The cost of being a UM fan in Columbus
Though for years I have pondered how much harder I have made my life by sticking with my allegiance to Michigan while living here in Columbus, yesterday I was able to put a price tag on what that value would equate to in dollars.
In case any of you are curious, that number is $11,900 USD.
How I came to that value:
Recently I proposed to my semi-osu fan girlfriend. Being a semi-osu fan in Columbus really means she doesn't care that much about sports, but enjoys hanging out with friends who all happen to be OSU fans.
For our upcoming wedding, her most unrealistic desire involves hiring Still Motion (stillmotion.ca) to do video production at our wedding/reception. The stick price on their base package: $11,900 USD.
The arrangement is something along these lines: I agree to still motion doing our videography and she agrees to become a michigan fan.
This includes:
1) rooting for UM over OSU (she can still cheer for OSU every other game of the season)
2) Agreeing that if/when we have children we will never buy nor clothe our child with OSU laden items.
3) Being supportive when UM loses.
I know $11,900 is alot of money - more than we can really afford at this point. But at least now I will get something out of it...
Thoughts?
AWESOME! Well worth the money. Make sure she signs a pre-nup...you need her to sign her name on a document. Since she has been an OSU fan, she will break her word unless you have proof. Even then, I dunno. You might want to have her burn one of her OSU shirts or something to prove how serious she takes the commitment...Maybe have her do the ceremonial burning at the wedding. That would be kickass! And would totally piss off all her friends at the wedding.
I guess you said she can still like OSU, so she might not be willing to burn anything OSU related. Still, you should ask.
Think of how much you will be saving your future children in psychiatric bills by them never having to wear those god-awful colors. I come from a pretty similar background (MSu instead of OSU, her whole family are MSU fans/alums), and I converted her through brainwashing and shear will power. Now she gets even rowdier than me at games.
...And if she's serious about that, she wouldn't mind you walking down the aisle to the M Fanfare*. If she or the Columbus-based family objects to that, you know you're gonna have problems.
* I'm not even sure how that would play in Dayton but I can dream.
You have no idea how ridiculous it is. My soon to be brother in law really had the bridal party come out to tOSU fight song.
Personally, I thought it was tacky. I cant say I think the victors would be any better. We're leaning towards a combination of this score : (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys) and traditional organ songs for the entrances.
at the Michigan Union, I've seen a fair share of people do fight songs (ours, OSUs, MSUs, etc) at weddings.
For the love of fuck, don't do it for entry music. At the end of the night, wrapping things up, it's ok - definitely not great, but more acceptable anyway.
...you're not getting anything out of the deal.
If she's not really a tOSU fan, she should already support you during The Game.
You told her she can support tOSU the rest of the year? That'll be a fun house.
Any self-respecting Michigan Dad would never let his kid wear Ohio State crap no matter what his wife thought.
What does "being supportive" when M loses mean? "Oh honey, don't worry about it. Nick Sheridan looked slightly better than death today....and honey, could you please be sure the big screen downstairs has the Ohio State - Toledo game on in ten minutes? Man I just love Terrelle Pryor's new tattoo....."
That's what you got for spending $11,900 that you don't have. You sure drive a hard bargain.
Yeah, if I were you, she'd be gone. Sorry. I have no patience for anything OSU.
She doesn't love you and you are a fool to marry her if this is the bargain you are being suckered into.
I should have gotten into gouging people 12K to do videos of their weddings. Sounds like a nice job: work ten times a year and make six figures.
That is pretty much the exact opposite of how the video production business actually works
I thought you were going to say someone set your car or fire or otherwise destroyed it. I'm not kidding.
I was also expecting something along these lines... My bro goes to school in Ohio and has had his car fucked with numerous times... most recently the morons stole his license plates: "MZ N BLU"
I'm pretty surprised OSU fans were able to figure out what it meant.
You probably shouldn't marry her.
