Columbus: A ringer at The Horseshoe
USC, Ohio State clash at Ohio Stadium in one of the year's most-anticipated showdowns
Brian Bahr/Getty ImagesThe Ohio State Marching Band will no doubt be a trip highlight before, during and after the game.Mixing Midwestern intimacy and big-city arts, Columbus is more than a capital for Ohio or Buckeyes tailgating; it's other side is found in the artsy boutique-filled neighborhood of Short North and the dreamy historic brick streets of German Village.
More for the road
Heading to the 'Bus? Check out Lonely Planet's Great Lakes travel planner download.
Which city has better nightlife, Columbus or L.A.? Seriously, Buckeyes fans think they have the edge. What do you think? Give us your opinion here.
Why go
Do you like tailgating? With all due respect to the SEC, Columbus considers itself the king of the tailgate. On any game day, it's an amazing scene around Ohio Stadium, with all the fans in scarlet and gray holding plastic beer cups at tailgate parties on (otherwise quiet) West Lane Avenue, or popping into galleries and boutiques along North High Street south of the campus in the Short North.
On other days, the real Columbus turns to its central neighborhoods -- the German Village south of downtown, and the Short North just north -- for most of the attention, but nightclubs and theaters in the Arena District bring out locals.
This "College GameDay" planner advancing the much-ballyhooed USC-Ohio State tilt gets the best of both sides.
Seeing the game
Even if you don't have a ticket, or can't afford one (nose-bleed seats on StubHub! start at $285), you'll find almost as many tailgaters watching the game outside Ohio Stadium (capacity 102,329), as in.
Columbus is a tailgater's dream. Start on West Lane Avenue, two blocks north. Its famous tailgate spot, Hineygate, lost its spot this year when the Holiday Inn parking lot was sold to OSU. But there are outdoor parties and TVs at the Varsity Club and at Riverwatch. You'll find tailgaters waving scarlet flags for blocks and blocks around the stadium, too.
Note that traffic is going to be particularly nuts afterwards, especially with Highway 315 under construction. Click here for more information.
Five must-sees in Columbus
- • The homes around Schiller Park in German Village
- • The Horseshoe: If you have a ticket, you're set to be in the city's undeniable top landmark
- • Short North's lively scene of galleries, boutiques and restaurants
- • High-wire unicycle rides at the Center of Science and Industries (COSI)
- • "Golf town," nearby Dublin's golf frenzy, with separate courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer
Did you know?
People sometimes associate Ohio with other "C cities" -- Cincinnati and Cleveland -- but Columbus, the capital, is bigger in area (210 square miles) and population (710,000) than either.
What locals say
- • "I'm sure everyone hears horror stories about OSU fans, but we're not that bad. Just don't walk east of High Street into a group of 20 drunken students and mouth off. If you do, you're asking for it." -- Laurie Watkins, Varsity Club
- • "If you have no feelings for Ohio State, go to the band's 'skull sessions' and you leave a fervent fan." -- Jerry Glick, a Buckeyes fan who hasn't missed a home game since 1944
Sports traveler's calendar
Friday: 4 p.m. to midnight, Rivalry Nights, touring tailgate party hosted by Warren Moon, features live music from Hank Williams Jr., Steven Seagal's Fight Club and freestyle motor cross jumps. And beer. Held at the Ohio Expo Center.
Saturday: 10 a.m., "College GameDay," in front of St. John Arena
6 p.m., Ohio State Marching Band's "skull sessions," at St. John Arena (The sessions were so named because it was traditionally the last chance for band members to memorize the music before a game.)
8 p.m., USC at Ohio State, Ohio Stadium (Buy tickets)
Sunday: 5 p.m., Houston Dynamo at Columbus Crew, Major League Soccer, at Columbus Crew Stadium. Tickets: 800-745-3000, www.TheCrew.com.
Game-day itinerary
When you have a parking spot on game day in the 'Bus, you don't give it up. Grab one near the campus after an early breakfast wherever you're staying, and get to The Horseshoe (or "The Shoe," as Ohio Stadium is called) by 10 a.m. to watch hometown hero Kirk Herbstreit and the "College GameDay" crew talk football and pick games.
Afterward have a walk through campus, and pop into the Wexner Center for the Arts, which is screening a fascinating (and free) short film from lost/found footage of an unknown Vietnamese man touring Europe in the early 1960s.
Then fill the next few hours by taking a break from (the bulk of) the "O-H"/"I-O" call/response crowd. Here are a couple of options:
- • On High Street, take a bus south -- through the Short North district and downtown -- to Columbus' great historic neighborhood, German Village. No one in town is not proud of this restored area, filled with 19th century homes, parks and brick streets that rebounded from a grisly state in the 1960s. There's plenty to see by foot. Get out around Stewart Avenue and go two blocks east to Schiller Park and roam a bit; perhaps go up South Third Street a half-dozen blocks to the city-block long Book Loft, where you can pick up a Woody Hayes bio (or any book) for 20 percent discount on Saturdays. For a late lunch, lively Gresso's Pub & Grill has outdoor seats and a mix of locals.
- • Or, if you prefer getting away from everyone, go see some birds. Columbus' Audubon Society just opened a new $11 million center at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, surprisingly alive with 200 species of bird life. If you look away from the nearby impounding plant, views can be lovely, overlooking the river and downtown skyline, where trails cut across the park's 72 acres.
Hop back in the bus to go north on High Street. At the north end of downtown, get out for the scene at 19th-century North Market -- with 33 food stands (including Vietnamese, Indian and Japanese food options if you're hungry, as well as "Buckeye" chocolates). This Saturday, there's a farmer's market with fresh fruit and vegetables spilling onto the porch, and a microbrewery festival of six statewide beers (and a root beer) available on the second floor.
From here, you can follow the stream of scarlet football jerseys by foot across campus to The 'Shoe -- or bus up a mile, then walk. Columbus' second-favorite game-day tradition starts at 6 p.m., two hours before kickoff, when the (self-professed) "Best Damn Band in the Land" (aka Ohio State Marching Band) plays its "skull sessions" for 13,000 fans at the St. John Arena across from the stadium. (Don't mention that the band's beloved "dot the I" tradition during the games actually began with the visiting Michigan band in 1932.)
If you don't have game tickets, you can join the tailgaters and watch big TVs with other fans outside the stadium. The best place to go is two blocks north: the Varsity Club on West Lane Avenue, which has been around since 1959. The club has 32 bartenders on hand, a closed road and parking lot with food, $3.75 beers, live bands and a JumboTron outside. And you can pick up a Jim Tressel-style sweater vest a block east, at Conrads.
If OSU wins, the Short North, West Lane Avenue and downtown's Arena District will roar with life till well after 2 a.m. -- and it's wise to wait out the exiting cars here anyway. (Fans tend to retreat home after the rare home loss.) Consider going to Eddie George's Grille 27 in Short North, with big-screen TVs showing ESPN's review of the game.
HOME-FIELD ADVENTURE
