New Buckeye shirt for sale

[Zip Watcher]

So why do some hate the Buckeyes? 

My dislike of Columbus State has to do with the fact that they represent everything that is wrong with college sports today.That is it .. plain and simple.

I firmly believe it's because the Ohio State athletic program is what we all want the Zips to be like.  I know I do.

Uhhh .. NO .. that's certainly not it .. not even close .. at least not for me.The LAST thing I want is for UA to emulate OSU's athletic programs / departments / boosters. I'd rather completely suck and be positive representatives of the university / community than sell our collective souls .. and have semi-pro teams that don't fit the school & community, and pick and choose which rules apply to UA. If I want to root for the Cavs & Browns .. I can do that. If I want to watch student athletes develop over 4 years .. I can do it at UA.I'm not a UA grad & I can't stand Ohio A&M .. has nothing to do with recruiting against the Zips. It has to do with either being amateur athletes or being pro athletes. If you're going to be a college team .. have students play. This is what KD & Mike Thomas & Mack Rhodes are talking about when they say "we're going to do things the right way."FYI, these topics are fair game as long as they reside where this one does ... I might change the forum topic to be "Off-Topic, Smack & Jokes" .. just so folks can stop worrying about it being the right place for this or not.

[timmyboy]

I'm not a UA grad & I can't stand Ohio A&M .. has nothing to do with recruiting against the Zips. It has to do with either being amateur athletes or being pro athletes. If you're going to be a college team .. have students play. This is what KD & Mike Thomas & Mack Rhodes are talking about when they say "we're going to do things the right way."

not sure what you mean by have STUDENTS PLAY. could you explain to me what you mean plz.

[RowdyZip]

I'm not a UA grad & I can't stand Ohio A&M .. has nothing to do with recruiting against the Zips.  It has to do with either being amateur athletes or being pro athletes.  If you're going to be a college team .. have students play.  This is what KD & Mike Thomas & Mack Rhodes are talking about when they say "we're going to do things the right way."

not sure what you mean by have STUDENTS PLAY. could you explain to me what you mean plz.

I think that what ZW is saying with that comment is that most "big time" college programs like OSU dont really have students playing. Many of the stars of the team get by 1 or 2 years knowing they have a multi-million dollar job waiting and have no intention of graduating. I truly agree that never will you find a more PURE form of competition of STUDENT athletes than at the "mid-major" level. Most of these guys will work their butts off for 4 years for a CHANCE to play in the league (NFL or NBA) rather than have it handed to them (not doubting the talent disparity) on a silver platter. However, all of us DO want to see UA succeed, and if eventually we do move up to a more quality conference....that comes with the territory. "BCS" teams with "BCS" talent breed NCAA violations and whiny pro prospect talent.

[sgm405]

1) OSU represents everything wrong with college sports? Because they have players leave early? Sooooo you also hate every other major D1 program then, right? 2) Are the Zips players really any more of "students" than the players at OSU or any other major program? Why, because they aren't good enough to go pro, are they then more or less of students? I guarantee they go to the same amount of classes, put in the same amount of work, get the same amount of "help", and get the same amount out of their degrees that the OSU players do. 3) Do you guys honestly think Akron plays by all the NCAA rules? Seriously? Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[Captain Kangaroo]

*Psssst* (whisper voice)….Doooooon't tell anyone….but the Zips play football against The Ohio State University this fall. Thus they are our opponent. Thus it is ok to rip on them. In fact, on ZipsNation.org, it is highly encouraged. Note 1: We regularly compete against OSU is soccer too. Rifle and Baseball too, if I'm not mistaken? We'd play them in hoops too, if they had any nut-sack.Note 2: Running smack against opponents in the "Smack" forum is exactly what the Smack forum is for. If you can't deal with it, don't click on it.Believe me, when the OSU fans start their juvenile taunts regarding the Zips as I walk towards the OSU stadium in my Zips gear this fall, I will have no problems pulling out a few Florida-related retorts. And it will be quality material, I assure you. F The Buckeyes in the skull.

