Ohio Stadium aka THE Horseshoe (Official Thread)

[Buckeye86]

The Game '04 (possibly the only "underdog excitement" game I have ever been to in the 'Shoe- thank you Tressel), Texas '05, The Game '06 (ears were ringing during the pregame moment of silence for Bo, couldn't hear tsun's band because they were getting booed so loudly- all before the game even started), USC '09 were all games that I attended that I think would match up with the most intimidating atmosphere for any stadium all-time.

Obviously The Game and Penn State '02 are in there as well but I didn't attend those games in person.

That said, I think the fans and especially the students were spoiled during the final years of the Tressel era (also the team but that's a different story). The Block "O" student section was barely half full before the start of games over the final few years which always pissed me off immensely.

Meyer has already reignited the passion in the team, and hopefully he has the same effect on the crowd and the students.

At the very least, hopefully the crowd will be more into the game for some of the snoozers thanks to the offense, because Tresselball certainly didn't do the crowd much favors there.

 

[JBaney45]

Yep. The reason why it's not unanimously the most intimidating place to play (as in every news outlet saying so) is because you have to be good to get us to be loud (or have beaten us the previous year).

Preconference games that aren't the marquee game, the place is quiet.
But I was there for the USC game.......that was loud from start to end (well until USC scored their last TD)

Now granted, since we're under semesters now instead of quarters, the place "should" be rocking in the pre-conference games as well since the students will be there. I hope so.

I've been to a good number of big games..I was in the 4th row south stands for the USC game in 09, absolutely the craziest thing I've heard or seen in my lifetime.

I mean the crowd is a smart crowd, Miami of Ohio is always going to be a relative snooze fest, but the shoe intimidates when it NEEDS to intimidate.

 

[brodybuck21]

"It's a realistic fact that happened. He became mentally disturbed for the first time since he's been a starter for us because of his inability to communicate."
-- Hayden Fry

"First and foremost, those Columbus fans, those Buckeyes, they know, they really know how to intimidate a team. Especially the young guys; they're very rowdy, they're very loud and they come out in an abundance. They are crazy from the start of the game on... (actually) the start of the week of the game, when you first come in and you are checking out the stadium you see all these people yelling at you, cussing at you, wearing that scarlet and gray, and they have that scarlet and gray in their eyes. Man this is more than a game, this is more than what I expected.

When the game starts and you run on the field and you hear the boos of 100,000 people... I mean it's crazy. Then Ohio State might get their first big play or touchdown... and man, I've never heard anything as loud as when Maurice Clarett came on the field. Now I know he might not be real high in columbus right now... but I've never heard anything as loud as when he came onto the field when we played in 2002 down at the Shoe and he had that 30 yard play, I've never heard anything that loud in my life. I couldn't hear myself think, I couldn't hear the playcalls, we were kinda guessing. And the last play of the game, when we ran all post routes and it got intercepted, that wasn't even supposed to be the play call. But it was so loud down there, Navarre couldn't hear, gave the wrong play call, and we ran the wrong route. And so it was an easy interception, so that's just an example of how it is down there."
-- Braylon Edwards

"Ohio State, man, Ohio State was the loudest place I've ever played. The Rose Bowl is wider and more open, but Ohio State is more closed in and everyone is so loud and on top of you. You could hear all the little things people said about you. Man, that was the toughest place I've ever played."
-- Vince Young

"It was really loud. I think my ears are still ringing a bit. Some of the time the tackles and tight ends couldn't hear me."
-- Matt Barkley

gpa

 

[gmen6981]

Probably a dumb question but....I'm making it back to the Shoe for a couple games after not making it for several years. Is there still a Will Call at the stadium, or is that at the Schott now? Thanks guys!

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Probably a dumb question but....I'm making it back to the Shoe for a couple games after not making it for several years. Is there still a Will Call at the stadium, or is that at the Schott now? Thanks guys!

Will call has been at the Schott for the last few years. You should get instructions and directions to will call as the game approaches.

 

[red in colorado]

"It's a realistic fact that happened. He became mentally disturbed for the first time since he's been a starter for us because of his inability to communicate."
-- Hayden Fry

"First and foremost, those Columbus fans, those Buckeyes, they know, they really know how to intimidate a team. Especially the young guys; they're very rowdy, they're very loud and they come out in an abundance. They are crazy from the start of the game on... (actually) the start of the week of the game, when you first come in and you are checking out the stadium you see all these people yelling at you, cussing at you, wearing that scarlet and gray, and they have that scarlet and gray in their eyes. Man this is more than a game, this is more than what I expected.

