super sized support..

This past weekend, 5 of us travelled to Ohio to witness and take part in a spectacle known as, American Football. There is really no best way to describe it and a few words will not do it justice. I highly recommend you put a game on your list of things to do and prepare yourself for an epic adventure…

On Friday, we travelled first thing to Chicago and then to Columbus Ohio. A full day travel and a 3hr time change brought us to a sunny city which started to vanish into the night. On the way to our accommodations, we passed a school with a field and bleachers packed with high school football fanatics. 2 teams and a few thousand spectators.

‘wow, these guys like their football’, I thought to myself..

Turns out that Friday is high school football, Saturday is collage and Sunday is pro ball…and if that’s not enough, everyone seems to be fixated on any tv screen because there’s football on there too!

We went to visit family which included the athletics director of Ohio State…whoa, can you say VIP!

On Sat as we drove to the stadium, we just kept on driving, past what seemed like millions of people making their way and ended up parking right beside and entrance to the massive stadium which holds around 107,000 active football lovers!

We ended up on the field while the players ran drills and got themselves seriously pumped up. One cannot help but get energized with the music, the size of the players and the vast number of seats quickly filling up during the pregame. We made our way to our seats, some 5 rows back on the 50 yard line, it was like we could talk to the players…

Before the game, the pep squad came out. The best damn band in the land just kept coming. The sense of urgency was high as they delivered their music notes with precision and purpose.

The game began and it was unbelievable. The team seemed bigger than life and the crowd was totally into it. The color scarlet was the majority and all eyes were on the game. The sense of team was overwhelming. The feeling of support was everywhere; in fact the air was saturated.

Within that game we watched from the field, a sky box and our super close seats…for my first American football experience, it was as good as it gets..

The following day we spent the morning touring the athletics department for football and basketball. This was most impressive. We were at one of the top 3 schools in the nation for athletics and one of the highest ranked schools for academic achievements. The biggest impact was the powerful feeling of support and how the main focus was the betterment of the students and the athletes. The success of team was the main goal. All the steps were laid out for one to follow..

There were many quotes on the walls and letters sent that were framed for all to read.

‘if you have a question, ask. If you can help a teammate, do it!’ was written in one of the letters on display.

Many of the systems and values seemed to be identical to ours. Everyone we met was kind, courteous and well mannered. Everyone was honest and cared about us being there. The sense of team was repeated and not once did we feel as though we were alone or left out.

The game was amazing, the crowds were outstanding but what hit us hard was the feeling of pride, honour and respect. To be honest, the main ingredients in anything worth experiencing…

But don’t just move on from here, go get yourself a heavy dose of team via the good ol USA and be ready to consume a couple big beers and a large portion of whatever else you order!