Since she lives and congregates with people from Columbus I assume that she isn't one for detail. Hows about me and a couple of fellow M faitful pose as, what is the name of the videographers,...motion sickness...Lets say we get some t-shirts done up and make some mock documents claiming to be this group. I have cameras and what not. I'll charge you for gas to get out there and one night with a bridesmaid. (only if she is hot)You pocket the eleven k and invest in some form of ohio state/columbus detox for your betrothed and problem solved.
In the end the block M will always win.
What you need to do - instead of trying to make the motivation external with bribery - is show her how much cooler UM is than OSU. I mean really, Ann Arbor vs Columbus? Winged helmets vs Grey helmets? Big House vs Horseshoe? Classy (mostly) crowd vs trashy, burn down their own city crowd? RR vs Sweater vest? Wolverine vs a buckeye for goodness sakes? The list goes on and on.
Really, as far as coolness, there is no comparison. Once she sees all these things - it is contagious. She would have no choice but be UM fan.
You should have saved your money. It would have happened eventually. Especially after a few games at the Big House.
But now dude, your screwed. You have to do it. You should have posted before you talked to her and made this ridiculous (and expensive) bargain.
PS - I know this is true because I married into UM (being a semi OSU fan) and was sold rather quickly.
AA v. Columbus - metropolis versus small town. I know which she would pick.
The helmets are clearly cooler, but again - she doesnt really care about football. She pulled for Vince Young against OSU because she thought he looked like a horse running. What kind of logic is that?
Big House - she will be going this fall for the first time. The horseshoe is awesome if you are an OSU fan - honestly more fun than the big house. People do this odd thing - standing, cheering, encouraging their team. (zing, oops)
Sweater vest may be the bane of our existence, but he is a good man. Donates to the community, speaks at christian and AIA meetings, etc.. I like him better than DickRod. I like his record better too.
Seriously, DickRod?
That would buy you one hellavua honeymoon. Or a downpayment. Or start a nice investment right when the market is pretty low.
More than you can afford? You really need to re-think this....
I hate to criticize your wedding plans, but when you say that the videography is more than you should really spend, it makes me wonder if it is something you should be getting. The videos on StillMotion's website look pretty nice, to be sure, but they are also filming weddings that have torch-spinners other over-the-top stuff going on. If this service makes you think that it costs more than you can afford, it might not be something you need.
Is anyone really going to watch the 12K movie you are having produced? I am getting married soon myself, and the most consistent comment I have had from other folks is that I should not spend much on a video because no one is going to watch it more than a few times. Now, a wedding video might get watched more with the pan shots and crazy production values that StillMotion is selling you, but are you certain that it won't just sit on the shelf for 30 years? I own some movies where the budget was 200 million, but I don't watch them because they are not very interesting. At the very least, if you are worried about money, you might want to rethink touting this as an awesome deal you have going with your fiance.
Hope everything works out well, good luck
do not spend 12k on a video. i repeat do not spend 12k on a video. if you are any kind of man and sports fan you'll never, and i mean never watch it. i got married in 2000 and had a video done(not at 12k either) i've never seen it. the wife has watched it twice,(TWICE) trust me people just don't care to watch your wedding. if your planning a Youtube kinda thing that seems to be going around you can hace a buddy tape it for a whole lot less than 12k. especially for a lady who really isn't a osu fan.
I too am in the midst of planning our wedding and can not fathom spending $11,900 on videography. We are not on the tightest of budgets, however, there is no way that't worth it in my book. That's nearly half cost of my plans for 100 at the Ritz Carlton Resort in Naples, Fl....Ceremony and Reception...
The engagement ring should have come with that understanding if you ask me...and that's something that has value and can be sold if you ever need the money...especially if money is tight... and it worked in converting my Fiancee from a Spartan to a Wolverine...
Last but not least...$11,900 can get you a hell of a honeymoon...that's more than we are spending for 12 days in Bora Bora and Tahiti at 5 Star resorts...
Think twice my friend...thing twice...
Honeymoon will be 2 weeks in hawaii, each week donated by one of her sisters. The flight will be free on credit card miles.
House we will live in first year or so is already hers..
