According to The Ohio State University, 45,000 people attended its national title celebration on Saturday in a frostbitten Horseshoe.
It was, by all accounts, a raucous and jovial celebration.
And while 45,000 might seem like a paltry number for an event held at the Horseshoe, we now have some perspective on that number thanks to John Solomon of CBSSports.com.
Thanks to Solomon's tracking of home attendance numbers, which hit the lowest mark in fourteen years this past season, we now know which programs, on average, were outdrawn by Ohio State's national title celebration:
| SCHOOL | AVG. HOME ATTENDANCE |
|---|---|
| EAST CAROLINA | 44,786 |
| TCU | 44,719 |
| OREGON STATE | 42,716 |
| INDIANA | 41,657 |
| ILLINOIS | 41,549 |
| PITTSBURGH | 41,385 |
| SYRACUSE | 40,447 |
| VIRGINIA | 39,320 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 38,613 |
| UCF | 37,812 |
| COLORADO | 37,778 |
| PURDUE | 35,269 |
| FRESNO STATE | 34,876 |
| BOSTON COLLEGE | 34,270 |
The most shocking number to me is Indiana drew an average of 41,657, and that's without Buckeye Nation inflating that number with its semi-annual trip to the Horseshoe's western annex.
Still, when Ohio State's championship celebrations numbers are weighed against these home attendance figures, it's easy to see why many consider Ohio State fans as some of the best damn fans in the land.
H/T: Eric Liu
