Football
Buckeyes Hope Fan Support
Helps Streak to Continue
By John Porentas
Northwestern's Ryan Field has a listed capacity of 47,130
and in two home dates thus far this season the Wildcats have drawn
just short of capacity with 46,756 fans on hand to see the Wildcats...in
both games...combined.
That's right. In two games combined the Wildcats have
failed to draw the listed capacity of their stadium. This Saturday,
however, Ryan Field is sold out for a game in which the Buckeyes (3-0,
0-0) and Wildcats (1-3, 0-1) will square off in the Big Ten opener
for Ohio State.
So why the sudden interest in Northwestern football?
A rare night game could be part of the reason, but more likely is
that Ryan Field will have a lot people in it Saturday night wearing
colors other than Purple and White, like for instance, Scarlet and
Gray, just like the last time the Buckeyes ventured to Evanston to
take on the Wildcats.
"A couple of players who played in that game told
me that there was more red than purple," said OSU safety Donte
Whitner of OSU's last visit to Evanston.
Whitner wasn't yet a Buckeye in 2002, but watched the
game on television as a high school student and remembers it vividly.
"It was an intense game, the intensity was very
high. I remember the Maurice Clarett situation in that game and how
hard both teams played. Northwestern really played OSU down to the
last snap of the game," said Whitner.
The Wildcats last defeated OSU in 1971 when the Wildcats
did in the Buckeyes 14-10 in Columbus. Put another way, a 20-year-old
student at on campus at Northwestern at that time has had time go
get married, have children, and have grandchildren since the Wildcats
came out on the long end of the score.
The picture is even bleaker if you look for Northwestern's
last win in Evanston.
The Buckeyes last lost in Evanston when they dropped
an 10-0 game to 11th-ranked Northwestern on November 1, 1958. A 20-year-old
student on campus for that game is now about a year from retirement.
The most recent Northwestern winning streak over the Buckeyes came
in 1962 and 1963 when the Wildcat took back-to-back games in Columbus
for a two-game streak by scores of 18-14 and 17-8 respectively.
A win drought of that magnitude can have players and
fans foaming at the mouth for a chance to snap the skein, which is
why the Buckeyes are grateful for the road support they most likely
will enjoy in Evanston this weekend.
"It (fan support on the road) definitely means
something," said OSU senior fullback Brandon Joe.
"You get the crowd behind you at an away game,
that can definitely dampen the home team's spirit.
Safety Nate Salley thinks the Buckeyes can count on
strong support in Evanston this season.
"I believe it will be a lot of our fans there,"
Salley said.
"My freshman year when we went there we had so
many people there that they had the O-H-I-O going on in their stadium.
"I thought that was crazy.
"We were in their stadium but it felt like the
'Shoe almost."
The current crop of Buckeyes are no longer surprised
by the road support the Buckeyes get every time they take the field,
no matter how far from Columbus.
"Our fans will go anywhere. Our fans would go to
Africa if that's where we were playing," said OSU senior receiver
Bam Childress.
OSU has yet to play a game off the continent, but they
did play a pretty big game in Arizona fairly recently. The memory
of the fan support at the Fiesta Bowl in January of 2003 still resonates
with the Buckeyes.
"Anyone who was at the Fiesta Bowl two years ago
saw that it was like a home game," said junior linebacker A.
J. Hawk.
"They traveled well again for the Fiesta Bowl this
year.
"I was actually surprised at how many fans we had
at N. C. State. I had no idea. I didn't think we'd have anyone,"
said Hawk.
Whitner was not at all surprised to find out that the
game in Evanston is sold out, and fully expects Buckeye fans to be
in good numbers.
"It doesn't surprise me, because you have Buckeye
fans all over the country. If they come to Arizona, they'll make it
to Chicago," Whitner said.
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