Notre Dame and Ohio State aren’t football rivals in the traditional sense of often sharing a field. Heck, despite being just a short road trip from another they’ve met just a handful of times in their extensive gridiron histories.
They are however rivals when it comes to countless battles for recruits both in the Midwest and nationally. It just so happens the two are the middle of a two-year series. Some of those fans that will be plentiful at Notre Dame Stadium this September were individually called out by a business owner in the know when it comes to Big Ten fans.
To brief you, Northwestern is readying to build an entirely new football stadium that will be state of the art. It’ll be much different than their humble home known as Ryan Field today, but let’s cut to the chase.
The Wall Street Journal recently documented how Evanston (not Chicago) residents aren’t all thrilled with plans for the new stadium. However, one supporter of the plan is a local business owner. He owns what some call a hot dog stand but is actually an institution, Mustard’s Last Stand (seriously, if you’re ever in Evanston make your way there whether its game day or not), that sits in the shadows of Ryan Field. Some have complained about the behavior of opponents fans but this business owner is not one of those. Well, except in the case of one Northwestern rival.
Mr. Starkman, who is 56, said complaints about fans urinating on lawns and bushes after games are exaggerated and happen only when Northwestern hosts Ohio State.
Wisconsin fans party very hard but are “nice and respectful,” he said; Michigan State fans are “brilliant, lots of doctors and judges”; Michigan supporters are “ruffians” but generally well behaved; Iowa’s are the friendliest in the Big Ten, and Nebraska’s fans are the most likely to arrive in pickups.
“Ohio State fans are the only problem,” Mr. Starkman said. “They have a monster following, and they think the world is their bathroom.”
There you go. A man that sees it as up close and personal as anyone in the Big Ten essentially called Ohio State fans THE WORST.
Be aware, South Bend property owners. Those “who think the world is their bathroom” will be arriving in town this September.
Sidenote: I’d have loved to have heard how Starkman would have generalized Notre Dame fans after their trip to Ryan Field in 2018.
Additional Sidenote: I was serious earlier when I said check out Mustard’s if you’re ever in Evanston.
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Below: A few Buckeyes fans “in action”