[Balki Bartokomous]

*Psssst* (whisper voice)….Doooooon't tell anyone….but the Zips play football against The Ohio State University this fall. Thus they are our opponent. Thus it is ok to rip on them. In fact, on ZipsNation.org, it is highly encouraged. Note 1: We regularly compete against OSU is soccer too. Rifle and Baseball too, if I'm not mistaken? We'd play them in hoops too, if they had any nut-sack.Note 2: Running smack against opponents in the "Smack" forum is exactly what the Smack forum is for. If you can't deal with it, don't click on it.Believe me, when the OSU fans start their juvenile taunts regarding the Zips as I walk towards the OSU stadium in my Zips gear this fall, I will have no problems pulling out a few Florida-related retorts. And it will be quality material, I assure you. F The Buckeyes in the skull.

Akron plays tOSU? Wow, we should be honored to be in the presence of such a great program. We'll obviously lose by 190 pts, but hey, Akron's no talented, worthless wastes of D1 atheltes will get a taste of the show. Only 6 months until we get run over by the greatest school in the world on their way to another national title!alright, enough sarcasam. I do wonder who tOSU will sign for their QB opening. They could probably get Troy Smith to come back to college for a simple 3 year, 21 million dollar deal. If only Akron had the boosters to buy players.More importantly, only 143 days until the Albany Great Danes football season opener at Colgate. Go Danes!

[Zip Watcher]

Ignorance is bliss I guess.

Your words .. not mine.

[sgm405]

*Psssst* (whisper voice)….Doooooon't tell anyone….but the Zips play football against The Ohio State University this fall. Thus they are our opponent. Thus it is ok to rip on them. In fact, on ZipsNation.org, it is highly encouraged. Note 1: We regularly compete against OSU is soccer too. Rifle and Baseball too, if I'm not mistaken? We'd play them in hoops too, if they had any nut-sack.Note 2: Running smack against opponents in the "Smack" forum is exactly what the Smack forum is for. If you can't deal with it, don't click on it.Believe me, when the OSU fans start their juvenile taunts regarding the Zips as I walk towards the OSU stadium in my Zips gear this fall, I will have no problems pulling out a few Florida-related retorts. And it will be quality material, I assure you. F The Buckeyes in the skull.

But the post was OSU basketball related, was it not?Oh, and I think if you started smack about Florida they'd pretty much have scoreboard on you i every way possible...

[sgm405]

Ignorance is bliss I guess.

Your words .. not mine.

Yes, because if you honestly think Akron isn't anything different than OSU and every other major school on a mid-major scale, you're fooling yourself...no offense.

[Zips Win!]

