A couple of weeks ago Dad and I made the journey to Columbus OH to watch Ohio State University play Indiana University. I'm not really a follower of college football but my cousins Gena and Nikki had some extra tickets and it'd been a long time since I got to see them, so I didn't have to think twice when they offered us the seats.
I knew IU's colors were red and white but had no idea what the OSU colors were and since I wasn't really rooting for either team I knew for certain I wasn't going to wear red or white so as not to offend the home team. I decided to wear a blue shirt that had yellow lettering on it.
Turns out OSU's colors are also red and white. And OSU's biggest rival is Michigan, whose colors are, of course, blue and yellow. I felt like a turd. I didn't want the entire campus to think I was a Michigan fan because
a) I wasn't trying to start anything up
b) I'm not a Michigan fan
c) Not only am I not a fan of the Michigan college team, I'm also not really a fan of the state of Michigan or the people who hail from there
Nikki gave me a buckeye necklace to wear at the game that would protect me from rabid fans who throw beer and stab with shivs. Kind of like wearing garlic to scare away the vampires. Looking back, I don't think I needed the necklace at all. I had a great time and although the fans were hyped and pumped they were also very polite to this obvious out-of-towner.
Some things were weird, of course. It was kind of like going to a new church for the first time. I didn't know when to stand, when to sit, when to yell, I didn't know any of the songs or the cheers, and I didn't know the appropriate attire.
It was a really fun day, though, and since then I've found myself checking OSU scores every now and then. Have I become an OSU fan? I don't know. But I'm definitely more of a fan than I was before.
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