The Battle of Ohio plays out in Athens sports bars
By Alexandra Hazlett
September 8, 2008
This epic sporting event contained all the necessary elements: drama, pride, the underdog, the powerhouse, revenge, joy, hope and despair. And where better to observe it Saturday afternoon than Athens bars, where fans of both the Ohio Bobcats and Ohio State Buckeyes (some of whom live in the same body) showed up in their team colors.
Students trickled in just in time for the game, the previous night’s revelries obviously having an effect on waking up, observed one Red Brick Tavern bartender. An informal poll for the day put Bobcat supporters at a three-to-one ratio to Buckeye fans. Even for such a potentially lopsided game, where the point spread favored the Buckeyes by 33-35 points, Bobcat fans came out en masse. While the red and white jerseys made a decent showing, they were drowned out by green. A few hopeful fans sported “OS-Who?” t-shirts but most wore other green-and-white OU apparel, jerseys, and beads.
At the Red Brick, fan motives quickly became apparent and broke into common themes. There were the anti-OSU (usually pro-Michigan) fans, for whom attending OU was the perfect excuse to spoil the Buckeyes’ season. There were the die-hard OSU fans, who either don’t attend OU, or don’t see attending it as any reason to change their core allegiance to Ohio State. But there were also those in the middle of the road.
These are the Bobcat fans who root for OSU every day except for when they play Ohio U., which isn’t very often. This, they said, was their school, where they lived, and they weren’t going to stab it in the back just because Ohio didn’t have a chance.
After all, an improbable victory by Ohio would instantly become the greatest triumph in the history of Bobcat football. Look at Appalachian State over Michigan, the biggest upset of last year’s college football season. And look at OU over Pitt in double overtime three years ago, said OU senior Laura Nedveski. Maybe, just maybe, the Bobcats could pull it out.
“I want us to win for all the OU students that are rooting for Ohio State,” declared Drew Murphy, an OU junior.
It was not to be. OU held the lead for three and a half quarters until, the collective grumbling concluded, OSU actually started to play like they cared about the outcome. But the Bobcats put up a strong enough showing long enough to let a ray of hope take hold — you know you’re doing something right when you come close to upsetting the number-three team in the country, at the same time that you’re playing without your starting quarterback and committing five turnovers.
The “bullpen” of the Red Brick erupted with every third-down conversion (Bobcats were 9 for 17). Ohio replacement quarterback Boo Jackson’s standout performance was often a thing of beauty, as he rushed for 55 yards and threw for another 86 (but also committed three interceptions and fluttered a few wounded ducks). And the three-second TV delay between upstairs and downstairs at the Red Brick allowed for a jaw-dropping moment of incredulity as the first Bobcat touchdown was run into the end zone. By the time Buckeye center Jim Cordle snapped the ball high over QB Todd Boeckman’s head, leading to a fumble recovery in the end zone, the extra point putting OU up 14 to 6, Bobcat fans were nearly delirious. With 9:00 left in the third quarter, the smattering of Buckeyes sat quietly in their chairs, fearing for the rest of their season.
Debbie and Mike Jenkins came from Pomeroy to watch the game at Buffalo Wild Wings. Decked out in an anti-Michigan T-shirt and an OSU jersey, with Mike cursing liberally at OU’s strong play, they were unapologetic about their support.
“We like both teams,” Debbie said.
“But OU’s never gonna play for the national championship,” Mike chimed in.
Many OU students cheering for Ohio State expressed the same sentiment. While an OU victory would be great, it would also effectively end the Buckeyes’ season and national championship hopes. Even with the victory, OSU’s lackluster play has chipped away at national expectations for the program.
“But then there’s the party factor,” said OU senior Monica, who asked that her last name not be used.
She wasn’t the only one. Arson references abounded, especially among those students who were in Athens when Ohio beat Pitt in 2005 and a couch was lit on fire in the Mill Street area.
And then came the crash — the true sports fan’s withdrawal after the intoxicating high of improbable victory. It came swiftly, as OSU’s Ray Small ran back a punt 69 yards for a touchdown. The missed clipping call (which the ESPN announcers later circled in yellow on the replay) rubbed salt into wound a little more. A palpable sense of despair seeped through the Bobcat fans in Buffalo Wild Wings.
Small padded the lead enough that the Buckeyes could finally breathe easier. Ohio led for more than three quarters, and then allowed 20 unanswered points. The five turnovers, the dropped punt near the sideline among the most painful, didn’t help matters either. The chants of “Here We Go Bobcats” quickly died.
“If we win, it’s like we live up to our hype,” said OU student Lorenzo Williams, sporting a bright red jersey.
“At least we did make OSU a little nervous,” offered OU junior Stephen Delman. “What MAC team has done that to OSU?”
The players filed into the locker room to a chorus of applause, as the bars emptied dejected but proud Bobcat fans and their rattled but relieved OSU counterparts.
“At least we are officially better than Youngstown State,” Delman concluded on the way out, referring to the other in-state patsy that the Buckeyes demolished last week.
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