When OSU hosted Texas in 2005, it was, (according to many I’ve spoken to) the nadir of OSU fan behavior. One of the UT fan sites described it as a collection of “the 95,000 people you know that are most likely to key a car”
Following the game, the Columbus Police Department convened a meeting with OSU’s President to inform her that they had reached the breaking point and that the University had to start taking concrete steps to reign in the drunken behavior. The following year (and before these things were cast in stone), ABC was salivating at the possibility of Michigan/OSU (1 vs 2) being played in prime time. I’m told (but can’t verify obviously) that Columbus PD told OSU they’d be on their own for crowd control if they agreed. (The game was played at 3:30 ET). Mind you, this was when the B10 finished the season the weekend prior to Thanksgiving instead of after, so students were on campus and the pregame scene for the game literally started 24 hours prior to kickoff. Now that it’s Thanksgiving weekend, most of the starch has been removed, even in 2022 (3vs2) and basically, it was assumed, (incorrectly it turned out) an elimination game for the playoff, it was pretty sedate atmosphere pregame according to people I knew who attended.
I laughed at your Dad getting pissed over “the finger”. Some might say, he did really well if that was the worst he got, Back in the day, US23 (highway between Ann Arbor and CBus) was like driving on a highway with military vehicles. No one with a Michigan plate would drive a single mph over the speed limit because it was lined with state and county law enforcement itching to write traffic citations.