Every few months the topic of why a very select few of us on this board dislikes tOSU. The diehard tOSU fans who post on this board subsequently get ticked and posts like this happen. There are three main reasons why you cannot have it both ways, although many pretend to do so. Either you are a true Zips fan or you are a tOSU fan, you cannot be both. You are either truly with UA or you are against UA.First, tOSU is an opponent. Twenty years ago when UA was D-IAA there was a clear delineation between the schools (at least in football). Since then, first we moved to the D1 level, then joined the MAC and within 15 years of moving up, tOSU begins scheduling us. In every other sport, the true/blue fan does not root for an opponent. Yet the so called UA-OSU fan finds someway to rationalize this. While it is fully understandable that many of us did not grow up rooting for the Zips, yet most of us did attend the University, I cannot see how you can call yourself a fan, yet pull for the opponent. Reason enough to dislike tOSU.Second, we have to recruit players too! Several times before I made the comment that there isn’t one Browns fan out there hoping that the Steelers sign and draft all the good players. Yet, the so called UA-OSU fan gets pumped every February when the best players sign at tOSU, many of them from NE Ohio and even more from Akron. It’s immaterial that they will inevitably get good players. It’s just puzzling to me how you can call yourself a Zips fan when in seven months you have to play against the players you were delighted to see tOSU sign. An even more compelling reason to dislike tOSU!Third, is fan base. There are approximately 90,000 UA alums living in NE Ohio yet most of them refuse to support their University while most of them openly pull for tOSU. Huh! Believe me, there will be more UA alums at the tOSU game next September pulling for tOSU than their own alma mater. Add in several hundred thousand people in the greater Akron/Summit area and you will be hard pressed to find even a few thousand non-alums pulling for the Zips. Why? Because they root for tOSU! Are there a handful of alums/fans who sit home to watch ND, Michigan, USC or FSU? Absolutely! But nothing compared to the tens of thousands who do this for tOSU. Sick enough reason to dislike tOSU and their fans.Furthermore, OSU has such a foothold throughout the state when it comes to their fan base that it’s virtually impossible to penetrate. If UA alums (and every other alum at all the other DI schools in Ohio) touted their school like they should, maybe this would change. When my kids come home from school and tell me that there is a scarlet and gray dress-up day, my note is written that they will dress up in scarlet and gray the day after (not really) you have a Zips blue and gold day. And many of these teachers/administrators who put on these days are UA alums, but I digress.At the end of the day, the Zips building a winning tradition will go a long, long way toward respectability. For you so called UA-OSU fans, tOSU going 2-10 every year for a decade will help even more. Believe me, the option of watching a bad tOSU team or going to watch a competitive Zips squad would inevitably put thousands of more fans in the seats, which is yet another reason to hope they lose. Add in the fact that we have The Columbus Beacon Journal, The Columbus Plain Dealer, and tOSU sports’ talk shoved in our face all fall, how can you not help but despise them.I could go on……Finally, for fans like sgm405 I will end with this. If you think for one minute that the tOSU fans you encountered on your way out of the stadium in 2001 were sincere, you are an @#$%%^. (since name calling isn’t allowed) The only reason they had anything nice to say was because they won. tOSU has some of the most reprehensible fans on the face of the earth, just ask the Texas fans! If the Zips can somehow pull the upset this fall, and you have any Zips gear on, you just better hope you can get out of the stadium alive. Believe me, if I can get back to my vehicle (with UA license plates) I fully expect it to be up in flames. Boy I love tOSU.

[timmyboy]

*Psssst* (whisper voice)….Doooooon't tell anyone….but the Zips play football against The Ohio State University this fall. Thus they are our opponent. Thus it is ok to rip on them. In fact, on ZipsNation.org, it is highly encouraged. Note 1: We regularly compete against OSU is soccer too. Rifle and Baseball too, if I'm not mistaken? We'd play them in hoops too, if they had any nut-sack.Note 2: Running smack against opponents in the "Smack" forum is exactly what the Smack forum is for. If you can't deal with it, don't click on it.Believe me, when the OSU fans start their juvenile taunts regarding the Zips as I walk towards the OSU stadium in my Zips gear this fall, I will have no problems pulling out a few Florida-related retorts. And it will be quality material, I assure you. F The Buckeyes in the skull.

they also play them in softball regularly. i would love to see them agree to play us in basketball so we could end this discussion, and prove that it would be alot closer then people think.

[Balki Bartokomous]

well said Zips Win! I'm also glad to see you putting the little t in front of the OSU.even in high school they would openly promote scarlet and grey days. I'd always show up in my tUofA gear. I'm not about to be brainwashed into watching and rooting for a boring ass big ten school that is 2 hours away.

[sgm405]

