Beginning a New Chapter: OSU football

Since I moved to Columbus, all I have heard is about how crazy everyone is about Buckeye football and "just wait...it gets crazy." What most people do not understand is that I am from the south. Like most people who live in Georgia, I partially define myself as a GA Dawg. A weekend long celebration, tailgating, crisp weather, and 90,000+ fans screaming "Gooooo Dawgs. Sick'em woof woof woof." This are things that I am used to.

Although I am a lifelong Georgia fan first and foremost, the ones of you who know me best know that I have always had a place in my heart for the Buckeyes. This secret fanhood started when cheering at my first college football bowl game. Miami vs OSU in the Fiesta Bowl. For some unknown reason I felt a connection with the Buckeyes. Granted it could have been that I was a teenager and the boys were really cute and very nice to us as we watched them practice and talked with them after a practice earlier in the week. Little did I know that 10 years later I would be living in Buckeye country. Now don't get me wrong I think the Big 10 has a long way to go to meet the standards of the SEC, but as far as Big 10 teams are concerned, OSU is the best.

All of this brings me to my newest adventure to share with you. Today I went to my second (but really first as just a fan) OSU football game. I had envisioned madness and crazy fans all over the place and was kind of disappointed. Sure there were a lot of tailgaters and the ever present shirtless, painted band of boys, but I didn't think the fans were anymore loyal or crazy than GA fans. There were a couple of times where I thought wow. . . that takes community. For instance, one of the popular cheers was for the fans to scream out O.. H.. I.. O. Not all together mind you. The south end zone of the stadium was the O. They would stand, give the overhead circle of the arms indicating an O, and scream "O" at the top of their lungs. The visitors side of the stadium were the H. Following in line with the yelling and the H symbol. The north end zone, where I was seated, kept the fun going by being and screaming the I. The buckeye's side of the field finished up the state name with the last O. There wasn't just a few people participating either. The first time the cheer went around. I wasn't ready. I had no idea what was happening. Needless to say I was the only one in the entire stadium (minus the small but loyal Wisconsin fans) that stayed seated. Everyone around me gave the I all they had. You should have seen the looks that I got from those die hard fans. It was like I was from another planet. From that point on I was on my guard and ready for that I like it was my only goal for the day.

We arrived at the stadium early, because that is what everyone says you should do. We found our seats at 60 minutes to kick off. This is what the stands looked like at that time.

Not too full right? We just assumed that every one was still out tailgating. We had plenty of time before the game started so we decided to walk around. Just like any college or professional game there were a lot of shops who had foam fingers, wigs and clothing for sale. There were also carts selling Donato's pizza (a pizza place new to me when I moved, pretty good though if you are ever near one) and AT&T agents. Closer to game time we took our seats. By that time the stands looked like this.

I do have to give snaps to the band and cheerleaders because the pre-game show was very entertaining. Here are some shots of that.

The band marching out

The O formation

The band showing off their timing skills

And how could I forget Brutus. Brutus was the most energy-filled mascot I think I have ever seen. He commanded the stadium and brought the crowd to their feet.

After the pre-game show the military guys marched out in their perfectly crisp uniforms carrying the folded flag.

Out of all the games I have been attended, I was the most impressed with the way they raised the flag. First they unfolded the flag. . .

Marched it over to the flagpole. . .

attached it to the mechanical pulley....

Then as we belted the national anthem the flag rose up and took it's place high in the stadium.

Next was the entrance of the players . I didn't know what was happening at first. All I knew is the decibels doubled in about 1 second. It went from everyday back ground noise at 60 dB to the threshold of human pain at 120 dB. At that point, I saw the OHIO flags waving and the running of the players onto the field. I was also thinking to myself that Dr. O'Rourke at GSU would be scolding me for not bringing ear protection.

Then the game started. The first quarter wasn't so interesting. The game was slow and there were a lot of turnovers. That first quarter I just stopped to take in sights, the cheers and the overwhelming amount of pride that this crowd had for their team. Quarters 2-4 were more exciting. The teams actually started to score. Other highlights included being seated in front of the cheerleaders...