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Garrett Merbach

Mr. Herrick

10 Literature and Composition

17 October 2019

A Day with Buckeye Nation

The Ohio State Buckeyes take on Northwestern today at twelve o’clock in Columbus. We

woke up before the sun did. We slugged out of bed, sleepwalked into the car. To Columbus. The

drive was not memorable, falling in-and-out of sleep with 70’s music in the background. Queen,

Bee Gee's, Simon and Garfunkel. My dad cracking sunflower seeds in the front, Jack my brother

blaring music from his headphones into his ears. I was in the back observing them ... observing

the outdoors. Ohio is full of fields and nothingness, you’ll say, “Oh look, a cow!” when you see a

regular ‘ole cow. Ohio is boring.

We arrive hours before the game. I questioned my dad on why we were here so early. His

response, “Gameday”. My dad, Jack, and I have marked this day on our calendar for months.

Our first game at the Horseshoe. Growing up in Michigan … my family is an oddity. We are

Ohio State fans; since birth, till death. Due to us being Ohio State fans in Michigan, we watch

every game by ourselves. No one roots with us, no one wants to see us win, no one will celebrate

when we win. But now—now we’re in Columbus, Ohio; we are at our true home. We couldn’t

wait.

The grill crackled into life, one by one—cars started to file in. Strangers were not

strangers, they were friends. Companions that lost any and all negative emotions and if you ask

them where all the positivity comes from, they’ll all respond the same way. “Gameday”. Truly

an experience that was new to me. The weather was great for October, our early morning
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sweatshirts were ripped off as the sun rose. Burgers, ‘dogs, chips, pop, all found its way into our

mouths. The closer to 12:00, the more we felt like little kids walking to the candy store.

We entered the stadium with plenty of time to get situated in our seats. The place was

massive; so much scarlet, so much history. I was awestruck, the players were warming up and I

recognized them. “JT Barrett right there!” I’d point, “And Curtis Samuel, Mike Webber!”.

Jack next, “Look, Nick Bosa and Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward and...” the list

continued. They went into the tunnel and rushed onto the stadium. Music blared and a video on

the jumbotron to get us hyped and loud. Goosebumps on a warm October afternoon. 12:00

arrived, game time.

Ohio State won 24-20, a closer game then it should have been. We had control but let it

slip, Northwestern attempted to make an upset and comeback, but by then it was like their

batteries were almost dead. The score doesn’t have importance in the story, neither does the

individual plays in the game. This was the first time I’d watched a game with over four Ohio

State fans, the stadium held a lot more than four fans in fact. For the first time, we celebrated

with people. For the first time, we were stressed with people, happy with people, and satisfied

with people. We Belonged. The atmosphere was everything an Ohio State fan living in Michigan

could ask for. We won, which put everyone around us, everyone in Columbus in a good mood.

Good vibes were sent out from the Horseshoe into the surrounding area, and we felt it.

We stayed in a hotel room in Columbus. Went out for an early dinner, explored the city

and had a smile the whole time. I couldn’t have asked for a better day to be with my family of

one hundred thousand for the first time.