Border Battle

Toledo is a fantastic town to live in if you are a fan of college football. My hometown is 5 miles away from Michigan. There are stores there that sell only Ohio/Michigan sporting goods and have little alarms if you cross one side of the store. Growing up, every OSU/MI game was nuts--mostly because there was such a mix in fans. It really is about 50/50 there, which makes the whole rivalry deal fun to get caught up with.
In my house, however, my dad is a die hard Penn State fan, and the Buckeyes are a far second. So while he cheered them on here and there, we were never the family at Bob Evans on Saturday decked out in Buckeye necklaces or scarlet and gray clothes.
So that was my experience until college. I cheered for OSU, but I wasn't a crazy, go light a car on fire kind of fan. Then came college. My boyfriend then had osu-itis (and probably still does) and he made sure I swore a loyalty oath to his favorite team in all the land. So I memorized plays, learned the names of all the players, studied the history of the team, and learned why the band member who dotted the "i" was so special...because, well, my boyfriend was really into it and I was into him.
Basically, though, over time I developed my own excitement for the Bucks. (Though for a while after my college bf and I broke up, I enjoyed OSU losing). I even busted out an OSU cheerleader costume in law school complete with tatoos and pom poms. Sometimes some of the fans annoy me for sure, but some of that craziness is part of what makes sports fun. So while I'll never love the Buckeyes as much as I love the Steelers, I still have a place in my heart for the OSU buckeyes. Plus it's fun to hear Hang on Sloopy and be proud you're from O-H-I-O. And obviously it's going to be extra exciting this year. So bring on the game, bring on the rivalry...let the fun begin :)

and besides...I have an OSU debit card, so basically that makes me the #1 fan, right?