Have Fans, Will Travel - The Buckeye Nation

US Presswire

When the opportunity presented itself for me to catch the Ohio State, South Carolina college basketball game on Saturday, I jumped all over it.  It had been years since I attended a college basketball game.  As a child growing up in Ohio, my family's basketball loyalties were enjoyed by the University of Dayton Fliers and the Wright State Raiders.  We had season tickets to both programs.  Ohio State was our third team to cheer for and the Bearcats of Cincinnati came in a close fourth. 

Growing up with two parents who both played college basketball made the round ball king in our household.  I remember fondly the runs to national championships that both Ohio State and Cincinnati made in the late 1950's and early 1960's with the likes of Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek and of course, The Big O, Oscar Robertson.  I still remember traveling to tournament games with the Dayton Fliers in 1966 when they took on the UCLA team in the NCAA Championship game.  Losing that game and returning two years later led by Donnie May and winning the NIT Championship over Jo Jo White's Kansas Jayhawkers. 

I was reminded of how much I enjoyed those experiences yesterday traveling to Columbia to watch my Number Two ranked Buckeyes take on South Carolina.  It seems not to matter what sport it is, if Ohio State is playing, the fan base will show up.  Yesterday's game at the Colonial Life Arena was packed with Ohio State fans.  The OH-IO chant took over the venue at yesterday's game as Scarlet and Gray-clad fans were noticeable everywhere.  It was clear that the Buckeyes were in town as all one heard was shouts of "Go Bucks".

It has long been known that an invitation to some college teams across the nation result in a huge fan turnout.  When you hear broadcasters say that a school travels well, they're speaking of teams like Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame and other powerhouses like them where huge numbers of fans follow their team's exploits.  It's not so much that fans travel from Columbus, Ohio or Ann Arbor, Michigan or even South Bend, Indiana to watch their favorite team play; more to the point, the fan base is already within the community, they just show up to support their team.

A safe guess for yesterday's crowd was that 50% of the people in attendance were Buckeye fans.  Not much of a home court advantage for the Gamecocks.  The OH-IO chants of the Buckeye faithful outperformed the Gamecock fans throughout the game.  Although the game was closely contested, the Number Two ranked Buckeyes pulled out a good win against South Carolina. 

We actually gave up great seats in the lower section when we were invited to a suite where we watched the game in its entirety.  The Colonial Life Arena is a great venue for college basketball and for one day, it was home to many memories of my earlier years.