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Wow. You guys are so lucky. At OSU it's a bidding war for season tickets. Minimum donation is $1,500 (and the tickets are another $1,120), but seat eligibility is based on your total donations made over time. I am afraid to find out where the line is currently, but I'm guessing it's well above the $2,600 minimum. That's OK, my draw in the alumni ticket lottery was the Eastern Michigan game. At least I got tickets this year.

Nice.

Some of the guys on BuckeyePlanet are really knowledgeable about this stuff. I'm sure they'd help if you asked.

Just off the top of my head--please correct my mistakes. We have several teams dedicated almost exclusively to the spread. It's just not necessarily the teams who are competing for the championship. That said, most everyone uses multiple sets--Ohio State had an unholy spread attack in 2006, for instance. The teams with deeper talent tend to run a bit of everything successfully, but the bread and butter is a more traditional style offense. Iowa (Pro set) Minnesota (Pro set) Wisconsin (power all the way--and it's beautiful) Illinois (Spread) Northwestern (Spread) Indiana (Spread) Purdue (Spread) Michigan State (Multiple Sets) Michigan (Spread) Ohio State (multiple sets, includes spread/option) Penn State (ditto) The trick with the big ten is that you have to be able to defend, well... everything. In a league that emphasizes defense, the scores tend to be lower and the margin for error is slimmer. You can't have a weakness on defense, or there's a team out there that will exploit it.

A beautiful sight, indeed. Well played, sir.

The same could be said for Notre Dame, if you take my point. I seem to recall it looking a lot like Christmas in there.

I think you'll have no problem selling out all your away tickets and showing up. I also think you'll have no problem getting home tickets for teams like Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana. But if you think you can easily step in to Ohio State, Penn State, or Wisconsin, you'll be in for a rude awakening. I have no doubt you travel well. But just like Buckeye fans, Nittany Lion fans, and Badger fans, you'll be watching the game from the tailgating areas. You guys aren't the only ones that travel well. I wouldn't go quite that far. There are plenty of tickets to be had outside the stadium--they'll just be selling for a hefty mark-up the first few years. As always, the bigger the game, the bigger the price tag. Something tells me Nebraska will always (OK, for the indefinite future, anyway) count as a big game.

Not to derail the train, here, but wouldn't it be hilarious if the Big Ten announces that there won't be a title game in the immediate future? I can just see the blank, stupefied expression on the talking heads' faces. ...but then, I'd have to actually tune in to ESPN to see that and I don't because that usually leaves me feeling dirty. The only team I want to see Ohio State get even with is the skunkbears. Hopefully before my daughter starts classes at OSU. Of course, that would mean OSU would have to go at least 15-2 over the next 17 years. It could happen.... right?

Something tells me that won't be a problem much longer.

Man, that Wisc/Miami game was awesome. I wallowed in it. Watching the 'canes shivering on the sidelines 'cause it was <gasp> 50 degrees!!! ...and watching John Clay & Co. making them know the meaning of power football. 'Twas a thing of beauty.

Maybe it's just me, but Camp Randall doesn't look like it seats 80K, more like 65K (maybe because it's only double-decked along one sideline). 80,000 screaming Badger fans is bad enough, 85 or 90 would be Hell. And Kinnick is arguably the most daunting stadium with a capacity of 70K and under (I think it's actually a teense north of 70, but close enough). A few more seasons like last, I have little doubt that Kinnick will expand to 80,000+ in the next decade. Sitting in the upper deck in Randall is not all that fun. It's really far away from the action. I can imagine there's little desire to put more of those kinds of seats in. The big issue with Randall is how many seats are given to the students. Doesn't leave a lot of other tickets to be had for a good game. I'd love to see them expand, but the only area really is the historic fieldhouse... My complaint with Ohio Stadium is that the students are dispersed throughout. They give out something like 35,000 student tickets to each game. Imagine what kind of noise they could make if concentrated and organized. Edit: "Sell" the tickets, that is, not "give out."

Wisconsin and Iowa should expand. As rabid as Badger fans are, that place would be a nightmare. Iowa's been good enough lately for the extra capacity--as long as they can sustain it for a few years, they'd be able to keep it filled up and paid for.

Well played, sir.

AGREED! That's why I pay $49.95 for better info from better (douche-free) sites.

For sure, the first game will be tOSU, UM, or PSU in Lincoln. Without a doubt. OSU, PSU, or Iowa. Iowa has geography and recent success to suggest it as the first. If they want real hype, it'll be OSU (if only because the projections/expectations for OSU are through the roof this year). If they want a combo of brand name and historical context, PSU. I'd love for it to be OSU, but I think (wild guess, here) PSU/Iowa are more likely.

On behalf of buckeye nation, I'd appreciate it if you'd never again refer to LSU, the SEC, or anything that could cause us to remember that they exist--at least as far as bowl games are concerned. We're just fine in the regular season, but that's not as interesting. Thanks a bunch. I'm going to my happy place now.

Awwwww. I love when the Sparties try and talk trash. Sooooo cute. Awwwww. How's it feel to lose to Ohio State for six straight years? Keep it up, and we might just be able to negate Cooper's reign of ineptitude. Tressel's already won eight of his nine attempts, after all. Still glad you got Rich Rod?