Every few months the topic of why a very select few of us on this board dislikes tOSU. The diehard tOSU fans who post on this board subsequently get ticked and posts like this happen. There are three main reasons why you cannot have it both ways, although many pretend to do so. Either you are a true Zips fan or you are a tOSU fan, you cannot be both. You are either truly with UA or you are against UA.First, tOSU is an opponent. Twenty years ago when UA was D-IAA there was a clear delineation between the schools (at least in football). Since then, first we moved to the D1 level, then joined the MAC and within 15 years of moving up, tOSU begins scheduling us. In every other sport, the true/blue fan does not root for an opponent. Yet the so called UA-OSU fan finds someway to rationalize this. While it is fully understandable that many of us did not grow up rooting for the Zips, yet most of us did attend the University, I cannot see how you can call yourself a fan, yet pull for the opponent. Reason enough to dislike tOSU.Second, we have to recruit players too! Several times before I made the comment that there isn’t one Browns fan out there hoping that the Steelers sign and draft all the good players. Yet, the so called UA-OSU fan gets pumped every February when the best players sign at tOSU, many of them from NE Ohio and even more from Akron. It’s immaterial that they will inevitably get good players. It’s just puzzling to me how you can call yourself a Zips fan when in seven months you have to play against the players you were delighted to see tOSU sign. An even more compelling reason to dislike tOSU!Third, is fan base. There are approximately 90,000 UA alums living in NE Ohio yet most of them refuse to support their University while most of them openly pull for tOSU. Huh! Believe me, there will be more UA alums at the tOSU game next September pulling for tOSU than their own alma mater. Add in several hundred thousand people in the greater Akron/Summit area and you will be hard pressed to find even a few thousand non-alums pulling for the Zips. Why? Because they root for tOSU! Are there a handful of alums/fans who sit home to watch ND, Michigan, USC or FSU? Absolutely! But nothing compared to the tens of thousands who do this for tOSU. Sick enough reason to dislike tOSU and their fans.Furthermore, OSU has such a foothold throughout the state when it comes to their fan base that it’s virtually impossible to penetrate. If UA alums (and every other alum at all the other DI schools in Ohio) touted their school like they should, maybe this would change. When my kids come home from school and tell me that there is a scarlet and gray dress-up day, my note is written that they will dress up in scarlet and gray the day after (not really) you have a Zips blue and gold day. And many of these teachers/administrators who put on these days are UA alums, but I digress.At the end of the day, the Zips building a winning tradition will go a long, long way toward respectability. For you so called UA-OSU fans, tOSU going 2-10 every year for a decade will help even more. Believe me, the option of watching a bad tOSU team or going to watch a competitive Zips squad would inevitably put thousands of more fans in the seats, which is yet another reason to hope they lose. Add in the fact that we have The Columbus Beacon Journal, The Columbus Plain Dealer, and tOSU sports’ talk shoved in our face all fall, how can you not help but despise them.I could go on……Finally, for fans like sgm405 I will end with this. If you think for one minute that the tOSU fans you encountered on your way out of the stadium in 2001 were sincere, you are an @#$%%^. (since name calling isn’t allowed) The only reason they had anything nice to say was because they won. tOSU has some of the most reprehensible fans on the face of the earth, just ask the Texas fans! If the Zips can somehow pull the upset this fall, and you have any Zips gear on, you just better hope you can get out of the stadium alive. Believe me, if I can get back to my vehicle (with UA license plates) I fully expect it to be up in flames. Boy I love tOSU.