Just like in Braveheart when Longshanks tried to breed the Scot right out of the Highlanders...you have been trapped in a wildly complex web of deceit. Your child will run around with Herbstreits kids wearing an Eddie George throwback jersey...
In all seriousness sounds like a good deal...GO BLUE!!! Don't let your children get turned to the dark side.
Can't put a price on how this will be much better for your kids.
Just look at the bail schedule at the local jail and you've got your price. Every dollar spent now preventing the next generation from becoming OSU fans reduces the future strain/cost on our legal system. Also, the more non-buckeye kids you produce, the greater the return on your investment (4 OSU-fan siblings could easily cost you over eleven grand on any random tuesday afternoon).
I agree. Although if I have sons I will encourage them to go to Miami... Daughters to a nunnery.
but you could be strolling around in a new car, or two decent used cars, house payments for a year, a golden toilet, or 1 ticket to the front row of the yankees game
its only one day, your wife is dumb
I know for a fact there are plenty of very good local photographers who won't cost you near as much. I also know -- from having five married siblings -- that the video really isn't worth that much money because it's going to gather dust. Don't waste your money; hire a good local photographer and just set up a video camera on a tripod for the ceremony.
This is another example of why I'm so cynical about modern weddings. People dump so much money and invest so much time into one day, and when the day actually comes, they're so stressed about having everything go right that they forget to actually enjoy getting married. I photographed two weddings and immediately stopped offering wedding photography because the stress just wasn't worth it.
Dude,
That is a goddamn ridiculous amount of money to spend on a videography. You can get an *awesome* photographer for usually 2-3k and honestly...how many times are you going to pull out a fucking DVD of your wedding and watch it?
Any woman who thinks spending 12k on a freaking video production of her wedding needs her head examined.
If you guys are truly in love...are you loaded? Just make sure she's the one, I'd hate for you to be reviewing this movie stoned on Jack Daniels after she told you to keep it and she ran off with some other dude.
She was one of my best friends for years before we dated.
If she wasn't wouldnt have proposed. Even that was crazy - miaminemo.blogspot.com has the story if anyone cares.
No, not loaded.. just your average run of the mill developer for a fortune 105 company..
Hotness of the bride-to-be is something to be considered as well. Got any pics of her? Too creepy?
Seriously though, Sgt. and Goodbye are right. My brother had his taped for a K or two and the company did a pretty nice job (according to my brother) but they've watched it once. I know because he's bitched about the cost vs. the usefulness. I've never seen it. My parents have never seen it. Her parents have never seen it. That's the main reason my wife and I didn't do it. Hell, I can count on one hand how many times my wife or I have even opened our wedding photo album, and that's with a 3 and a 5 year old asking questions about it.
Is this the the same couple who do the video for Wifeysworld.com?
1st of all congrats on your engagement, and even though I don’t want to waste too much time berating you over why 12K is way too much for a quality videographer and how many things you’d be able to purchase with that money, I do want to pass on the link to my videographer http://www.glasseyevideo.com/ ; based in Cincinnati. Anyway I’m also feeling based on your comment of “unrealistic desire;” that both you and your fiancée understand that this negotiation is more out of fun that necessity, and the “semi-osu” comment just reinforces that for me. I for one feel I’ve been very successful in rescuing my fiancée from tOSU doldrums, all by starting the process with a $20 UM hooded sweatshirt from The Finish Line; that I remember fondly more so because of the look on her fathers face as she entered enemy territory for the 1st time wearing it. It’s every girls nature to please Dad, but at the same time defy him every once and awhile; so if her family’s OSU fans than you already have that working in your favor. I will admit that my fiancée was also at one time a “semi-osu” fan more so b/c of her family surroundings who for some odd reason love everything else Michigan be it the Pistons, the Tigers etc, so it’s not that I had to exorcise demons or anything, but all I’m saying is that “YOU” will be her new surroundings more so than Columbus so save the 12K if in fact you are truly debating this. Not that I’m going to compare the rivalry of UM and OSU to that of UM and Notre Dame, but my fiancée and I live within 25 minutes of all the Golden Domers and Rudy Ruettigers of the world, and I still have found someone that wants to “make sure our tickets are on the press box side, and close to the field”, and finds excitement tailgating on the golf course donning her #1 jersey. All in all my point is that it’s not going to take 12K for your fiancée to enjoy and root for Michigan; it may be as simple as a $20 hooded sweatshirt.
