Good plays earned cheers

Many fans had dual loyalty when the big game was shown at the Canfield Fair.

By ALISON KEMP

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

CANFIELD — Football did not stop the fair.

Only a couple of hundred people gathered around a very big television to watch the first matchup between the Youngstown State University Penguins and Ohio State University Buckeyes.

The audience cheered when either team had a very successful play — but applause when Ohio State won the game was minimal.

“Watching it at the fair, it was awesome,” said Mary Beidelschies, of Canfield.

It was hard to tell the fans apart, since the team colors are not very different — scarlet and gray, and red and white.

“Whoever had the ball, we cheered for,” Beidelschies said. “We would have liked YSU to win.”

Beidelschies and her family weren’t the only fans cheering for both teams.

“We’re torn,” said Joan Majernik, who watched with her husband, Len.

Having the game shown at the fair was an added bonus for them, since the game was shown only on the Big Ten Network, which they aren’t subscribing to.

They were impressed with the crowd and glad about the support the fans were giving to both teams.

“It’s a wonderful showing,” Joan Majernik said.

She wanted to see YSU win the game, but her husband did not.

What mattered

“YSU won’t be hurt if they lost today,” Len Majernik said at halftime. If OSU would lose, “You might as well forget about” any playoff chances, he noted

He said the exposure for YSU was great, and they would make it to the playoffs regardless of this game’s outcome.

Jim Nagle of Boardman thought YSU would come back and win the game. By having more seniors on the team, he expected YSU to have played better.

At the end of the game, Glen Balogh of Niles said it was a good showing for both schools.

“YSU had good exposure, and OSU gets an easy win,” he said.

He is an OSU fan, but he also wanted YSU to win.

“Being local, we always root for YSU as well,” he said.

akemp@vindy.com