Big 10 Football Tour

So I'm going to approach this installment in a bit of a different way.  After reading a blog by Travis of Hammer & Rails about the Purdue/Wisconsin game, I thought I'd lack any originality and copy his idea.  So here goes - 24 hours in Columbus, OH.  A big 24 hours!  The date was Saturday November 14th, 2009.

Before you leave today, please take a look at the page where I outline my hopes to see Ohio State once again in the Rose Bowl.

12:30 AM: we arrive in the greater Columbus area after an 8 hour drive from Milwaukee.  After driving for pretty much 8 straight hours, I want nothing more than to get the hell out of the car.

12:45 AM: I begin to question the integrity of my GPS device as it seemingly just took me 10 minutes out of the way.

1:10 AM: I arrive at the Best Western in Columbus North.   There appears to be a “Fiesta” going on out front complete with Salsa music, colorful clothing, and people smoking things that were not cigarettes.

1:15 AM: I get my room key and pass a guy that looks just like the musician “Usher” on the stairwell.

1:20 AM:  Into the room and enjoying a beer before heading to bed.  I now find out that Jeff and Wes have no interest in sleeping and that they are going to some place that is open until 5 AM and you can bring your own beverages.

1:50 AM:  I bid Jeff & Wes farewell, ask them to be quiet upon returning to the room, and remind them that we want to be awake at 7 AM so that we can get out and see campus.

2:45 AM:  I am awaken by the room phone.  It’s the front desk asking if I had called for a cab.  I assume this is for the cab Jeff/Wes requested at 1:45.

5:15 AM: Again, I wake to hear Jeff/Wes coming into the room and making as much noise as possible.  Jeff keeps asking me questions as if I’m really interested in answering questions and having a conversation at 5:15 AM. 

6:30 AM:  I finally give up trying to sleep through their snoring & get up to go have some continental breakfast.

7:15 AM: I return to Jeff’s phone alarm going off, but he’s not budging.

7:30 AM:  I turn the television volume up to full blast in hopes of them waking up.

8:00 AM: I begin throwing beer bottles at them in hopes of getting them out of bed.  It's a rather boring video, but if you want to see a video of this, look HERE.

9:15 AM:  They are about ready to leave.  We call Expedia to cancel the second night of the hotel stay.  It is not easy by any means.

10:00 AM: We arrive in Grove City.  We will be staying here this evening as Jeff knows the guy who lives here.

11:15 AM: We finally arrive at a tailgating spot that is nearly a mile from the stadium.  This wasn’t where I had planned on tailgating, but I was trying to be a “team player” and go to a lot where they can drink their beer.

11:30 AM: I get to know some of the surrounding fans, many of which are Iowa fans.  It appears that we are now tailgating with more Iowa fans here than we did in Iowa.  To read about the tailgating experience, click HERE!

12:15 PM:  I make my way towards the stadium to see some of the sights/sounds of Ohio State.

12:30 PM:  I walk through the Buckeye grove where there is a buckeye tree planted for each Ohio State All-American over the years.

12:45 PM: I walk through many of the tailgate lots to the Varsity Club and many of the other bars along the street.  It’s packed with people.  To check out some of the more interesting sights that I saw while walking around the stadium, follow the link HERE!

1:00 PM:  I step into the basketball arena to check out the “Skull Session.”

1:15 PM:  I pick up some free stuff among all of the tens that are promoting their business.  The best is the Nationwide Insurance tent which allows you to wear a musical instrument and be the dot of the “I” on the script Ohio.

1:35 PM: Finally back at the tailgate.  Our kind neighbors offer some food.  I see some guy setting his beer on my “cornhole” board.  I ask him not to set the beer on the board as Jeff already ruined my Minnesota “cornhole” board by getting it wet.  The guy kind of shrugs me off & Jeff tells him that it’s not a problem.  I thank Jeff for backing me up.

