Once a year, a group of football loving friends from Brooklyn, New York get together and travel to another city away from the friendly confines of their home stadium to watch the New York Jets play an opponent as the visiting team. These buddies usually consist of the same crew, sometimes substituting one or two different guys here and there. They plan this trip based on what tickets are available at the other teams stadiums and when the travel plans all work out for the group. They know they must travel with at least four guys because it makes for easier sleeping arrangements in the hotel rooms and when the other teams fans start a fight they know they have a chance to get one guy out alive to tell all the families about what happened.
In 2004, one of the guys in the group came up with the plan for the annual "away" trip. He had played collegiate baseball for the Columbia University Lions and during his summers he would play baseball in the Ohio amateur leagues. During these summers, he befriended many fellow college students from the great state of Ohio, who were attending the Ohio State University and were playing on the universities baseball team. He kept in touch with these lads and maintained a friendship that, unbeknownst to them, would be the key component to this amazing trip. After securing the 4 tickets to the November 21st, Jets versus Browns game in Cleveland, the orchestrator of this memorable weekend somehow snagged 4 more tickets for the day prior to that, the November 20Th Ohio State/Michigan college football game in Columbus, Ohio. These tickets were not only for one of the greatest sports rivalries ever, they were also on the 50 yard line, which is basically the best seat in the house. And the house in which they were going to see this game is known as the "U". With its present seating capacity of 102,329, Ohio Stadium or the "U" (which describes its shape) is the fourth largest on-campus facility in the nation. Since the opening game against Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 7, 1922, more than 36 million fans have streamed through the stadium's portals. To be able to see a game there is an experience, but to see a grudge match against the Michigan Wolverines there is something that cannot be duplicated.
So the tickets were gotten and the table was set for what was beginning to look like one of the greatest weekends for Football fans ever, all occurring in the wonderful state of Ohio. One phone call later, the summer baseball friendships that had been developed, came back to help them and lodging was set up. All the parts began to fit together and the trip was now a reality for these adventurous bunch of die-hard sports fans. They rented a car and left for Columbus on the morning of Friday, November 19Th 2004. After several stops for gas, food, bathroom breaks and driver changes, the crew arrived on Ohio State's campus just before 8:30pm local time. They pulled up to the apartment complex where the previously mentioned friends lived, with the rest of the Ohio State baseball team. Tired and somehow still hungry, the Brooklynites stumbled out of the car, stretching and complaining of sore backs and immediately were met with cheers from the already partying hosts. They told them to get their Buffalo-wing-eating-pants on and to get back in to the car to follow all of them to the local sports bar for beers and of course, Buffalo wings. The next thing to happen solidified this trip as one of the most unforgettable ones there ever could be. Just as they all got to the bar to order beers they noticed the pockets of people wearing blue sweatshirts with the stamped MICHIGAN in yellow on them and they also noticed that every ones jaws were dropped. It had been from watching the most brutal brawl in Professional Basketball history. Everyone, including the crew, had just witnessed the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers go punch for punch and blow for blow with each other on the court in Indianapolis. Ron Artest, Jermain O'Neal and Stephen Jackson were the main contributors of the fight, which resulted in numerous suspensions. There were fans getting punched square in their faces court side, there were beers and miscellaneous debris getting thrown onto the court from the stands and there were players off the court climbing up in the stands pummeling other fans on their way up. It was complete mayhem and it was happening right in front of their eyes, live on TV. What a way to start a fun filled football weekend! So they watched the brawl, ate some hot wings and drinks some beers and went back to the apartment complex to get geared up for the 6 am wake up call they were going to get the next morning for the tailgate.
Next morning, 8 am, the crew and the guys on the baseball team get down to the streets in front of the stadium and they did their tailgating. What a great time, mingling with Alumni, current students, parents and families. What a sight to see. All these supporters of a college football team, with such tradition and history. They will always have these fans, no matter how bad or how good they do because as it is with college sports, fans usually are alumni or family of alumni and that bond is stronger then it is with pro sports teams. These college fans were there to experience the atmosphere everyday. They were a part of the team, whether they played on them, supported them, had classes with them or payed for them to be there. College sports has so much heart and soul, nothing will ever change that. Each person that wears their schools colors has an unquestioned pride because they know that this school was a part of their life.
So these four friends from Brooklyn engulfed themselves in this phenomenon, which couldn't compare to nights at Madison Square Garden or afternoons at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. This crew that just drove nine and half hours west, walked into the Ohio Stadium and took their seats at the 50 yard line and as the rest of the fans filed in all they could do was look on in amazement at the sights and sounds of this enormous sporting event. The game itself was just awesome. The Ohio State Buckeyes upset the Number 7 Michigan Wolverines 37-21. The most memorable highlight for the crew was watching Teddy Ginn Jr. run back an 82-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter, which caused an eruption of thunderous cheers from the 103,000 fans at the "U". Never had any of these guys heard such a raucous before, especially at a football game. After the game the crew enjoyed the festivities of the campus wide parties celebrating the win over the hated Wolverines. The Ohio State experience was really only half the fun. The boys had another game to get to. They woke up the next morning, Sunday, with severe hangovers and piled back into the rental car and headed to the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Indians and the Browns, Cleveland. They arrived just in time to get in some tailgating and do a couple of J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets chants. Then they made their way to their second stadium in the state of Ohio in as many days. They gazed upon this modern sports arena that sits on the shores of Lake Erie. Cleveland Browns Stadium, with its Dawg Pound in the bleachers on the east side of the stadium and its Kentucky blue grass field, is one of the nicest facilities these guys had ever seen, but it really didn't matter how nice it was, their beloved Jets were about to play and all they cared about was another win. The crew got just that. With a 10-7 win for the Jets, the boys from Brooklyn ended up with a perfect record for the weekend going 2 for 2 thanks to teams from "the birth place of Aviation".
When it comes to big sports weekend trips, this one is at the top of the list. Many men and women would give up a lot, to experience something like these friends did together, especially seeing so many different sports happenings. And being able to find one state in our great union that offers up a chance to experience all this in a span of three days just goes to show that fun times are out there where ever you live.
No comments:
Post a Comment