It's been there since 1922. I don't think they needed to acid wash it to make it look aged. (The rotunda was not touched during expansion other than maintenance) That affect takes hundreds of years to occur naturally. They did the same thing to the old Yankee Stadium when it was constructed. The idea is to make it look like a European cathedral from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Pure speculation: acid rain? It's the right part of the country, and there was plenty of it back in the day.

Doesn't M*ch*gan have the highest unemployment rate in the United States? Columbus is not a rust belt city; it is very modern, home to many large fashion, communications, and finance companies and has a vibrant cultural scene (especially our German town) and great places to eat. People in Columbus are great. OSU has a reputation for rowdy fans, but obviously, as scUM, you would be on the worst of the receiving end of everything - and I've experienced the same by M*ch*gan fans even as far away in New York. On the whole, OSU fans are very involved with their teams compared with other schools and very passionate about the sport. It is a religion in central Ohio for many people. The thing that irks me about so many M*ch*gan fans is that most never attended UM, but unlike fans in Ohio, are incredibly arrogant about being more intelligent or more academically inclined because they're UM. It's one of the snobbiest trends in sports. People live vicariously through UM even if they never went there. If true, this is ridiculous... It happens all the time. Standard response is to just ask them what year they graduated from UM, and watch them flounder looking for a comeback. The worst example was the Mexican guy cleaning the floor in my apartment building. Barely spoke English, but was able to call me a stupid Buckeye, and ask me how I liked working at McDonald's. At Michigan State, such people are known as "Walmart Wolverines." You can't help but laugh about it.

I can't speak to your feelings for texas (dare I say... the whorns?), but one thing that characterizes the rivalry between OSU and Michigan is that despite all the bickering and name calling, there is a foundation based on mutual respect. It's probably harder to see from the younger fans on both sides, but it's really the basis of the rivalry--especially since the 'ten year war' between Woody Hayes and his former assistant, Bo Schembechler. The two were fierce competitors on the field, spewing vitriol and hatred. Off the field, however, they were fast friends. I like to think those sorts of values persist to this day, but I fear men like those are largely things of the past. Edit: Another example--following Bo's death shortly before the 2006 game, a moment of silence was observed in Ohio Stadium for their archnemesis/OSU alumnus. The stadium was actually dead silent, and the tribute to Bo was followed by applause, as opposed to booing.

There are significantly fewer students at the early non-con games. Unless they've restructured it recently, students could buy the Big Ten slate as a package, with the option of picking up the early games individually, as well. The alumni association picks up that slack by piling the vast majority of alumni tickets into those games (something like 30,000 each for last year's USC and Navy games, as opposed to an average of about 3,000 per big ten game). I guess that's a fair measure of the difference in the number of students present. The student sections are not formed for those games. What's really funny is that OSU has more students at the games than any other school (something like 33-35,000 was the last number I've heard), but only puts about 20% of them into Block "O" (the student sections, which are divided in half--one at the North end of the stadium, and one at the South). So, unlike Penn State's 27,000-student intimidation machine, OSU has a pair of ineffectual 3-5,000 blocks. If you want "guaranteed" tickets, you can pay the university $2,000 (or thereabouts) to join the booster club, which leaves you eligible to purchase two (pending availability) season tickets at about $650 each. I basically budget for one game a year through the association. I get two tickets for face ($67), for one game. Last year, though, I didn't win the lottery, so no tickets for me.

To be fair, Ohio State plays 2 games before the students even arrive on campus. That affects our sales. It absolutely does NOT affect sales. Alumni have to enter a lottery just to get our two seats to one game each year. There are no public sale tickets offered by the OSU athletic dept (just secondary market sites like stubhub, etc). Demand far, far exceeds supply. ...unfortunately for me. You could have bought tickets from hangonsloopy.com for Toledo that week. This year, you should be able to do the same thing for both Marshal and Ohio Those are the tickets that are returned from the visiting team's allotment--not those allocated for sale by OSU.

To be fair, Ohio State plays 2 games before the students even arrive on campus. That affects our sales. It absolutely does NOT affect sales. Alumni have to enter a lottery just to get our two seats to one game each year. There are no public sale tickets offered by the OSU athletic dept (just secondary market sites like stubhub, etc). Demand far, far exceeds supply. ...unfortunately for me.

Which is probably why we occasionally (OK, frequently) strike sparks.

I have amended your question set to account for the fact that I'm not from 'round here... 1)How long have you been a member of Buckeye Nation? 20 years 2) What/who led you to The Nation? It was meant to be. 3) Where are you from originally? Cleveland, OH 4) Where do you live now? Cleveland, after stops in Cincitucky, Columbus, and Lansing MI. 5) Favorite Buckeye memory? The look on Jake Plummer's face on Jan 1, 1997. 6) Worst Buckeye memory? 1998 Michigan State. 7) Number of home games attended? Around 10. 8) Number of away games attended? 2 9) Favorite Buckeye memorabilia/apparel? Framed 'Game of the Century' print. 10) Favorite place to watch a Buckeye game? A-Deck. 11) Favorite all time player? Archie. 12) WCO or Option? Anything with balance, involving (GASP!) throwing to the TE from time to time. 14) Brutus or Brutus? um... Brutus. 15) Favorite Buckeye play? Holy Buckeye 16) Favorite game-day beverage? Yes. 17) How did you find HuskerBoard? Google.