“A Drinking Town With a Sports Problem”
This is the description offered to me by my friend of the hometown of Ohio State University. When many people think of destinations for travel, the midwestern states, including Ohio, just doesn’t top many minds- but the state is full of things to do and places to see. Ohio may not be a vacation spot, but the locals are loyal to their homestate to a fault. You won’t find a more enthusiatic sports fan than that of the Buckeyes.
The first stop in Columbus was the Columbus Zoo, a well-acclaimed zoo known across the country for its accomplishments. It is home to Colo, the world’s first gorilla born in captivity. The zoo’s residents are varied and numerous, and I even saw a few animals I had never heard of before, including the Okapi. A relative of the giraffe, the Okapi looks like a zebra mated with a horse that mated with a giraffe that inherited big ears from a rabbit ancester. Seriously weird, but cool, animals. We observed a mob of kangaroos, and decided it was time to get out of there before they pulled their guns on us. Time to head to Ohio State University.
Ohio State university is the school of my friend, and is not an option on my grad school list. It is well worth visiting, though, as the reputation of Buckeye sports penetrates the entire country. Successful in almost every sport, this school bleeds team colors. We were lucky and someone had left the gate to the football stadium open, and we wandered down next to the same path the players use every home game to make their entrance to the field. A visit to mirror lake on campus was a must- a place where the students ritually jump into the water, regardless of the weather, before a game against their rivals for good luck.
At the end of the night we headed down to the arena district, to enjoy the musical talents of the Big Bang. The artists at the Big Bang are excellent, able to play songs at the request of the audience without music sheets. You can check them out on The Big Bang’s website, and locate a bar near you. They play requests and are the type of starving musicians that need tips- don’t forget to tip your pianist!
Ohio has something to teach everyone about loyalty. From the state nickname to the name of the gorilla born in 1956, Ohio believes in itself and what it has to offer to the world. It is a true example of what self confidence can do for a person, or even a team, because they have been successful many times over. Loyalty, through thick and thin, pay off in the long run. Make like Ohio, find what you believe in, and NEVER let go.
