This last Friday, the ringmaster of the Nutcracker student section of Ohio State wrote the Herald opinion section and called the game-day atmosphere at the University of Wisconsin appalling and unacceptable. I call it not conducive to visitors.

Mr. Peanut himself, Jarrod Weiss, told UW students to “take notes” when we go to Columbus next year. While I don’t condone having kegs thrown at my head or physical assault, verbal assault should be tolerable.

When entering an opposing team’s stadium, one should not act like Northwestern fans. Walking to and from your homecoming game as if it were your mother’s funeral is not an intimidating way to show your team spirit.

Each time I travel to a football game outside of Wisconsin, I expect to receive some harassment. In most circumstances, this has not been the case. However, if you want to see fan mayhem at its finest, travel to the Meadowlands for a Jets game.

Last year over Christmas break, a group of friends and myself made the 1100-mile journey to Giants Stadium to watch the Packers take on the Jets. You could say this game was not typical. The Jets needed about six games to end in their favor to get to the playoffs, and it happened. When Adam Vinitieri kicked a 35-yard field goal 2:03 into overtime, 60,000 fans and one angry old lady turned their attention toward making every Packer fan in the crowd uncomfortable.

I have never wanted to throw an old lady over the second deck of a stadium like I did that day, but those were just thoughts and they stayed just that. For every Chad Pennington touchdown toss and failed Doug Pederson drive, the old woman would tap me on the shoulder, wave her finger and say “no home field advantage for you.”

At halftime, a drunken Laveraneus Coles head butted me and then dumped beer all over my Brett Favre jersey. Leaving the stadium, a seven-foot version of Meat Loaf with a two-foot long mullet shoved me into a garbage can. Just as I thought it was all over, some hooligan spit through the earhole in my helmet. Throughout all of this, I was still wearing my Favre jersey and plastic Packer helmet.

I could have done without the bloodied nose and the physical abuse, but the verbal abuse I expected and took. The nutcase in charge of the Buckeye nut house said “we as a university and we as a student group have started to take measures to make the atmosphere, before, during and after the game a positive experience for all those involved.” That sounds like my middle school counselor urging us to say “home court” to ourselves before we say anything negative to another person because it would hurt if someone said the same thing to us on our home court.

Ohio State fans should not feel comfortable at Camp Randall. Our screaming and our fanfare should intimidate opposing players. If we were to wander Breese and Regent like Northwestern fans, people would question whether a game were actually going on.

For crying out loud, Badger fans were the louder segment at their Homecoming game.

I will once again say that I do not condone physical abuse, but verbal abuse should follow the old adage that “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Apparently Ohio State’s Mr. Peanut doesn’t follow this rule.

If you want to be a true fan, be the annoying old lady that won’t go away. Don’t be that guy with the mullet who shoves you into the garbage can. Until then, let nothing change.

Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.