Going to the OSU/PSU Game: Unsure of Protocol
Ok, this is a tough one.
Just got the opportunity to sit with ohio friends in some pretty spectacular seats for the osu/PSU game. Mind you, the decision means I'm abandoning other friends with whom I was planning to hang out with to watch us smash sparty. And I was also planning on BBQ'ing ribs (which I'm known for) so I kinda feel bad about that. But hey, how often do we get to see #3 against #7, especially in a matchup which so directly impacts Michigan?
My question for my Michigan brethren. This is kosher, right? Missing a Michigan rivalry game to see ohio play in that shit-tank of a stadium? And if my case is made any better, I do plan on wearing a Michigan jersey. Though, to be fair, it'll be my Adidas Tate Forcier jersey which I trot out from time to time just to be funny. Plus, I don't care if someone spills a beer on it. Have you guys ever watched osu play in a huge game which "wasn't" Michigan?
October 17th, 2023 at 8:42 PM ^
Do it! My brother and I went to the OSU spring game a few years back, decked out in maize and blue. They were so confused and so deeply offended that we were there, it was great!
October 17th, 2023 at 8:43 PM ^
eh I think it would be hard to stomach, so many people cheering on the buckeyes
October 17th, 2023 at 10:22 PM ^
This is true. I went to the Shoe in 2012. The stadium itself is not impressive - it’s cracking apart and there is lots of patchwork in the concrete to hold it together. Looks like a two tone car.
But the worst was at the end of the third quarter, they bring Tressel out to honor him (for keeping them out of postseason play that year, I guess) and the cheers he got, with all the red and black everywhere, I honestly thought I was transported to the goddamned Nuremberg rally. It has that vibe. It’s really a terrible place.
October 17th, 2023 at 8:59 PM ^
You lost me at “my OSU friends”
October 17th, 2023 at 9:02 PM ^
Wow, what a cool opportunity.
1. The “I’ll take a meteor for the team” sign idea is great (put a block M on it, maybe the last letter) you should absolutely go to the Gameday set and do this.
2. Unless you can actually attend the Michigan game in person instead, you should 100% go to the game:
a. Because college football is absolutely awesome and big games are awesome. It’s better when it’s our team but it’s still great, and I have fantastic memories of attending great games or big games as a neutral fan. Never forget how great a sport college football is. Enjoy it.
b. Because while we dislike both teams and that means one of them is going to be insufferable in victory, you get to enjoy one of them losing. Focus on that aspect of it and you’ll find stuff to enjoy.
c. I won’t tell you what to wear but wearing Michigan gear would be a great troll move and get tons of hostile attention, which frankly would be a lot of fun. Don’t be a jerk, don’t snap back at people, just laugh off the insults and find polite fans to shake hands with and give a classy “good luck” to (they absolutely exist) and remember that the last time Michigan was there Donovan Edwards and Cornelius Johnson left tire marks on the field that are still visible today.
3. It doesn’t even take you away from the Michigan game; that’s a night game, this is at noon. Have fun guilt free, get home (or to a place with a screen) and have fun watching Michigan. No divided loyalties here at all.
October 17th, 2023 at 9:32 PM ^
It's OK to attend the game. Naturally, you must cheer against OSU.
October 17th, 2023 at 9:46 PM ^
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think wearing a Michigan jersey to Ohio Stadium when Michigan isn't playing there is tacky.
October 17th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
As you get older you'll appreciate how rare these opportunities are. Go enjoy yourself.
October 17th, 2023 at 10:09 PM ^
This is one of those games I hope both lose somehow
October 17th, 2023 at 10:24 PM ^
Go there
Summon the meteor directly onto you
Punch your ticket to football Valhalla
Absolute legend
October 17th, 2023 at 10:36 PM ^
Humblebrag post...but of course go and wear the fucking jersey. In all honesty what are any of those assholes going to say to you? As if you don't know how bad things were. They look more ridiculous ridiculing you than you just being funny. They've bigger jabs to give to one another's teams playing.
October 17th, 2023 at 10:46 PM ^
In hoops, yes I've watched OSU (1991 NCAA Tourney). It was okay. All hate aside, Ohio Stadium is a must on a college FB tour of stadiums. And it's a top 10 match up. This is all good.
BONUS: You'll still have plenty of time post game to find a Michigan-friendly place to watch our game.
October 17th, 2023 at 11:51 PM ^
…After driving 3 hours to get out of Ohio.
October 17th, 2023 at 11:21 PM ^
Wear black. Cheer generic things like "yay football!" Respond to O-H with "pigskin!" Make sure you say gridiron a lot. And be sure to applaud the bands.
October 17th, 2023 at 11:50 PM ^
You have to make a sign about being there to see who’ll be Big East runner up.
