The Ohio State Buckeyes’ 42-17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoff Saturday sparked a lot of discussion. Some of that came from analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s remarks on the ABC/ESPN broadcast, which included going after what he called the “lunatic fringe” of Buckeyes’ fans (as well as ESPN’s own First Take pundits) who talked about firing coach Ryan Day in the wake of Ohio State’s loss to Michigan:
In defense of Ryan Day, Kirk Herbstreit took aim at:
– The “lunatic fringe” at Ohio State. “The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country.”
– First Take: “They thought he was done. So I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday.” pic.twitter.com/0Ovs0MBMOd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 22, 2024
Those comments were far from the first time Herbstreit has gone after Ohio State fans upset at Day. He’s used the “lunatic fringe” line several times in the past, including in September 2023, and has dropped other labels such as “insane” and “jackasses.” But the specific way he went in on Buckeyes’ fans comments towards Day on this broadcast was in-depth, detailed, and prolonged, including an estimation that that “lunatic fringe” has grown to 15 to 20 percent of fans. And it’s sparked some blowback.
Some notable pushback on Herbstreit’s comments Saturday evening came from Doug Lesmerises. Lesmerises was an Ohio State beat writer for The Cleveland Plain Dealer and cleveland.com from 2005-16 and a columnist there from 2016-23. He currently hosts the Kings of the North podcast and YouTube show (“Covering 28 college football teams of the North, because the South can cram it”). On a show after Ohio State’s win Saturday with co-host Bill Landis, Lesmerises spent four minutes largely criticizing Herbstreit and telling him to “chill”:
MUST WATCH – Doug nails Herbstreit for blaming the fans for their expectations. pic.twitter.com/t5YqZfOWl3
— Official Ohio State DG (@DylanEveryday) December 22, 2024
Lesmerises starts with “The Buckeyes aren’t victims here. I think the loss to Michigan was as bad as any Ohio State loss in the last 28 years. And they did that, and that coaching staff did that. And I think Kirk Herbstreit, I think Kirk Herbstreit is wounded, particularly when it comes to Ohio State fans, and he turns everything on fans.
“He was talking about how the lunatic fringe has expanded. And I think he makes it too personal. If you think the lunatic fringe has expanded, maybe it’s that your definition of lunatics is no longer correct. Maybe what these people are is just sort of justifiably, reasonably upset Ohio State fans, that Ohio State on the most important weekend of the year for the fourth straight year came out and played a horrible game in the most important game of the year.
“There is this very quick thing, and I don’t like it when broadcasters do it, they act like fans turned against this team for no reason. That team played an awful game against an overmatched opponent, with much more talent. They earned the doubt. They earned the sports hate.
“And let’s not forget why any of this exists; it’s the fans. So if you are a fan who was personally attacking a player on social media or sending ‘death threats’ or whatever, then you are the lunatic fringe. If you’re just mad that the team lost and think that the coach should be fired if he doesn’t do a better job, you’re not a lunatic. So Herbie can chill with that stuff, because I’m a little sick of everyone coming after the fans all the time.
“And I’m sorry that Ohio State has high standards, but guess what? There are a whole bunch of fired-up Ohio State fans in that stadium. Because when they are good, they are rewarded, and they’re greeted like champions and heroes, just like with any other northern team we have.
“And when you play below the expectations, for people that are paying your salary, and that now extends to players, it’s okay for them to be upset. And the victimization, the constant victimization of these people, ‘Woe is me,’ ‘Aw, these poor guys.’ It was a terrible performance. But this was just as good. And guess what we’re doing right now? Talking about how awesome it is.
“So just chill, Herbie. Just chill on this stuff. Because this is your audience too. Who do you think’s paying your fricking salary to fly all over the country and cover four different games? Because apparently America can’t watch a football game without Kirk Herbstreit talking over it, god forbid. It’s really annoying to me, Landis.
“And here’s the other thing that has to happen, and again, this is a very specific Ohio State conversation. Ohio State’s got to chill with the Woody [Hayes] against the world stuff. They’ve got to get the fans back on their side. And it’s time for Ohio State to stop acting like their own fans are against them.
“Their own fans are holding them to a standard, and when they reach that standard, they are celebrated. That was a horrible performance a couple weeks ago. This was a tremendous performance. It’s an opportunity to bring everybody back together. But, like, they’re not victims, Bill. And if they’re thinking that way, that’s bad for them.
“I just wanted to say that, that’s mostly about Herbstreit and the way the media sometimes portrays this. This performance by Ohio State was outstanding. And Ryan Day and Chip Kelly and every player on that team and Jim Knowles deserve a tremendous amount of credit for that. And guess what? Every Ohio State fan in the nation is going to give them that credit.”
There are a lot of interesting things in that monologue. One is that Lesmerises and Herbstreit seem to actually agree on the definition of who they’re talking about, fans who were “mad that the team lost and think that the coach should be fired if he doesn’t do a better job.” But Lesmerises argues that it’s unfair for Herbstreit to call them the “lunatic fringe,” arguing that they are “justifiably and reasonably upset” about not just a loss but a “horrible game” in “the most important game of the year.”
And that’s the big divide with a lot of the discussion around Day and Ohio State. Some fans consider the traditional rivalry game against Michigan more important than playoff success or a national title that can still be achieved despite a loss to the Wolverines, some don’t. But fans can put their own value on games as they choose. And Lesmerises has a point that the “lunatic” label carries issues when applied to people who aren’t sending death threats, but are expressing their opinion that there should be a coaching change. Herbstreit certainly can disagree with that opinion (and he’s made that disagreement clear), but the language he’s choosing to do so with is highly inflammatory towards the fans who hold that opinion.
Another notable argument Lesmerises makes is with his claim that Herbstreit is “wounded, particularly when it comes to Ohio State fans, and he turns everything on fans.” There certainly is a lot of backstory between Herbstreit and Buckeyes’ fans, with many of the school’s fans disliking him for his commentary career despite his playing career for Ohio State. And he cited that criticism from Buckeyes’ fans in 2011 as the primary reason he moved from Columbus to Tennessee. He’s also talked about the backlash he and his son Chase got after Chase’s commitment to Michigan, despite the Wolverines offering Chase a scholarship and the Buckeyes not doing so.
Of course, Herbstreit’s long been critical of fans, and not just those at Ohio State. And his comments on fans have seen media members go off on him too, including Columbus radio host Mike the “Common Man” Ricordati earlier this month with “I like how everybody’s just discovering now that Kirk Herbstreit is a douchebag… This is a guy who’s always been ashamed of college football fans. This is a guy who makes his living talking down to you.” And yes, there certainly is a case that Herbstreit spends more time discussing fan behavior and opinions he doesn’t like than most college football broadcasters would.
None of this necessarily is going to change much. Herbstreit’s staked out his turf on criticism of Ohio State fans, especially those critical of Day, and he’s done so while including the “lunatic fringe” lines. He’s not necessarily going to alter that opinion or approach (or any of the other things he’s been criticized for this weekend alone) just because people are pushing back on it. But it is interesting to hear Lesmerises’ take on this, especially as someone who’s been covering the Ohio State program for decades and has seen a lot of fan behavior and reactions in that time. And it’s notable to see him argue that some of the group of fans Herbstreit is bashing as the “lunatic fringe” are actually “justifiably, reasonably upset Ohio State fans.”
[@DylanEveryday on X]