O-H!

I-O!

Such is the call and response that echoes around Columbus this time of year. It is the rallying cry of The Ohio State University. (And as Jeff says, it guarantees that, at the very least, every student knows how to spell the name of the state in which they live.)

Even though we're still newcomers to Ohio, and more exactly, Ohio State, it's hard not to get caught up in the Pride of the Buckeyes. I suppose that as a former band geek, I've been hard wired for school spirit, even though I'm not and never was a student here. Frankly, I find some of it silly - for example, OSU's mascot is half-nut, half-person (then again, I spent four years cheering for an inflatable moose). But behind it all is so much tradition, and soooo very many people, that you just get sucked in.

That's why I was pretty excited for us to attend our first OSU football game this weekend. Tickets for games are treasured commodities around here - even though I'm an employee of OSU, I can't even enter the lottery for the chance to buy tickets until next year, after my third year of service! Happily, our friends Sara and Dane hooked us up, and so on Saturday, we headed out to Ohio Stadium to watch the Buckeyes take on the Minnesota Gophers. Unhappily, my camera chose yesterday to finally completely break, and I didn't get any good pictures of my own.

The internet comes to the rescue, though - because really, you have to see it to believe it. Here, for example, is an aerial view of the stadium on game day:


Yes, it looks like that EVERY game day. A sea of 110,000 fans, nearly all dressed in red - oh, excuse me... scarlet.

Just before game time comes the coolest part - The Ohio State Marching Band's pre-game show, which concludes in Script Ohio. Now I had never heard of Script Ohio before coming here, but it is amazing. The band spells out Ohio in cursive, and not just by running into their assigned spot like some college bands I've affiliated with. No, they march. With intersecting lines and military precision. Again, I really can't do it justice with words - you have to see for yourself (apologies for the corny narration):



So yeah, going to the game was pretty cool.

What's that?

You want to know how the game itself was?

Oh. Well that was cool, too, I guess. Ohio State won, and there was lots of scoring, and I didn't fall asleep or get a sunburn. Maybe Jeff can tell you more.

O-H!