This past weekend, I traveled with my boyfriend and his family to Ohio to attend the Ohio State vs. Miami college football game. He and his family are originally from Ohio, and prior to meeting him, I had no idea how insane entire state is over their beloved Buckeyes. I now know that the Midwest has an addiction to college football so strong that I, a California girl, will never be able to comprehend it. But I digress.
In the stands at this game, I saw fights break out that were more passionate than newlyweds on their honeymoon. The same argument came up every single time, "Who is a better team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, or the University of Miami Hurricanes?" The positions were that black and white with each outburst.
Claims supported by the OSU fans included that they had "Heisman prospect" quarterback Terrelle Pryor, their team was "less clumsy on the field" than UM, and interestingly the most common claim, OSU fans could fill up their stadium, whilst UM fans could not". (I ended up looking this up... UM's stadium is smaller, but they fill up their stadium just as well as OSU's).
The evidence used most often to support OSU was that they were ranked number two in the country for college football teams. For UM, often I heard from a mouthing off fan that their team had a better offense, and a better punter. Both of these could be backed up by current rankings and statistics of the teams.
Assumption was used mostly by OSU fans. Often, their main assumption was that their Buckeyes would win this game effortlessly, because of their ranking. Unfortunately, for most of the game the team really had to put up a fight, as UM scored easily with two runbacks during the game.
Logos was often used in arguments between fans as well. Supporting claims with statistics, such as "Pryor threw more touchdown passes than the other teams quarterback, so logically that makes him the better guy" were used.
As for logical fallacies, attacking the character of a fan was all too common. Constantly, I heard fans from UM telling their rivals that their team would lose because they were, and I quote, "a bunch of f*cking hicks". THAT'S why the team is going to lose?!? (They didn't).
Overall, the main weakness I found in the arguments were that people were in no way respectful of their opponents' opinions, and they constantly brought in unnecessary drama to strengthen their claims. Of course, for someone like myself, this made the time worthwhile. Watching these people fight so passionately for something that they had NO control over was fascinating. Siting in those stands, watching the game, and seeing the people around me was a priceless experience. The values I discovered after seeing all of this go down was that people are passionate about their football, it makes Sunday through Friday that much more bearable knowing that Saturday football would soon be here.
Personally, I can't wait for the next game I attend... but I will continue to keep to myself and keep my eyes on the game.
