Football Tailgating Buckeye Style

January through August the Midwest college town of Columbus, OH seem almost bare. A steady flow of students with backpacks meander from their houses on E. 15th Street, also known as "fraternity row," and make their way across High St. to what is officially known as The Ohio State University campus. Girls can be seen in T-shirts and shorts with bikinis underneath heading toward the grassy center of campus, called "the Oval." There they catch some sun and people-watch while guys play Frisbee, pick up games of soccer and fetch with their dogs. Then there are the others. The fans. These clusters of would-be graduates with baseball caps pulled low over their eyes huddle around a pitcher of beer outside umbrella covered tables to discuss the latest recruits, stats and coaching strategies of their beloved hometown team, the Buckeyes. For them, these months are only the hibernation period … the build up… until OSU football season, tailgating-and real life as they know it-begins.

As September rolls in to C-bus, as the town is affectionately called by its locals, the energy at Ohio State begins to rise like the faint whistle of a teapot on the stove as it gradually warms on the burner. In Columbus, this the time of year when students arrive to start their first quarter of classes. Mothers and fathers help their children move into the dormitories. The campus stores are filled with freshman buying Buckeye memorabilia. Student groups are in the Oval recruiting new members. And, the faint whistle of campus activity escalates under the pressure into a steady, constant hum.