2:30 PM:  I head over to the “new” Heineygate with some Iowa fans.  The Danger Brothers are performing LIVE and I must say, this is the first band I’ve seen all year that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.  They play a lot of great music, get all of the fans involved, and it seems that everyone has a great time.

3:00 PM:  As I notice that no one seems to be getting ready to head into the game, I begin to pack everything up myself and walk to the game with some Iowa fans.  The crowds are now in full force as (almost) everyone is making their way to the stadium.

3:20 PM:  Now outside of the stadium, I begin mingling with many of the OSU fans.  I hear many of the OSU fans playing "Hang on Sloopy" on their stereos.

3:25 PM:  I make my way to the media entrance.  Without any issues, I am allowed in.  I look up to a nearby television and watch the end of the Michigan State/Purdue game.  I send a congratulatory text my friend Harriett from MSU.

3:35 PM: Now in my seat in the pressbox, I hear the O-H-I-O chant.  Check out my write-up on my experince in the OSU pressbox HERE!

3:37 PM: Kickoff occurs.  To read all about the game experience and some great photos from the game, you should click HERE!

3:45 PM: I help myself to a bratwurst, Iced coffee, and a few side dishes.

4:00 PM: Iowa kicks a field goal and silences the crowd.

4:15 PM: Ohio State finally decides to show up and ties the score.  There is some subtle cheering in the pressbox.

4:35 PM: Brandon Saine begins a big day with the first touchdown of the game, putting the Buckeyes up 10-3.

4:45 PM: Halftime begins.  I walk down to the photo deck to look around.

4:50 PM: I exit the concourse and walk out to watch the band perform.  I quickly ask someone to take a photo of me in front of the field, documenting my 11th of 11 stadiums!

4:55 PM: I walk down to field level to watch the players exit the locker rooms.  The cheerleaders, referees, and then the Iowa players walk right past me, just few away. 

5:05 PM: Second half begins.  Now back in my pressbox seat enjoying a hot coffee and looking through my program between plays.

5:30 PM:  Iowa strikes with their first touchdown to tie the score at 10.

5:40 PM: After a long drive, Dan Herron finishes with an 11 yard touchdown run to put Ohio State back in the lead.

5:50 PM: Another big run by Brandon Saine, this time for 49 yards puts Ohio State up 24-10.  I begin to think that this game is over and I decide to head down to the field.

5:55 PM:  I am exiting the elevator and walking towards the field as I hear a roar from the crowd.  Iowa has just run back a kick for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 7.

6:10 PM: Marvin McNutt catches a touchdown pass, just feet away from me.  After the extra point, Iowa has now tied the game.

6:20 PM: The media realizes that the overtime possessions are going to occur on the opposite end of the field and begin sprinting in that direction.

6:25 PM: Overtime begins

6:35 PM: I walk behind the Ohio State bench, just feet away from the players.

6:43 PM: Ohio State kicks the winning field goal and I charge the field

6:45 PM: I continue to enjoy the excitement on the field

7:00 PM: I head over to the Buckeye press conference to hear comments from Jim Tressel and some of the Ohio State seniors.

7:28 PM: After leaving the stadium, I get a call from Jeff stating that he has no idea where he is and can't find our tailgate location. 

7:40 PM: I finally locate Jeff and direct him back to our tailgate location.  It is here that I learn that Wes is missing (again).  We have no idea where he is or when he plans on returning.

8:00 PM: We begin to mingle with some Iowa fans who seem to be taking the loss in stride. 

10:00 PM: Wes shows up and we can finally start discussing where to go next.

10:20 PM: I try to convince everyone that our group of now 7 people, four of which are over 200 lbs, and a large cooler can not fit into a 2-door Chevrolet Cavalier.  

10:30 PM: Everyone is finally convinced that we can't pull this off.  4 of the guys take a cab to Bar Louie.  I choose to try and partake in a true Ohio State tradition, the Thurman Burger.

