Kirk Herbstreit Uses 1 Word To Describe Bad Ohio State Fans
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit took aim at Ohio State's "lunatic fringe" fan base last Saturday night, during the waning moments of the Buckeyes' blowout win over No. 9 Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
"The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country. It used to be eight to 10 (percent), I think it's grown now to about 15 to 20. I'm sure they'll be happy tonight, fired up about what the team did, but God forbid they lose to Oregon. They'll want to fire [Day] again," Herbstreit said on the air.
"First Take tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I'll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out, trying to find replacements. But here he is, he still has his hat on. He's still coaching."
Herbstreit has taken a lot of heat for his comments, but this is far from the first time he's said something like this. In fact, Herbstreit, who played QB at Ohio State, has gone after the "lunatic fringe" portion of the Columbus, Ohio fan base quite a bit.
Toledo Blade columnist Dave Briggs noted that Herbstreit called Ohio State fans "jackasses" earlier this year.
COLLEGE STATION, TX - OCTOBER 26: ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit chats near midfield before the football game between the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies on October 26, 2024 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“The 15 percenters, they get mad at anything,” Herbstreit said in an interview at The Pinnacle last spring. “That percent is going to be mad at something always. [Day] could win the Michigan game, go to the playoff, and lose, and they’ll be mad about that.
“That group is just a bunch of jackasses who kind of embarrass all of us as Ohio State fans. So I don’t really care, honestly, what that group thinks.”
Briggs has had enough of it from Herbstreit.
It was a good point … the first thousand times.
I think we get it.
Lately, as Herbstreit — who will be on the call for Ohio State-Oregon in Wednesday’s Rose Bowl — continues to work through his complicated relationship with his alma mater on national TV, his criticism of the “lunatic fringe” of Buckeyes fans has not just become tired.
It is condescending and misguided.
Herbstreit can say what he wants, but his constant criticism of Ohio State's fan base is extremely tiring. At some point, he just has to move on (and he kind of did, when he moved away from Columbus to Nashville more than 10 years ago).
Ohio State will take on Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day on ESPN.
