Way to go, Ohio
Local Buckeye super fan – and occasional sign scofflaw – rejoices in sweet victory

Way to go, Ohio

Karen Anesi with the sign on her E. Third Avenue garage that has earned her some friends – and frenemies – over the years.

Missy Votel - 01/23/2025

Notre Dame fans may be crying into their Jameson’s after losing to Ohio State on Monday night in the national college championship. But there’s at least one local Buckeye fan waving her Ohio State flag proud. In fact, she does it every year.

“I put it up the first week of football season and take it down whenever they’re finished,” E. Third Avenue resident Karen Anesi said. 

Of course, she’s referring to the massive “Ohio State” banner that hangs from the balcony of her garage at the intersection of E. Third Avenue, Florida Avenue and 15th Street (aka Malfunction Junction or Dysfunction Junction.)

Anesi was born in Youngstown, Ohio,  and attended Ohio State like most of her family. “I’m from generations of Buckeye fans,” she said.

However, not everyone shares her fervor for the scarlet and gray. Over the years, she has received several cheeky postcards in her mailbox from a local fan of the University of Michigan – which of course is Ohio’s biggest rival.

“About four years ago, I got a postcard addressed to the ‘Buckeye fans at Malfunction Junction,’” Anesi recalled. “Every time Michigan beats Ohio State, they send me a postcard with the Michigan fight song on it.”

The Michigan fan is not the only detractor. For several years, Anesi was cited by the City for not complying with the sign code ordinance after being reported by an unknown individual(s). 

“Every now and then, we get a letter telling us we have to take it down,” she said, adding that the citations go to her husband, Frank, an Ohio fan by default. “So he has to pay for it,” she said with a laugh.

But, Anesi is not alone in her unwavering fandom. Often from the intersection, she’ll hear people call out the first part of the game day chant “OH,” which (if she’s within earshot, say, unloading her groceries) she’ll return with “IO.”

“And the whole car will erupt in cheers,” she said.

She also befriended another local Buckeye fan, Tyson Snider, who relocated to Durango from Ohio for a job at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. For the last few years, he would anonymously send a gift of Williams Sonoma buckeyes (peanut butter balls covered in chocolate – an Ohio delicacy) made by to her house. Then one day, he stopped by to introduce himself, and he and his wife came back to watch the next Ohio State game with the Anesis. 

“It’s fun to see people have something to be happy about,” Anesi said.

As for the Wolverines fan, Anesi said she has yet to meet them face to face but would welcome some good-natured banter.  Who knows? Maybe they’ll even get invited over for the game and some buckeyes and they can return the favor with, uh, pasties, cudighi (whatever the heck that is) and other things they eat in Michigan. “I hope to find out which Michigan fan it is one of these days,” she said.