P.S. If that doesn’t work than just remember that 12K is 15 years of season tickets for you and your fiancée.
The only season tickets I could reasonably use would be OSU, which would only have 1 game I would bother to see every other year.
she dosen't get you a sweatervest for xmas....by the way! Congrats on your pending marriage.
"A flower, when offered in the bud, is no vain sacrifice."
Isaac Watts
Seriously, you will regret spending that kind of money on a wedding video for years to come. My sister-in-law just got married a few weeks ago. She had a friend set up a video camera pointed at the dance floor to capture the post-dinner fun. She watched it once, laughed at people making fools of themselves and is now done with it.
I 100% guarantee that you will watch this video once and then run to the bathroom to vomit after you realize that this was the first and last time you will ever watch your incredibly boring $11,900 video.
Other than that, congrats on the upcoming marriage.
a) She is not only incredibly hot, but unrealistically intelligent, and actually grasps the concept of logic. She does modelling, and can write computer programs in multiple languages (thats not necessarily hot, but the intelligence required to do so is) She will make a great mother, and I am lucky to have her. Downside: she knows it.
b) her little sister who got married to a guy who makes far less than we do hired them last year. She watches the video of strangers for hours. Her sister's video coincidentally just was released this week and she has already watched for 2 hours. I agree I will watch once, but she will many times.
Those two points aside, I understand completely that this is a foolish waste of money. The housing market hasn't been this bad in Ohio in years. The additional 12k could have been the difference between a $200k house and a 225k house.
Don't believe I'm foolish enough to believe I am getting a good deal. Its more like my star wide receiver is disgruntled, in the last year of his contract, and inevitably leaving. You make a trade that you receive nowhere close to the actual value, but at least you get something. She has her heart set on them, I would hear about it the rest of my life if we didnt get them.
We decided on a reception hall last night, and both my church, the reception hall, the catering company, and StillMotion were all available. All 4 deals have been agreed upon so the 12k (which she is actually spending) is forever gone.
As to the afformentioned semi-osu fandom - the brainwashing in Columbus is not only thorough, it is also contageious. When OSU wins, the entire city celebrates. Ann Arbor may be picturesque, but it certainly is not 1.5 million people.
When it comes to having fun in columbus, every fall saturday involves a house party at a OSU aligned friend's house. You can either be picked on, or be a buckeye.
RAGE.....RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT!!!
(or something like that)
Assuming you're putting 20% down, that additional $12K of downpayment becomes $60K towards your house. $12K of cash, plus $48K in incremental mortgage. I'm not that familiar with Columbus, but I have to imagine $60K will buy some pretty significant upgrades (square footage, neighborhood, better schools, her dream closet, etc). Of course, this requires an extra $250/month in mortgage payment, but for a solid Michigan grad, that's nothing... Good luck!
You like the shoe over the Big House? You like Tressel? Did you say "DICKROD"? I suggest you check your neck for twin puntcure wounds. Also examine the length of your
lady's canine teeth, because it may already be to late.
There is no variance in my allegiance to Michigan. Have been a die hard fan since I was 6 years old.
However, as I am aware of the blatant brainwashing that happens in Columbus, I am very cognisant of every decision I make.
Never did I say I like the shoe better than the Big House, however it is fair to respect the intensity OSU fans bring into the shoe. Drunk rednecks make much more noise than 70 year old alumni. Never have I been asked to sit down at the shoe; beer thrown on me yes, but thats part of the experience.
Question me when you are in the middle of the student section with the maize and blue on.
I do not love tressel, but I do respect him - the same way I do Tom Izzo or any other coach who has earned it. I have every hope that Rodriguez will produce, but so far I have seen little.
Both my fiancee and I will be in AA this November in blue, and while it may not be worth 12k, it will be something.