Daddy's Little Buckeyes

O-H-I-O

vs.

Penn State

The Smith family is still trying to recover from a heart breaking loss to Penn State. This game was perhaps the biggest of the season and we were all geared up. ESPN college game day was held just outside the horseshoe stadium. The stadium is only about 2 miles from our house so we ran down to check it out. It was crazy!!!

First off, I think I should say a few words about OHIO state football. It is more than a religion to people out here. You can drive three hours in any given direction and you will see people wearing shirts, hats, socks, jackets you name it on game day! It doesn't matter if you are in a profesional office or sports bar. Two major roads are shut down on home games to make room for all the tail gaters. Parties start at 9 am regardless of when kickoff is, so night games get a little nuts!! Parking lots are lined with RV's (spots go for $1200 a season). Huge jumbotron screens are set up on the streets and the beer and brats are abundent. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen. There is not a single person that is wearing anything other than red or gray, mostly red (oops I mean scarlet!) A single ticket to a home game sold on ebay goes from $250-$500.

On this particular day, it was a night game and we were there 11 hours before kick-off. There was already a crowd of about 400 people gathered. They were all decked out, faces painted, carrying signs and chanting O-H-I-O at the top of their lungs. The grills were just getting fired up and a Bratwurst aroma filled the air. As we stood there shocked more and more people started showing up with their coolers of booz and lawn chairs; they were there for the long haul.

We decided that the stadium was not the place for our family so we had our own little party at home. We all put on our red, and Kayt painted our faces. We even wipped up our favorite supper bowl food. It was a fantastic game until poor Terrell Pryor let his youthfull ambition get the better of him and fumbled the football in the 4th quarter.

Kudos to 80 year old Joe Paterno for beating the Buckeyes, it may be his last chance to go for a championship. We'll get him next year!