohio State followers are prime examples. They're like the too-proud parents who continuously shove their kid's accomplishments in your face. They're the "toppers" who always practice one-upmanship. They're the snobs who think they're too good for everyone else.
Most never even attended OSU and know few, if any, who did or do.
I grew up 45 miles away from the main campus and what sticks out most in my mind is not the "Shoe" but the deplorable slum housing students live in off High Street. I always felt like I needed a tetanus shot after visiting. It was a far cry from, say, the Varsity Club on Lane Avenue, where patrons eat prime rib and reminisce about how great Woody Hayes was.
Hayes, by the way, was fired for punching a Jacksonville, Fla., player after Ohio State lost the Gator Bowl in 1978, thereby creating the template for future bad behavior from fans, many of whom revere the former coach as they would a god.
The most fervent of fans do not know the meaning of humility, even when their team is soundly defeated. Like Pee Wee football parents, they make excuses by blaming one particular player for some obscure bumble and accusing the refs of making bad calls.
I'm not afraid to admit that I am not a Buckeye fan.
In the mid-1990s, seeing a grown-up Cindy Cooper cry once after her "Daddy's" team lost literally made my day. A Columbus TV station had hired her for the sole reason of interviewing her father, who was also the head coach at the time, for its post-game coverage, but she was really just a glorified cheerleader.
The incident was not unlike a child beginning to learn that she can't always win at Candyland.
Honestly, I'm the kind of person who would rather root for an underdog team, with the hopes that one day they might make that big comeback, than for a team who is used to winning all the time. I must not have that I'm-better-than-you pompous fan gene in me.
I may root for the home team from time to time, but I may just as easily root for the Wolverines instead. Sometimes, it depends on whether the surrounding atmosphere has been infected with annoying Ohio State fans, and how many times I've heard "Hang on Sloopy."
Dissenters like me, defectors and fans of other teams are often met with outright hostility. No wonder, since it doesn't take much to aggravate some Buckeye folk.
A friend of mine, a loyal Michigan fan, moved to Newark this summer, near the very heart of Buckeye country. Several scarlet and gray-clad individuals have welcomed her to the area with familiar hand gestures after spotting her blue and gold bumper sticker.
It didn't surprise me when, in November 2002, students were so proud of the Big Ten team's win against Michigan, thereby clinching their spot for a run at the national title, that they ended up rioting. Nothing says "Go Buckeyes!" like a good car tipping.
Losses, however, are sometimes dealt with in more covert ways. The Associated Press on Wednesday reported that Ohio State tight end Ryan Hamby has received some hate mail from angry fans due to a pass he failed to catch in the end zone during the recent game with Texas.
The contents of the e-mails weren't disclosed, but they clearly bothered Hamby. He admitted that when he didn't catch the ball, he thought, "'Man, I wish that didn't happen.' But it's just part of life and you've got to deal with it."
Personally, I've found that the almost-rabid feelings on the part of the most devoted college football fan can be laid bare rather easily. As they're in the throes of a game, simply cheer for the other team and watch as they whip around, fix you with a penetrating glare and normally toss out a few choice words. To them, rivalry has nothing to do with spirited competition, but outright hatred.
It may be no coincidence that a buckeye is actually a poisonous nut.
The definition of the word "fan" in Webster's uses the word "enthusiasm" to describe such a person. Pride could also accurately be used to depict an Ohio State fan. But when their excitement for the team deteriorates into a kind of religious zeal, that's when things start to become downright ridiculous.
Fans of the now ninth-ranked team, whose lives seem to depend on how well the Buckeyes do, should consider what one of their own players said recently.
"You almost want to say, 'You know, in the scheme of life, there are things going on around the world,'" Hamby pointed out. "(Football is) just a game."
Go San Diego State Aztecs.
Contact staff writer Joy Brown at: (419) 427-8496
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