Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Buckeye's experience...


I traveled to Columbus this past weekend for the Ohio State - Michigan State football game and brought along with me my wife, 11-year old daughter and 7-year old son.  For my son this was his second regular season Buckeyes game in the past two years and for my daughter her first.  The game resulted in 10-7 loss and Ohio State didn't play particularly well on offense.  There was a somber mood at Ohio Stadium and I actually heard a media expert later that day predicting the Buckeyes first losing season since 1988.  When I asked my kids if they had a good time, I was a little surprised when they both smiled wide and said yes.  I'm not positive they knew what the final score was and I don't think they really cared.  In their eyes it seemed to be a great day.  Their game day experience started with hot dogs and pop at a tailgate party of an old high school friend of mine.  When game time came they enjoyed cheering the team as they rushed onto the field and watching the huge American flag raised for the national anthem by some servicemen.  During the game they had fun trying to find where Brutus Buckeye was at in the stadium, doing the wave and chanting O-H-I-O with the crowd.  They were also especially thrilled when the OSU band did Script Ohio and made a special appearance in our section 12B to get the crowd fired up.  When the score was 10-0 and the game seemed to be out of reach for the Buckeyes midway in the 4th quarter, I suggested we head for the exits.  My son got this panicked look on his face and quickly asked why?  I realized at that time what a memorable moment he was having and agreed to stick around for another series of plays.  It was obvious he didn't care about the score, he just didn't want his Buckeye's experience to end.  As I drove the family home that night I realized what a good time I had also. I'm hopeful there will come a day when my kids start bringing me to games, whether it's at Ohio State or somewhere else.  And I'm positive when they get frustrated with their team and suggest we leave a little early I'm going to ask them the same question they asked me, why?

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