OSU fans savor victory, celebrate in the streets
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ecstatic Ohio State fans turned several campus blocks into a giant street party Saturday after the top-ranked Buckeyes' 42-39 victory over No. 2 Michigan.
Thousands of red-clad Ohio State supporters poured out of Ohio Stadium to celebrate the win on the streets, in bars and at hundreds of daylong tailgate parties still going strong after dark.
"That's why it's a rivalry," said John Ketron, 46, a Cincinnati salesman.
Dan Paullin quickly predicted a national championship for the Buckeyes as he walked away from the stadium.
"Great. Super. I'm ready to watch them win the big one," said Paullin, 36, of Lima.
Even Michigan fans took consolation from the close game.
"The game lived up to the hype -- the crowd, the atmosphere, everything was amazing out there," said Kevin Ward, 35, a Florida car salesman who grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich. "Loss, win, it was great."
Ohio State student Aaron Slupski said he never regretted going to the game instead of selling his student ticket.
"The way I thought about it, I'll never remember what I spent that money on, but I'll always remember getting to go see this game," said Slupski, 22, a sophomore from Columbus.
"Why would you miss it, the greatest game of the century?" Gloria Farmer, 54, of Louisville, Ky., a 1973 Ohio State graduate, said before the game.
Phil Brown got up at 2:30 a.m. and was on campus securing his parking place by 4:15 a.m. Brown, from Circleville south of Columbus, and his family munched on chips, brats and hamburgers before the game. Brown, 69, a highway construction supervisor, never considered selling his tickets.
"I don't have these tickets to make a profit," he said. "It wouldn't be right."