GLENDALE, Ariz. – Matt Molyet has a question ready for every Michigan fan who dares taunt him at his vending stand outside Ohio Stadium.

The 32-year-old owner of Who’s Nuts, who has hauled his Buckeye goods here from Ohio, will childishly ask the person if he knows what a Wolverine smells like.“And they’ll say, well what’s a Buckeye smell like,” said Molyet, of Tiffin.

He then pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, smiled and put it to his nose, illustrating his choice response.

Yes, vendors here are seeing green this week as Buckeyeland has flocked to the Phoenix area for the fourth time in five years. As they well know, Ohio wallets will be opened for anything and everything scarlet and gray as Buckeye fans pump a lopsided share of the estimated $315 million this bowl season will bring to the local economy.

At a Bowl Championship Series block party Saturday in downtown Glendale, the scene was scarlet and gray. And the vendors were ready.

At Anthony Foster’s Universal Designs tent, Ohio State apparel dominated the front display and took up more than three-fourths of the stand while Florida garb was relegated to a back corner.

It was an informed strategy. In Foster’s seven years vending in the area during bowl season, he said OSU fans have been by far their best customers.

“They love their Buckeyes,” Foster said.

The love is accommodated in many forms. At Bob Brown’s Oh Fudge stand, buckeyes were added to the menu – to no surprise, they were snatched up with the same frequency as his signature fudge.“The city needed to have buckeyes for these fans,” Brown said, as he stirred a batch of maple walnut fudge cooking on his gas candy stove.

Brown is from Michigan and a fan of the maize and blue, yet this was not information he was going to offer, even playing into his customers hands.

“A lot of people think our name is Ohio Fudge,” said Cyndi Brown, who runs the business with her husband, explaining the company name was taken from the movie, “A Christmas Story.” “So we just go along with it.”

At the Cerreta Candy Co. in Glendale, owner Joe Cerreta expects to sell about 6,000 buckeyes by week’s end.

It’s the same scenario that has unfolded at this once-Ohio company during four of the past five January’s. The buckeye recipes will be dusted off and their massive store will be awash with OSU fans.

The only problem is when the occasional rival fan stops in. One Gators fan was saddened this week upon realizing no chocolate Gator heads were being sold.

“Hey, you guys got buckeyes, so why not Gators?” the fan said to Cerreta, who grew up in Canton, Ohio.

“I have an easy answer,” Cerreta said, smiling. “We’re from Ohio.”

Even those with no Ohio ties are loving the state’s passion.

At Mahamudra Body Arts, a middle-aged couple was interested in making their Buckeye allegiance known in the form of an eternal etching. The man was reluctant initially, however, at least while sober.

“He was thinking about getting his tattoo on his butt,” said Emma Swenson, the shop’s 32-year-old owner. “That’s why they were talking about getting him drunk first. We suspect they will be back.”

Only in Ohio.

“They sure are die hards,” Foster said.

David Briggs can be reached at [email protected].