So how does Oregon have so many GD fans pop up? It is branding and it still works.
Yeah, I'm not sure Ohio State has that branding. When I lived in Chicago the Ohio State fans I saw were actually from Ohio or actually went to Ohio State. LeBron isn't an Ohio State fan because he thinks they have a cool logo or he picked them as a cool team from the entire country. He grew up in Ohio. They do have a lot of fans because I think it's the 7th most populated state and one school dominates...I just don't see them as having this national appeal like the Jordan Bulls, Cowboys, Yankees, etc. Really I don't think any college team has that, closest is Notre Dame and that peaked in the 90s.
I mean how many kids outside Ohio grow up just being Ohio State fans? I think people like that who randomly pick a team are far more likely to pick a pro sports team. I had NHL Penguins gear when I was a kid because I liked the logo, I picked them in video game hockey because they won at that time, but it's not like I was really some big fan. My math teacher from Pittsburgh outed me as a bandwagon fan by asking me who the goalie was in class. I'm sure that's a lot of Ducks gear.
I would love to see them try a move like that though, maybe they are right. I'd have loved to have seen Texas try it. They'd suck even worse than they do now.