NEW ORLEANS – Buckeye Nation, hurry up and get to the Big Easy. Your players and coaches need you.
Ohio State fans – and there aren’t many of them – are finding themselves in enemy territory and they are drowning in a sea of LSU purple and yellow.
If every stool and seat in the bar or restaurant you happen to saunter into down here isn’t filled with an LSU fan laden with Tiger memorabilia, then the place is probably closed for business.
In their last three bowl trips to Arizona, Buckeye fans pretty much took over the city of Tempe and the surrounding areas, creating a home-away-from-home atmosphere before, during and after the game.
That’s not going to happen here. This time around, it is decidedly pro-LSU and anti-Buckeye, and it only stands to get worse at gametime, when the majority of the Superdome’s 77,781 seats will be filled with fans rooting for the Tigers.
“I’m sure the Superdome is going to be as loud as it can be.
“I’ve got to hope that however many scarlet-and-gray folks find their way into the stadium are as loud and can match up, because I’m sure they’re going to be outnumbered,” OSU head coach Jim Tressel said. 
Ohio State junior defensive tackle Nader Abdallah should have some family present. He’s from Metairie, La., which is right outside New Orleans. So should junior wide receiver Brian Robiskie, whose father Terry, a former Browns assistant coach, played at LSU and still has relatives in town. Then there is former OSU running back Jonathan Wells, who is from New Orleans and may be able to get his hands on a ticket or two.
Buckeye linebacker Marcus Freeman is holding out hope.
“I think our fans from Ohio, no matter where we play, they’re going to come out and support us,” Freeman said. “I don’t know how many are going to be in the Superdome, but we know they’re going to be supporting us and cheering us on.”
As soon as they get here. 

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