October 18th, 2023 at 2:48 PM ^
Yes. Do it on ESPN Game Day.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:11 AM ^
If you are going to go, make some of your ribs and send/take them of over on your way to Ohio. If you were going to host, apologize and reschedule for the PSU game.
They'll get over it.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:28 AM ^
https://youtu.be/JbZEgz5ubUQ?si=MNGwLTURGiCUgYLb
This should be the newest mgoblog T-shirt theme for what Ohio means, and…
UM home game > UM neutral site game >> UM away game >>> any game w/o UM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any game w/o UM in the toilet bowl!
October 18th, 2023 at 1:22 AM ^
I went to an OSU vs Wisconsin game in Columbus in 2009 - wore neutral colors because I didn't have the guts to wear a Michigan jersey.
Went to an OSU vs. Notre Dame hockey game in Columbus in 2013-14ish - wore a Michigan shirt/hat and got put on the big screen with a computer generated bag over my head.
Then went to the 2016 game JT Was Short game decked out in Michigan gear. I support your decision to go, and the Tate Forcier jersey will get lots of fun & nasty comments. Take it in stride and don't be a jerk about it and you'll be fine.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:26 AM ^
Wear a Caleb Williams USC jersey and start smack-talking about how "your team"'s excellent defense will shut them out in the upcoming Rose Bowl College Football Playoff game.
Confusing your neighbors and making them thinking you're crazy, while also temporarily uniting PSU fans and OSU fans against you, is always good protocol.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:27 AM ^
I wish they could both lose but I think OSU will beat PSU by 10 or more points.
October 18th, 2023 at 6:57 AM ^
Absolutely go to the game but leave the jersey at home. It's a sports fashion no-no to wear third party gear at a game.
October 18th, 2023 at 7:04 AM ^
Eat lots of chili and sauerkraut for breakfast and share.
October 18th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
HAHAHHA! Nice. Yes, crop dust every Buckeye and Lion fan you can until you exhaust your rectal powers.
In fact, we should start a tradition of sending an army of chili loaded Michigan fans every year to this game in Columbus or State College to crop dust the entire stadium with gaseous Maize and Blue fecal matter.
October 18th, 2023 at 7:49 AM ^
Take this from someone who got talked into to going to the Oregon @ ohio state game in 2021, then later watched the Washington vs Michigan game at a Columbus bar.. GO!! make it up to your Michigan friends with the next tailgate, wagyu brisket.
consolation prize: you watch James Franklin fall apart
October 18th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
Wear what you wish - but, please don’t “maize and blue” your attire the way some Buckeye fans wear “Nut” necklaces.
Go Blue!
October 18th, 2023 at 8:45 AM ^
It seems kind of tacky to wear an official Michigan jersey. You should wear something homemade. Take a blank blue shirt, buy some maize duct tape and put 45-23 on the front 42-27 on the back. Then get some maize fabric paint and write "Will they catch him?" on the front above the score and "NO!" on the back.
October 18th, 2023 at 8:56 AM ^
of course it's kosher.
i know we love to point and laugh at ohio state and columbus (and rightfully so), but part of our disgust with their stupid stadium is the way those people (so-called) treat michigan fans when we go there. i for one wouldn't mind experiencing a game there as a semi-neutral observer, without those people (so-called) treating me to their special brand of assholery. i went to a sparty vs notre dame game a few years back and had a great time. go, and enjoy the football, it should be a good one.
October 18th, 2023 at 9:23 AM ^
+1 for assholery
October 18th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
What's interesting is that I went to The Game in 2014 and I don't think I was heckled (in a serious way) once. Granted, I sat nowhere near the student section, but I was never cussed at, spat on, yelled at, etc. I even sat next to a nice OSU couple who I talked to for portions of the game, and they said they wished Michigan was good again. To them, watching them beat up on bad Michigan teams was nowhere near as fun as watching them play great Michigan teams.
Honestly, I think the only reason I wasn't harassed that day is because at that point, most OSU fans didn't really hate Michigan so much as they just felt sorry for Michigan.
October 18th, 2023 at 9:24 AM ^
Go. It will be a fun experience unless it's cold and rainy. And wear your Michigan gear. YOLO!
October 18th, 2023 at 10:07 AM ^
Get a 12 pack of Natty Daddy's. Red Sweatshirt. Spill mustard and other food on it. Actually buy it today, soak in beer overnight so it smells just right. Stubble around, act like a drunken fool and not only will fit right in, you might be elected mayor.
October 18th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
For repping our gear you'll get heckled and spat on and likely even smacked upside the head once or twice, otherwise it should be enjoyable watching them pummel each other. If you look up in the sky and see a meteor heading your way, at least you'll know in your final moments that God wears blue.