One thing I'll say on the Buckeyes' behalf

...and I don't expect to say this again any time soon, is that their fans were really good.

I tend to arrive close to game time when I go to lacrosse games. By then, the best seats available leave me sitting close to the visiting fans, i.e. the parents of the visiting parents. It's like the club circuit for high school sports like soccer and softball, traveling teams that are a commitment for the entire family.

The visiting crowds tend to be a collection of the stereotypically worst traveling team parents, the kind that refs and umpires kicked out of the parks when their kids were in grade school. They sit in the stands shouting at the refs with occasional pauses to question their own coaches' decisions. You probably won't be surprised if I tell you that the worst I ever witnessed were the Harvard fans when ND hosted them in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a few years ago.

Regarding the Ohio State fans yesterday, they were great. They were energetic. They did a lot of organized cheering. They never had anything negative to say about a Notre Dame player. Like any partisans watching a game, they had a few "come on, ref" moments that I thought were justified; but they let go quickly and resumed cheering for their team.

Players' families in any sport aren't typical of any school's sports fans. Still, the OSU cheering section sitting behind me yesterday was a refreshing change from the usual experience.