Some responses...first to your three reasons...1) Yes, OSU is an opponent - in a different conference. Whether they win or lose has no impact on the Zips standing in the MAC. When the two teams do play and what OSU does actually affects Akron, I cheer for Akron. 2) Akron and OSU technically recruit the same guys, but let's be honest and realistic. They're looking at 4 and 5 star recruits and we're thrilled if we get a 3 star. They're pulling from different pools of talent - and if the guys OSU is after don't go there, they go to Michigan, or Penn State, or some other major school. Brookhart/Dambrot probably don't even go after half of the guys OSU does because they are realistic. Do you really think Akron had a shot at bringing in Greg Oden or Mike Conley Jr.? Maybe this argument works a few years down the road , but right now OSU competing with Akron for recruits is a mere technicality. 3) As I've pointed out before when looking at fan bases...these people are simply not going to stop cheering for OSU. Why fight that? And why should they stop cheering for them? It's been pointed out that many people are OSU fans from the time they are little because of family connections or just because they are near no other school and simply chose OSU. These people cheer for OSU for years and years. So let me use an example that relates to this. I live in Cleveland for the first 18 or 19 years of my life, and I'm a huge Indians fan because I am loyal to my city/community. When the time for college rolls around, I decide to attend school in Chicago, where their is an undying love for the Chicago Cubs. Now...the Indians and Cubs don't compete in games. And - while they compete for the same talent, each team's wins and losses have no impact on each other. Is there anything wrong with sticking with the Indians but also becoming a Cubs fan? I think not...and obviously others don't either, because tonnnnnsssss of people have "secondary" favorites. Back to OSU/Akron though - the best we can do is try to get those "casual" OSU fans to get turned on to Akron athletics. OSU isn't going to stop being good and people aren't going to stop cheering for them...if you're waiting for a string of 2-3 win seasons, you'll be waiting your entire life. So just accept that they'll always be at least somewhat good and that they'll always have a strong backing. The choice is to try to get some of the more OSU casual fans interested in Akron as well....or I guess we can continue to see a half empty JAR. Concerning the media coverage....as I said before, do something good - get the press for it. When Akron was making their run, the ABJ gave them tons of coverage. They did a three part special on the team. After the snub, there were numerous editorials from them and many other columnists backing the Zips. Do something good...get the press. What are these papers supposed to do, not talk about OSU being in the National Title game? That's a NATIONAL story, EVERY paper was reporting on it. Finally, concerning the fans. It's funny...I didn't notice you walking behind me at the game. I mean, you must've been, right? Cause how else would you know if those people were genuine with their comments or not? Just an silly remark...Are there bad, obnoxious, asshole OSU fans? There sure are. Are there fans just like them rooting for Texas? Yes. Cincinnati? Check. Every school/team in the nation? You better believe it. You can't judge a fan base based on a few idiots. At the Q there was a Zips fan a few rows down from me screaming "F this, F that" throughout the game with a little kid two rows down from him. At the Can't game, a few Rowdies chanted "Where's your sister" to one of the Can't players who had come from a basically broken family...something he couldn't control. At the Can't game last year I saw an Akron student straight up vandalizing part of Dix stadium. All classless things done by Zips "fans"...so that means Akron fans are "some of the most reprehensible fans on the face of the earth", right?Of course not. Akron has an excellent, passionate, classy fan base who - like OSU and any other school - have a few bad apples. If we aren't all judged by our few idiots, why should they? What it comes down to is that, while everyone wants Akron to top OSU, some of you try to make lame excuses for why we are currently "better". So you talk about how they're what's wrong with college sports, even though Akron is no different from them. And you talk about how bad their fans are, when in truth they are just as good as ours. What's next, saying that their trumpet player missed a note? It really comes across as petty and jealous. So I guess I'll say this in closing. I've been a die-hard Zips fan for 8 years now, ever since my first day on campus. I'm always at games, tournaments, etc - cheering on my school. I love Akron and firmly believe it's on it's way to not only becoming a top school, but also a top athletic program. We have the coaches, the players, and soon - the facilities to "make the leap". And I couldn't be more excited about this. No matter what I do or where I go, I'll always be a Zips fan, and I'll always support this team, this program, and this school as best that I can. And on the side, I'll continue to cheer for OSU when they're not playing Akron. If you want to believe that that makes me less of a fan, you're free to think that. If that is going to cause you to ask me to leave this board (which I won't), then keep on asking. If you honestly believe I'm hurting Akron by watching the Buckeyes on TV, then keep on convincing yourself that that's happening. But just realize that there are a helluva lot more Akron/OSU combo fans than there are fans that think you're some kind of traitor if you cheer for any other school as a "secondary" fan. It'd be a damn shame if you pushed them away from the Zips fan base all because of a personal distaste for Ohio State.

[bobbyake]

I am one of the people who hate the way SGM and other OSU fans bring buckeyes threads on this board. I have to say that this time, it is not their fault. This thread is uncalled for. There is nothing zips-related in it and it shouldn't have been started. Since when do we promote UF shirts here ? and while i understand that being a buckeye fan is somthing ridiculous (at least for me) because it is not our school, does any one of you go to UF ? I didn't think so.

This is the Smack thread. It doesn't have to be UA related does it? If someone told a joke about Can't State, is that UA related? This thread was great!!

[Dr Z]

SGM, Are you going to the game September 8th, and if so, what jersey will you wear?

[sgm405]

SGM, Are you going to the game September 8th, and if so, what jersey will you wear?

