OK, so I just got back from vacation in Chicago and Wisconsin and I was happy to see a lot of Buckeyes... problem is no-one seemed to know the proper response to "O-H!"
In Chicago, I'm walking down the street and my daughter points out a guy walking the other direction in an OSU shirt and hat. When he gets close I call out "O-H!" and he looks right at me puzzled. As we pass, I point to his hat (I'm wearing one too and my daughter's in her #10 jersey) and say "Go Bucks!" The guy looks at me like I'm from another planet. It bothered me a little, but I thought to myself, "maybe he doesn't speak English" or "maybe he's not that big a fan" and let it go.
Later in the Nike store while looking at OSU and other BigTen school's stuff I see another guy in an OSU shirt, looking at another OSU shirt and I say "O-H!" He ignored it so I said, "Go Bucks" and he kind of smiled and went back to looking at the shirt. I expected more from a guy looking to purchase additional OSU gear, but again, I just let it go.
A few days later at a waterpark in Wisconsin, I was walking with my kids and my OSU fan niece and TSUN fan nephew (I know... I blame the parents) and I see this guy in an OSU hat, OSU jersey, OSU shorts and bright red shoes. Remembering Chicago, I almost let it go, but I wanted to show my nephew how real OSU fans could great each other anywhere and this guy was decked out... obviously a huge fan... so I gave it one more shot. I very loudly yelled out "O! H!"... nothing. I looked right at him not 10 feet away and complete with hand motions yelled it again... slower and more carefully enunciated... nothing. After he passed, I yelled back, "You're supposed to say 'I-O!'" to which he blushed and gave a very feeble "i-o."
Moral of the story is this... If you are decked out in OSU gear from head to foot... at least know the proper response to "O-H!" :(
O-H...