How rampant is car vandalism truly in Columbus?
Heading down to Columbus for the game on Saturday to see our boys kick some ass and bring the win home. I've heard all the horror stories of keyed cars, slashed tires, broken windows, etc. Is it really that bad still? Should I rent a car with an Ohio plate? I have a U-M plate so I'm a bit worried.
November 20th, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^
I live in Columbus, and have had Michigan stickers and flags on my cars for 12+ years and have never had an issue. I've been downtown and on campus and have never experienced anything.
November 20th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
Just put your car in a parking ramp or park at the mall and uber!
November 20th, 2018 at 11:12 PM ^
Affix a vanity plate that says "#Zone6"
Everyone will give you a wide berth.
November 20th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
Never hear a good story about how nice the people were, great fans, etc. Always some horror show. My in-laws are from OSU and they flat tell me don't bother to go. The crowd isn't friendly.
Yeah...take the rental. Hopefully a lopsided beatdown will quiet the crowd, but if it's a close nail biter, turn your shirt inside out on the way back to the car.
November 20th, 2018 at 11:19 PM ^
As long as you don't go on top of a parking garage singing The Victors through a bull-horn, you should be all right.
November 20th, 2018 at 11:28 PM ^
For one, your car sticks out like a sore thumb in Columbus unless you’re driving a ‘78 Pacer, ‘91 Caprice (ex-cop cruiser paint visible) or ‘02 rusty conversion van. If you drive anything else, best to leave it home and rent .... with the full insurance plan.
November 21st, 2018 at 12:29 AM ^
Went down in 06. My buddy's car was on blocks when we came out from the game and all the doors had been stripped away. It was like a mobile chop shop swung by. The nail in the coffin was the giant turd in the trunk that we discovered the next day.
Yes, he had U of M plates on his car.
November 21st, 2018 at 9:35 AM ^
I just spit coffee out of my nose wile taking a sip and reading this.
November 21st, 2018 at 6:48 AM ^
Heading down to Columbus for the first time. I am absolutely renting a car. Can’t take any chances with these animals.
November 21st, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
Well do you think if a car has an Ohio plate in Michigan that a Michigan fan would break its window or key the car??? I live in Ohio and sorry, but yea there is always a chance the dickbag walks by your car and does something. It isn't like people after a game are looking to be destructive. I would guess horror story guy is also annoying fan guy or Dbag Fan.
Does your car have UM sticker on it? I mean people in Michigan can actually be a OSU fan.
November 21st, 2018 at 9:13 AM ^
I second this. Quite a vast difference between the two fans bases in regards to respect of other. I'm sure there are less than quality Michigan fans that exist, however the sheer number of the less than quality osu fans is just astounding.
I live in the Columbus suburbs, and during the year I may get jibs and jabs here and there about my Michigan window decal, or the M flag outside my house.
Once game week hits, it is insufferable. The majority all mutate into their cooler pooping/hive mind/football cult alternate egos.
November 21st, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
Wellll....
Had my car keyed in Ann Arbor back in 2010 at a Michigan-Iowa game, being from Columbus I have Ohio tags on my car. Had just bought the car a week earlier.
November 21st, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
I’ve been to the game in Cbus about 5 times since 2003. It’s fine! For god sakes, wear your Michigan stuff!
If you park around the frats or walk through the students, it can get nasty. But nobody is going to assault you. Again, wear your Michigan stuff. Don’t be coward!
I’ve found that Ohio State fans have gotten way more subdued over the years. Two decades of dominance has taken away a bit of their nastiness - how could it not? I’ve also heard that as OSU has raised ticket prices, the true nasty Buck Nuts have been replaced by the ‘wine and cheese’ Buckeyes.
November 21st, 2018 at 4:40 PM ^
Came up from Ohio for the 2003 game, while sitting in traffic to leave , two students walking by, grabbed my Michigan car magnet and ran off. I jumped out of the car and chased them and they jumped into the back of a limo. I knocked on the driver door and the odor of alcohol and marijuana hit me. Flashed my badge and told him that I either get my magnet or we see what the officers up ahead would think about the situation. He rolls down the back window and out comes a hand returning my magnet.
moral of the story: even away from home they are assholes. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.