First off, how blessed am I to be able to go to a college football game two straight weekends. That has not been overthought and I am extremely grateful. This trip became a possibility when work asked me to go visit our Columbus, OH office. Turns out my company was having a tailgate for this specific game, so I chose this weekend to come out. 

There is something special about visiting a school that hosts a top football program. The campus itself just feels different, there is an energy in the air that expects perfection. There is no debate on if the team is going to be good, or play well. The only option is to win for their fanbase. Now there is something special about visiting a school that hosts a top football program that just lost the week prior by one point to the current #1 school in the country. In case you live under a rock, Ohio State lost to the University of Texas last week by allowing 21 unanswered points. This fanbase was beat up. But even though they were on the bad side of the outcome, their attitude remains the same, and that is they still have a game to win this week. Even though they were beat up, there was no sulking mentality. They had a short memory, which is the exact attitude you need to be a big time football program. 

first time on campus

Thursday after work I drove up to the campus bookstore, and drove through campus a little bit. It was a little chaotic as I guess Lil Yatchy was playing a concert on campus that night which was a little strange. The bookstore was huge, and had a ton of offerings. I decided on what is basically my uniform at this point, and just picked out a striped Peter Millar polo. At least for me, Thursdays in college were a going out night, and driving down N High Street, the main strip on campus, it was refreshing to be back on a campus where the school morphed into the neighboring areas. Mom, ignore this part, but going from exams straight out to the bars was always such a fun night. 

Friday night

Friday after work, I went to a nice little German brewery with some co-workers to grab some drinks. We decided on a plan to meet up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning at a bar before we tailgated the rest of the time before the game. I then went back to my hotel’s rooftop bar, grabbed a spot at the bar and some food and put on the Texas Tech/Houston game. An older couple came and sat next to me, and the guy noticed I was watching the game so we started chatting. The typical what have yous were exchanged, and then I asked if they were also in town for the game, and they mentioned their son played for the team. Their son was a kicker, and they quickly clarified it was not the kicker who missed a FG in the 4th quarter during the collapse during the Texas game. 

Their son is Marcelo Diomede, a backup place kicker. Now the interesting part of this conversation was just hearing the parents perspective on their son’s college football path. We talked about his recruitment, his three years at Notre Dame and how he graduated with his degree in that time, his transfer decision to choose Ohio State, but the coolest thing we talked about was how proud they were of him. They never miss a game of his, and even though he does not get much playing time besides kickoff’s, they want to be there to see it when he does play. That was really cool to see, and Marcelo if for some reason you stumble upon this article, your parents are fantastic. 

the pregame

We stuck with the plan of getting to the bar at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, and admittedly it has been quite some time since I had beers this early in the morning, but duty called. A few of the fellas who were at the German bar the night before, ended up getting a little banged up and were in rough shape, but they had that midwest grit and powered through. We went to The O on Lane, a few blocks north of the stadium, and it was great. They converted the parking lot into a beer garden style setup, with cocktail tables, a stage with a band, extra bars, and food trucks.

We then headed over to the company tailgate around 9 a.m. We had a spot right outside the northwest side of the stadium, and it was not as packed as it normally is because it was Kent State, but it was a great time. However, whoever said there would be food and snacks 100% needs to never be put in charge of that again. The “snacks” in question was a 12 pack of single serving Sun chips, and Nature Made granola bars. That is no disrespect to Sun Chips either, in my Chip Power Rankings, garden salsa Sun Chips are Top 3, if not #1. But that is a debate for another time. Nonetheless, that was my only complaint. The nice people adjacent to us did offer up their food, which was gone in about three minutes flat. Close friend of the program Sam Biglin and I ran the pong table for a while, until his fiancé pulled his leash and he had to leave for prior obligations. Another close friend of the program Case Hartman was able to get free tickets from his uncle which was insanely clutch. 

The shoe

Ohio Stadium is the third biggest stadium in the country, and the biggest stadium I have personally been to. Our free tickets could not be higher up in the stadium which really showed the size of the place. It was honestly a little mindblowing. With it being a stacked stadium (the upper decks are on top of the lower decks) the place gets loud as sound projects down. With it being Kent State, the stadium was not nearly as loud as it could get, and I definitely want to be back to see it in full force. I was sure glad I train legs, as we had to climb about 10 flights of stairs to get up there, but I probably needed the walk to burn off some beer calories. It was amazing seeing Jeremiah Smith play in person, he broke the career receiving yards at Ohio State during this game, and just seeing how fast he moved around the field with the authority and physicality he has was special. 

Now before the game I bet Ohio State’s first half spread which was -31.5, and it was 28-0 with time clicking down so I thought my bet was doomed. However Ryan Day decided to try out a one minute drill to practice driving the field. They got to about the 50 yard line to run a hail mary, and somehow, someway, they completed the pass for a TD, which made it 35-0. My bet hit, and that was awesome to see. 

Post game

The plan was only to stay for the first half as we knew it was going to be a blowout. We descended Mount Everest, and headed to The Horseshoe, a bar off of N High Street to meet up with everyone we tailgated with. Not much to say here besides we did indulge in the company tab. We went to a few other spots during the afternoon, however I had plans to watch the LSU/Ole Miss game and I had a long drive home the next morning, so I headed home around 6 p.m. to be available for that game. I ordered enough Taco Bell to feed a family, got enough water to fill a pool and sat myself on the bed in my 65 degree room for the game.

Final Thoughts

Columbus is a great city. The people are great, the city lives and breathes Ohio State, and I would want nothing else for a city like this. Coming from Chicago this was a relatively small city, but it has a great type of charm that makes Saturdays in the fall very special. I definitely want to be back to see this town in high gear for a big game. I want to be back next season for one of those games. A big shoutout to Sam Biglin, Case Hartman (who is like 6’5), and the other fellas I got to meet that showed me a great time during my visit