Unfortunately one of my best friends decided to schedule his marriage on the same day as the game and I'm in his wedding...so I won't be able to attend. To say I'm pissed is an understatement lol. But to answer your question - if I was able to go, I'd be decked out in Zips gear.

[bobbyake]

SGM, I hope you never have to write your boss an email. You need to take a business writing class, because less is more!! Everytime time you write a novel on here, I skip it and read the next post knowing that your post is a big waste of my timeKeep it short and simple next time and maybe I'll read your posts.You might as well get used to the OSU bashing because I plan on heating it up in a couple of months.Go Gators!! Keep those Suckeyes crying!!

[sgm405]

SGM, I hope you never have to write your boss an email. You need to take a business writing class, because less is more!! Everytime time you write a novel on here, I skip it and read the next post knowing that your post is a big waste of my timeKeep it short and simple next time and maybe I'll read your posts.You might as well get used to the OSU bashing because I plan on heating it up in a couple of months.Go Gators!! Keep those Suckeyes crying!!

I didn't know writing a business letter and posting on an Internet forum were the same? I do write a lot...because I like to add support to my arguments...it makes for good debate. It's funny...if you don't read my posts, how do you know they are a waste of time? Wouldn't you have to know the content? But hey, whatever works. As for skipping over my posts, feel free to...I think my day will be the same either way

[michelobdog]

I go there.

[zippyrifle32]

Every few months the topic of why a very select few of us on this board dislikes tOSU.  The diehard tOSU fans who post on this board subsequently get ticked and posts like this happen.  There are three main reasons why you cannot have it both ways, although many pretend to do so.  Either you are a true Zips fan or you are a tOSU fan, you cannot be both.  You are either truly with UA or you are against UA.First, tOSU is an opponent.  Twenty years ago when UA was D-IAA there was a clear delineation between the schools (at least in football).  Since then, first we moved to the D1 level, then joined the MAC and within 15 years of moving up, tOSU begins scheduling us.  In every other sport, the true/blue fan does not root for an opponent.  Yet the so called UA-OSU fan finds someway to rationalize this.  While it is fully understandable that many of us did not grow up rooting for the Zips, yet most of us did attend the University, I cannot see how you can call yourself a fan, yet pull for the opponent. Reason enough to dislike tOSU.Second, we have to recruit players too!  Several times before I made the comment that there isn’t one Browns fan out there hoping that the Steelers sign and draft all the good players.  Yet, the so called UA-OSU fan gets pumped every February when the best players sign at tOSU, many of them from NE Ohio and even more from Akron.  It’s immaterial that they will inevitably get good players.  It’s just puzzling to me how you can call yourself a Zips fan when in seven months you have to play against the players you were delighted to see tOSU sign.  An even more compelling reason to dislike tOSU!Third, is fan base.  There are approximately 90,000 UA alums living in NE  Ohio yet most of them refuse to support their University while most of them openly pull for tOSU.  Huh!  Believe me, there will be more UA alums at the tOSU game next September pulling for tOSU than their own alma mater.  Add in several hundred thousand people in the greater Akron/Summit area and you will be hard pressed to find even a few thousand non-alums pulling for the Zips.  Why? Because they root for tOSU!  Are there a handful of alums/fans who sit home to watch ND, Michigan, USC or FSU?  Absolutely!  But nothing compared to the tens of thousands who do this for tOSU.  Sick enough reason to dislike tOSU and their fans.Furthermore, OSU has such a foothold throughout the state when it comes to their fan base that it’s virtually impossible to penetrate.  If UA alums (and every other alum at all the other DI schools in Ohio) touted their school like they should, maybe this would change.  When my kids come home from school and tell me that there is a scarlet and gray dress-up day, my note is written that they will dress up in scarlet and gray the day after (not really) you have a Zips blue and gold day.  And many of these teachers/administrators who put on these days are UA alums, but I digress.At the end of the day, the Zips building a winning tradition will go a long, long way toward respectability. For you so called UA-OSU fans, tOSU going 2-10 every year for a decade will help even more.  Believe me, the option of watching a bad tOSU team or going to watch a competitive Zips squad would inevitably put thousands of more fans in the seats, which is yet another reason to hope they lose.  Add in the fact that we have The Columbus Beacon Journal, The Columbus Plain Dealer, and tOSU sports’ talk shoved in our face all fall, how can you not help but despise them.I could go on……Finally, for fans like sgm405 I will end with this.  If you think for one minute that the tOSU fans you encountered on your way out of  the stadium in 2001 were sincere, you are an @#$%%^.  (since name calling isn’t allowed) The only reason they had anything nice to say was because they won.  tOSU has some of the most reprehensible fans on the face of the earth, just ask the Texas fans!  If the Zips can somehow pull the upset this fall, and you have any Zips gear on, you just better hope you can get out of the stadium alive.  Believe me, if I can get back to my vehicle (with UA license plates) I fully expect it to be up in flames. Boy I love tOSU.

