The presence of ESPN in Athens was enough to get more Ohio football fans at Peden Stadium than usual, but it was not enough to keep them from committing their most infamous maneuver.
During the entire first quarter and most of the second, the Uptown bars were less packed than usual. But of course, that started to change as the game inched closer and closer to halftime.
Eric Rieser made his way to the The Pigskin before the Marching 110 even set foot on the field, but it wasn’t due to the game itself or the temperature.
“I left because, to be honest, I was kind of sobering up,” said Rieser, whose thundersticks popped at the game. “I just wanted to come to a bar and watch it.
“I figured they were doing good, and I just wanted to hang out.”
At halftime, the Bobcats and the visiting Owls were tied at 14. Ohio went on to win the game, 35-31.
While Rieser was likely one of the first students to leave the game before it ended, he certainly was not the last — and that’s what many people predicted.
“I think that after the game, the bar scene will start happening,” said Steve Van Fleet, the owner of Pawpurr’s Bar. “We had probably 20 people in here earlier, dressed, ready to go, wearing black.”
But Pawpurr’s wasn’t the only bar that saw a pregame crowd before the opening kick at 8 p.m.
At Courtside Pizza, there was a handful of people engaged in the game once it got underway, and several of them said they’d be walking down to Peden eventually.
Jessica Blankfeld stopped at Courtside with some friends before heading to the game, and she was excited for the chance to wear black and bang a few thundersticks together.
“I predict that we are going to win, even though we’re the underdogs, because we have so much school pride and our marching band is the coolest band ever,” she said.
Like Blankfeld, Caroline Jackson was at Courtside as the first quarter began, but she said she had no intention of taking advantage of the free admission that Ohio students enjoy.
“We don’t have a stadium that serves alcohol,” Jackson said. “Nippert Stadium at (the University of Cincinnati) serves beer. If we went to UC, I would be going to the football game.”
Before the third quarter began, Norm Sommers found his way to Red Brick Tavern with a few friends to enjoy a glass or two of brew.
“I feel like there were a lot of people who left after the halftime show,” Sommers said. “I think it was generally because it was cold outside, and I mean, that’s just kind of an OU tradition.”
me811508@ohiou.edu