10:50 PM: I arrive at Thurmans and have a 10 minute conversation with the gentlemen sitting out front.  They ask me if I drove all the way from Milwaukee to try a burger to which I reply, "No, I came all this way to try a salad."

11:10 PM: I sit down in hopes of placing an order.  To read more about my experience at Thurman's, click HERE!

11:25 PM: I finally get to put in my order.  There is no question that it is going to be the Thurman Burger.  I'll even add bacon to increase the protein levels.

11:50 PM: I begin my bout with the Thurman Burger

12:20 PM: Stuffed from the burger, I decide to pay my bill and head back to our lodging.

12:45 AM:  The day is over.  I try to fall asleep as quickly as possible knowing that I'll be up by 7 AM with an eight hour drive ahead of me.

Before embarking on the 8 hour drive, I want to get some time in driving around downtown Columbus.  So many of our trips were cut short by one of the members trying to get home to a girlfriend, trying to save money, etc - so I want to make sure I get to drive around Columbus for an hour or two before leaving town as this is the last weekend.

Columbus had some very interesting sights.  See some of them HERE!

The Ohio State roadtrip was a long & boring one.  The way to Columbus was through the night, so we obviously didn't see anything.  During the trip back, Wes and Jeff slept most of the way so I entertained myself by snapping a few photos.  See some of them HERE!

During the trip back, I received a call from my buddy Craig who lives in California.  He informed me of when the Rose Bowl tickets would be going on sale.  It's unlikely that I will actually get to purchase one of the 11 tickets that they put on sale to the public on December 8th, so here's my plea to you to help me get to the Rose Bowl.

This week's winner was a no brainer.  I found this one at Heineygate.  It read "There's nothing these sex crazed nuts won't do!"  Clearly from the image, you can tell that the buckeyes are doing all sorts of crazy activities inside the state outline.

Second place goes to the guy with the McDonald's inspired shirt.  Another "M" logo is shown in the toilet bowl and reads "Where the only thing on the value menu is a #2."  If you don't get it, please leave!

Lastly, no shirt, but rather some award-winning socks.  Still wearing flip-flops in mid-November is impressive, but when your feet/legs are covered in these toeless socks, you look just plain awesome!

The fan of the week was one of the many thousand to storm the field after the game.  This guy even wore a cowboy hat, painted his face and arms, and topped it all off by making a very realistic looking home-made Big 10 trophy.

The runner-up should give lessons on how to score tickets on gameday.  He sat in front of the stadium as early as 11 AM with this awesome home-made hat that blatantly read "I Need Tickets" on it.  He was also of course decked out in other OSU gear.

"Never underestimate the heart of a champion" is something Rudy Tomjanovich said a few years ago.  "Never underestimate the sanity of a Dungeons and Dragons fan" is something Drew Cieszynski said on November 15, 2009. 

This Ohio resident drives a green Saturn.  He or she painted a lighter shade of green dragon on the car, with the claws hugging the wheel wells and the headlights acting as the snout.  Probably most impressive however was the fact that this person went so far as to put plastic horns on the top of the car, which probably only added to wind resistance.   The Bests Page will be updated in about 2 weeks, but here's a spoiler for you right here:  Dragon Car wins!

The visit to Ohio State, or "the Horseshoe" was everything it was hyped to be.  The stadium was impressive, the crowd noise was the loudest I've experience to date, the fans were surprisingly friendly.  It is clear why this program has now won five straight Big 10 titles and is loathed by every other Big 10 school - it's because they are damn good at what they do.  If I had to pick a shortfall, it would probably be the strict policy of no drinking from bottles or cans in many of the tailgating locations.

Reading through this blog installment, you'll see that I elaborate much more in each section, but for now I must turn my attention to the Rose Bowl.  I ask that you please read my write-up on my pursuit of the Rose Bowl HERE.

Jack - for providing lodging, breakfast, and a cooler
Ohio State Front Office - for supporting the tour with a media credential