Some responses...first to your three reasons...1) Yes, OSU is an opponent - in a different conference. Whether they win or lose has no impact on the Zips standing in the MAC. When the two teams do play and what OSU does actually affects Akron, I cheer for Akron. 2) Akron and OSU technically recruit the same guys, but let's be honest and realistic. They're looking at 4 and 5 star recruits and we're thrilled if we get a 3 star. They're pulling from different pools of talent - and if the guys OSU is after don't go there, they go to Michigan, or Penn State, or some other major school. Brookhart/Dambrot probably don't even go after half of the guys OSU does because they are realistic. Do you really think Akron had a shot at bringing in Greg Oden or Mike Conley Jr.? Maybe this argument works a few years down the road , but right now OSU competing with Akron for recruits is a mere technicality. 3) As I've pointed out before when looking at fan bases...these people are simply not going to stop cheering for OSU. Why fight that? And why should they stop cheering for them? It's been pointed out that many people are OSU fans from the time they are little because of family connections or just because they are near no other school and simply chose OSU. These people cheer for OSU for years and years. So let me use an example that relates to this. I live in Cleveland for the first 18 or 19 years of my life, and I'm a huge Indians fan because I am loyal to my city/community. When the time for college rolls around, I decide to attend school in Chicago, where their is an undying love for the Chicago Cubs. Now...the Indians and Cubs don't compete in games. And - while they compete for the same talent, each team's wins and losses have no impact on each other. Is there anything wrong with sticking with the Indians but also becoming a Cubs fan? I think not...and obviously others don't either, because tonnnnnsssss of people have "secondary" favorites. Back to OSU/Akron though - the best we can do is try to get those "casual" OSU fans to get turned on to Akron athletics. OSU isn't going to stop being good and people aren't going to stop cheering for them...if you're waiting for a string of 2-3 win seasons, you'll be waiting your entire life. So just accept that they'll always be at least somewhat good and that they'll always have a strong backing. The choice is to try to get some of the more OSU casual fans interested in Akron as well....or I guess we can continue to see a half empty JAR. Concerning the media coverage....as I said before, do something good - get the press for it. When Akron was making their run, the ABJ gave them tons of coverage. They did a three part special on the team. After the snub, there were numerous editorials from them and many other columnists backing the Zips. Do something good...get the press. What are these papers supposed to do, not talk about OSU being in the National Title game? That's a NATIONAL story, EVERY paper was reporting on it. Finally, concerning the fans. It's funny...I didn't notice you walking behind me at the game. I mean, you must've been, right? Cause how else would you know if those people were genuine with their comments or not? Just an silly remark...Are there bad, obnoxious, asshole OSU fans? There sure are. Are there fans just like them rooting for Texas? Yes. Cincinnati? Check. Every school/team in the nation? You better believe it. You can't judge a fan base based on a few idiots. At the Q there was a Zips fan a few rows down from me screaming "F this, F that" throughout the game with a little kid two rows down from him. At the Can't game, a few Rowdies chanted "Where's your sister" to one of the Can't players who had come from a basically broken family...something he couldn't control. At the Can't game last year I saw an Akron student straight up vandalizing part of Dix stadium. All classless things done by Zips "fans"...so that means Akron fans are "some of the most reprehensible fans on the face of the earth", right?Of course not. Akron has an excellent, passionate, classy fan base who - like OSU and any other school - have a few bad apples. If we aren't all judged by our few idiots, why should they? What it comes down to is that, while everyone wants Akron to top OSU, some of you try to make lame excuses for why we are currently "better". So you talk about how they're what's wrong with college sports, even though Akron is no different from them. And you talk about how bad their fans are, when in truth they are just as good as ours. What's next, saying that their trumpet player missed a note? It really comes across as petty and jealous. So I guess I'll say this in closing. I've been a die-hard Zips fan for 8 years now, ever since my first day on campus. I'm always at games, tournaments, etc - cheering on my school. I love Akron and firmly believe it's on it's way to not only becoming a top school, but also a top athletic program. We have the coaches, the players, and soon - the facilities to "make the leap". And I couldn't be more excited about this. No matter what I do or where I go, I'll always be a Zips fan, and I'll always support this team, this program, and this school as best that I can. And on the side, I'll continue to cheer for OSU when they're not playing Akron. If you want to believe that that makes me less of a fan, you're free to think that. If that is going to cause you to ask me to leave this board (which I won't), then keep on asking. If you honestly believe I'm hurting Akron by watching the Buckeyes on TV, then keep on convincing yourself that that's happening. But just realize that there are a helluva lot more Akron/OSU combo fans than there are fans that think you're some kind of traitor if you cheer for any other school as a "secondary" fan. It'd be a damn shame if you pushed them away from the Zips fan base all because of a personal distaste for Ohio State.

