I attended the Inaugural Big Ten Championship game Saturday with no loyalty to either team, nor much affliction about who to root for. Considering Ohio State’s loss to Michigan State and triumph against Wisconsin this season, Wisconsin seemed like an obvious choice to favor. However, I chose to observe and I rather enjoyed living vicariously through the fans around me. For once, I wasn’t the crazy person covered in red, bouncing and shouting to knock someone’s head off at kick off. While it was hard to not laugh at the occasional male college student wearing a red and white tutu, or the middle-aged woman appearing to have an out of body experience, I felt for these people.
Yes, I said it. I empathized with those fans with not-so-polite chants about my very own Buckeyes.
The rollercoaster of a game was slightly reminiscent to the pains I experienced during the OSU-Michigan game Nov. 26. The back and forth scoring and fighting was too much to handle. And I could see it on the faces of both Badger and Spartan fans Saturday.
I cheered when they cheered. I cringed when they cringed. I even high-fived a Wisconsin fan after the Hail Mary pass in the fourth quarter.
While my clothes and heart represented my team, I wasn’t just a Buckeye that day or someone cheering on my conference.
I was a loyal football fan like everyone else.
No matter the division or team we hail from, as college football fans, we are all a bunch of nuts.
