Questions about attending OSU-Michigan game
I'll be traveling from NY to attend my first OSU-Michigan game since 2005. I had some specific questions and I was hoping you guys can help out.
- What time does the UofM golf course open for parking/tailgating? I'm staying about an hour south of Ann Arbor but I'm hoping to get there as early as possible.
- I'm wondering how early I should be leaving to get to the golf course when it opens. Any thoughts?
- Do people still go see Bo's grave the night before The Game?
- I'll be in that area for the whole weekend. What restaurants/bars/places would you recommend seeing?
- Any additional thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks and Go Blue.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:35 AM ^
Get there early. Traffic from Ohio is pretty heavy going up there if you get my drift. I live in Toledo and it’s bumper to bumper after 10am as far south as Milan. And hope the golf course is open. If it’s not you need to find parking by 8am or things get hard to find for tailgating
November 1st, 2021 at 7:03 AM ^
There will be a lot of travel from Ohio. I’d expect to see a ton of red.
Sucks…
November 1st, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
To an extent, this is preventable if UM fans would not sell their tickets
November 1st, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
I'd argue one is not much of a fan if they sell their tickets to the team's biggest rival and on Senior Day no less.
November 1st, 2021 at 2:51 PM ^
The guy who sat next to us for 30 years would brag that he got enough money to pay for the whole season from OSU fans for the Game. Wasn’t interested in selling to UM fans and then jacked up the price. Jerk.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:36 AM ^
Have we ever considered closing the border with Ohio the week prior to the game....I'm sorry for the Michigan fans in Ohio but it's for the collective good here
November 1st, 2021 at 6:38 AM ^
I am fairly certain the golf course opens at 7:30 AM for noon kicks, so I would plan on trying to get there around that time if you want a decent spot. If you are going to just wander about between tailgates, you could probably show up a little later than that and be fine.
How early you should be leaving, of course, depends on where you are staying, but keep in mind that, at least for now, MDOT is doing road work like it is going out of style. Your route will matter quite a bit, in that case, but then I don't know how many of these projects might get shut down for the season by then - likely not very many though.
The Grave Walk usually happens on the Tuesday before the game, I think, and starts at Burton Tower. Despite being local to the area, I actually never really paid much attention to this.
As for bars and restaurants, there is a bit of everything when it comes cuisine in and around Ann Arbor - it rather depends on your own stylings. Take a walk up and down Main Street (and a bit east and west along a few streets) for some of the classier restaurants like Palio's, Chop House, Grizzly Peak, etc... - or for a bar / pub scene, wander over to Ashley's or The Brown Jug.
There's plenty of stuff to do around Ann Arbor - the Ruthven Museum, Matthei Botanical Gardens, Leslie Park Nature Center, The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (for for adults as well as kids), etc...
November 1st, 2021 at 7:33 AM ^
There are no good restaurants
November 1st, 2021 at 10:09 AM ^
No good restaurants in Ann Arbor? You’ve spouted a lot of nonsense over the years, but this might take the cake. Never understood the appeal of being contrarian just for the sake of it, but you do you man
November 1st, 2021 at 10:40 AM ^
Ann Arbor is full of many good establishments to frequent for good food and drink!
November 1st, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^
And I have never made a sarcastic statement in my entire life.
But other than that your assessment of my opinions is spot on.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
Sarcasm detector must be broken. Apologies
November 1st, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
Lol it's OK, I'm also very bad at internetting so it's probably my fault.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:38 AM ^
I seriously hope that at some point in the not-too-distant future the conference changes the schedule so that this game is no longer on Thanksgiving weekend. They (Michigan athletic dept) probably lose more fans to having out-of-state family obligations (especially from the student section) that weekend than they gain by having those out-of-state coming in to visit (and possibly catch the game if they can fit it in to their schedule). As pointed out earlier - the majority of osu fans live in Ohio and are more open to driving up for the game.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
There are lots of games that week, do they all get taken over by the road team?
November 1st, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
Crg and I don’t agree on much but we do on this one. I’d venture to say we are probably one of the biggest football programs with the largest out of state student body for a state university. A quick google shows 73% of OSU students are from Ohio where only 51% of M students are from Michigan. This data was from 2019 so there will be variability. M takes the majority of its out of state students from California, so they aren’t going to come back early for the game on a holiday weekend. So yes, i think it matters.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:38 PM ^
Still... the mental gymnastics you all are going through to justify that Thanksgiving is a one way blocker for Michigan but not Ohio for attendance is something else.
For your excuse to work, it implies the stadium is filled with only students. It's not.
There are plenty of Michigan residents who are fans (err, used to be) who have no connection to the University whatsoever who fill that stadium every weekend.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
This is a weird take. The people in Michigan have commitments that keep them from showing up but the people who have to drive 4 hours each way aren't impacted at all by similar commitments.
November 1st, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
I think you missed my argument. You say "the people in Michigan" - my point is that many of those UM fans (that otherwise would attend the game) would not be in Michigan during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This is true for all fanbases to some extent, but disportionately so for UM than OSU. Another example would be ND: a relatively low portion of their students/alum actually reside (permanently) in Indiana.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:45 AM ^
Probably be 70 percent OSU fans.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:12 PM ^
I wouldn't estimate that high. It seems like a third or so OSU fans in recent years. That's still insane, and it probably doesn't change until we beat them (not something I expect to happen this year). The 2019 game was an absolutely miserable experience because of a) the 2nd half itself and b) how many of their fans were there. Kind of a vicious cycle at this point.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:14 AM ^
"Why are you going? The season's over anyway"
/s
There is no shortage of awesome restaurants in Ann Arbor. I don't think I ever did the grave walk (and as pointed out above it's a bit earlier in the week).
November 1st, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
You don't think you ever did the grave walk? You don't remember?
November 1st, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
ann arbor is a weird place man
November 1st, 2021 at 8:33 AM ^
It strike me that the grave walk should be a thing of the past. Are we really still honoring him?
November 1st, 2021 at 8:37 AM ^
I hope that we can all support an individual honoring him. I grew up loving him and he has a stamp on my fandom. However, based on the new information I have, I would not take part. If a collection of fans (was this ever a sanctioned university event?) take part, who cares?
November 1st, 2021 at 9:38 AM ^
It's just not a great look to be venerating a guy for sports accomplishments when his indifference caused lots of men real pain. I think it's pretty cringey to do the gravewalk knowing what we know now
November 1st, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
I am personally in alignment with you. If the OP is going to partake, it is on his conscience, not mine.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
We can call it for what it is... not indifference but negligence.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
New here, can't create a topic yet. Having said that, looking for 2 tickets for THE GAME. Please email me [email protected] if anyone is looking to sell to a diehard fan in South Carolina!
Thanks,
Joe
November 1st, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
I was planning on coming to the game (I gladly would've bought tickets to keep them out of the hands of Ohio State fans) but my kids come home from college that weekend so I can't imagine saying, "See you! Find your own way to the airport on Sunday." Unfortunately they don't want to go to Ann Arbor on a weekend they get a chance to see their friends from home. Hoping they change the weekend the Game is played for this reason. Also, for those of you who attend the game, how's the student section? Mostly filled or are people still home?