Students are coming to the realization that there is more to football than their favorite team.
Every Sunday, many Ohio University students change out of their Bobcat spirit wear to don their NFL apparel. For many, seeing the large smattering of teams represented is a culture shock.
“You get to see everyone promote their own sense of individualism through different teams,” Brett Munz-Gilday, a huge Cleveland Browns fan, said.
Jerseys from the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns — two teams from Ohio — outweigh other NFL franchises' presence on campus. Those fans, however, have not had much to root for as those teams have had a combined zero Super Bowl championships in 49 years. Watching a Browns fan on any Sunday, however, tells a different story of heartbreak.
“Being a Browns is a lot like riding The Maverick (a roller coaster) at Cedar Point,” Munz-Gilday said. “Just seeing a Browns win puts Cleveland in a good mood, just because it only happens about five times a year.”
Living with a roommate with a different favorite team can cause major problems. The university provides students with one ethernet cable, limiting dorm rooms to one game at a time. If the Browns and Bengals are on two different channels, limbs can and will be lost in determining which game will be watched.
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In a perfect world, both teams would be shown through the local television networks. Many fans must travel Uptown on some weeks to watch their teams play in a restaurant or bar, spending the last $10 in their bank account so they can watch their team. For non-Ohio fans, that could be a weekly summit.
“It’s kinda tough,” Thommy Thomas, a Minnesota Vikings fan from Boston, said. “The one plus side to it is whenever there is a prime time Vikings game, I am probably the happiest guy in the world.”
The biggest adjustment for fans is the environment. Clevelanders, Cincinnatians and even those Pittsburghers have trouble replicating their normal living room watch party with family and friends.
“I personally don’t take (constant nagging from other fans) so hard,” Zach Conley, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, said. “Being a Steelers fan means, no matter how much hate we get from everybody, we will always still be better than the Browns.”
College football fans run into similar difficulties, especially Ohio State University supporters. The Bobcats obviously will not be winning a national championship soon, so many students root for their childhood allegiances. That creates another large issue in itself. Do you drop your childhood team for the sake of school spirit, even if it has no chance of winning?
Some students have found a loophole to these problems. VIPLeague is a streaming website that many use. Every game — from football to badminton — is available to stream, with the downside being that there is no high definition and there is an approximate 30-second delay.
Young football fans are learning a valuable life lesson, which is that their favorite team may not be their friend's favorite team anymore. Browns fans may get a job in Pittsburgh and be a pariah the rest of their lives. Even in everyday life, college is here to prepare you for the worst.
@tony_heim35
ah083514@ohio.edu
