GO APPY STATE!!!

Appalachian State's win makes new friends in Columbus

ESPN.com news services

Updated: September 6, 2007, 11:42 AM ET

The enemy of my enemy is my friend -- and I want to wear my new friend's T-shirt!

That's the newest trend among Ohio State fans, whose latest fashion statement is in the colors of Appalachian State, which shocked then-No. 5 Michigan 34-32 on Saturday in the first win by a Division I-AA team over a ranked I-A team.


Hours after the historic defeat, at least one street vendor was doing brisk business selling freshly minted Mountaineers T-shirts near the Ohio State campus. And local stores say they've been swamped with requests for gear bearing the Mountaineers' gold and black colors and logo, as Buckeyes fans take glee in the humiliation of their bitter rival.


"If I had a dollar for every time someone's asked, I could retire," said manager Greg Pierson at Sports Fan Attic.


The mall store on the city's north side planned to stock Appalachian State shirts within the next few days, though just a small number. "It's very popular at the moment, but it'll die down very shortly," Pierson predicted.


Meanwhile, phone lines at the bookstore on the Appalachian State campus in Boone, N.C., have been jammed with orders for Mountaineers merchandise, with many of the calls coming from Ohio.


But the store has had to be careful, because an old state law limits sales at university bookstores to students, faculty and alumni. A couple of Ohio men wanting large numbers of Appalachian State T-shirts had to be turned down, said Lorraine Childers, the bookstore's assistant director.


Smaller orders might get by.


"If people call in and say, 'My uncle is a graduate' or whatever, we really don't have a way to verify that," Childers said.