When the game starts and you run on the field and you hear the boos of 100,000 people... I mean it's crazy. Then Ohio State might get their first big play or touchdown... and man, I've never heard anything as loud as when Maurice Clarett came on the field. Now I know he might not be real high in columbus right now... but I've never heard anything as loud as when he came onto the field when we played in 2002 down at the Shoe and he had that 30 yard play, I've never heard anything that loud in my life. I couldn't hear myself think, I couldn't hear the playcalls, we were kinda guessing. And the last play of the game, when we ran all post routes and it got intercepted, that wasn't even supposed to be the play call. But it was so loud down there, Navarre couldn't hear, gave the wrong play call, and we ran the wrong route. And so it was an easy interception, so that's just an example of how it is down there."
-- Braylon Edwards

"Ohio State, man, Ohio State was the loudest place I've ever played. The Rose Bowl is wider and more open, but Ohio State is more closed in and everyone is so loud and on top of you. You could hear all the little things people said about you. Man, that was the toughest place I've ever played."
-- Vince Young

"It was really loud. I think my ears are still ringing a bit. Some of the time the tackles and tight ends couldn't hear me."
-- Matt Barkley

Fortunately for Nebraska, our coach--Bo Pelini--is an ex buckeye player and knows all about the horseshoe and SHOULD have our team prepared. We'll see when the game actually happens how well he prepped Nebraska for the rousing cacophony which awaits his/our team.

 

[MaliBuckeye]

Fortunately for Nebraska, our coach--Bo Pelini--is an ex buckeye player and knows all about the horseshoe and SHOULD have our team prepared. We'll see when the game actually happens how well he prepped Nebraska for the rousing cacophony which awaits his/our team.

I agree, but The 'Shoe has changed a bit since he was there.

It'll be more like Wisconsin, minus the a**holes and inability to get loud until the fourth quarter.

 

[darbypitcher22]

Looks like the construction on the board is moving along, slowly but surely. Is it going to get finished in time for the game?

 

[red in colorado]

Just out of curiosity, since Nebraska and Memorial stadium will be celebrating 50 YEARS of straight sellouts this season, What kind of sellout streak has tOSU got going at the Horseshoe ??
Seems like every time I watch a televised game from the shoe it's sold out.

 

[bukIpower]

also a question for you guys. I'm getting tickets to the nebraska game.

My questions

1. Which sections does Nebraska sit in (i'd rather be surrounded by OSU fans)

2. What is the best places to get tickets as cheap as possible (expecting 300+ for two)

3. What hotels are affordable around and decent near the stadium (willing to be to the west of columbus as well)

 

[Dryden]

Seems like every time I watch a televised game from the shoe it's sold out.

With bench seating painted off under the presumption every single person in the stadium has an ass smaller than 22" wide, believe me, if only 80,000 showed up it would still look like a sell-out, the fans would just be a lot more comfortable.

 

[jarv]

I want to play Duck Hunt on this thing.

 

[JBaney45]

Just out of curiosity, since Nebraska and Memorial stadium will be celebrating 50 YEARS of straight sellouts this season, What kind of sellout streak has tOSU got going at the Horseshoe ??
Seems like every time I watch a televised game from the shoe it's sold out.

Not very long, the main issue with that is when you get the opposing school returning some of their allottment a couple weeks before the game and then not getting those re-sold. The athletic department could probably do a much better job with making it known that these tickets have become available.

We've been pulling over 100k in attendance to every game I can think of since the 2001 expansion though

 

[Dryden]

OSU's sellout streak is not very long because there have been several incidents recently where a block of tickets reserved for the visiting team was not sold and returned at the last moment. Akron in 2007 and New Mexico State in 2009 are mentioned as not being sellouts, despite the fact attendance figures from box scores record 105,000 in attendance, which is about 102% of listed capacity. I don't know how OSU figures those numbers.

I believe OSU's longest string of sellouts was around 64 or 65 in the 1970s. That ended in either late '79 or early 1980.

 

[jlb1705]

OSU's sellout streak is not very long because there have been several incidents recently where a block of tickets reserved for the visiting team was not sold and returned at the last moment. Akron in 2007 and New Mexico State in 2009 are mentioned as not being sellouts, despite the fact attendance figures from box scores record 105,000 in attendance, which is about 102% of listed capacity. I don't know how OSU figures those numbers.

I believe OSU's longest string of sellouts was around 64 or 65 in the 1970s. That ended in either late '79 or early 1980.

I agree, OSU could do a better job of publicizing these. The problem is, the numbers are very limited and if they announce too loudly then people get angry because a mad rush was created for a couple hundred single seats that were gone in minutes.

Did anybody else get the email that went out yesterday? Still seats to a lot of games out there, including some Big Ten games. I picked up a couple tickets without a problem - about the easiest birthday gift for my wife that I'll ever shop for.