1. wrong! tosu is in the big ten and akron is in the mac, however there are other conferences that the smaller sports compete in (such as rifle) that they are in the same conference and in direct competition with. also, some of these non basketball-football sports have frequent competition with tosu that may not affect league standings but can affect records and eventual post season play, like say at large invitations or seeding in soccer. 2. let's be honest and say that there are more to athletics than football and basketball. i will admit that most of the country doesn't realize this, but akron has some good teams and a few great teams. you think that akron doesn't compete for recruits in (again) rifle, soccer, or even track and field?3. why the hell should i be expected to support a school i have nothing to do with other than competition? and i mean expected. coming here was a bit of a shock to hear people bash your own athletic department (which you are a part of) for some school two hours away AND then when you say you're not a fan you get dirty looks etc. again, people act like we should be lucky to live in the same state as tosu when we ourselves have athletic and academic programs that are just as good if not better than programs down there. and I HATE it when someone outside of this area assumes that i am a buckeye fan because i am not, nor should i be expected to be one.4. i can accept that tosu has more of the market here. it's understandable in some regards, but i take a bit of offense when it comes at the expense of the image of the university of akron. again, to be considered second tier college or "small" isn't fair. everything is freaking small compared to tosu! we have roughly 24,000 student. the university of oregon which has good basketball and football programs too have right around 20,000. duke has about 13,000, notre dame 11,500, louisville 22,000, kentucky 26,600, university of oklahoma 30,000, kansas 30,000. basically, size means squat when looking at who has good programs. yeah you can name california schools, or even florida as being huge, but they didn't win because they had the most students. we don't have to put ourselves lower than them just because so many other people try to.

[Apollo Creed]

I can imagine there will be a day and a time when there aren't so many posts like this on this board. I don't know, say, September 8, 2007, around, ahh, who knows, like 7 P.M.?

[zip81]

I think this thread is very appropriate...for the smack & Jokes board, which is where it exists.Personally, I will never forget all the sh!t I heard at Columbus Community College when we played down there in '01.Whats a Zip?Are they Division I?Is Akron in Ohio?They could care less we are an Ohio school. I could care less that THEY are an Ohio school.If they win or lose, it's no skin off my Ashtabula!The only thing about OSU I like is the fact that their coach is a UA graduate and a class act. Other than that, they can fall in to the Olentangy for all I care.

[zip81]

But to answer your question - if I was able to go, I'd be decked out in Zips gear. 

sgm, this is all I personally need to know.Well done.