College Town Touch down

The college experience in American society is often synonymous with unbridled joy. It is a wave of increased freedom before working world responsibility becomes reality. It is an introduction to like minded young men and women looking to consume a dangerous amount of alcohol and get their rocks off. An element so common and uniquely American is college football. Hundreds of college towns around the country shut down on game day. The world that day revolves around the outcome of warfare on the field, and students and alumni plan their whole week around game day. There are parties and tailgates and a world of possibilities. It’s hard to quantify what makes a game day truly rise above the rest, and what makes one college town’s experience better than another’s, but in 2025 we are going to try. 

Welcome to College Town Touchdown’s Game Day Tour. In an attempt to find the best game day experience in college football, we are attending as many games as we can this year and grading the experience. This is subjective. Our experience in a college town for game day may be very different from someone else’s

The grading process is based on four pillars of criteria: pageantry, atmosphere, level of care, and food. Each pillar criteria consists of multiple elements including the word their pillar is defined as. Pageantry also includes tradition and presentation. The atmosphere is the culmination of general buzz and excitement level as well as fan behavior. Level of care is exactly what it says it is, combined with knowledge of football in general and knowledge of the home team. Food is graded in terms of availability and affordability in the stadium as well as quality; and tailgate food based on uniqueness and variety as well as taste. 

These criteria are ever-evolving and open to interpretation, but ultimately we will give each a hard number to compile a score out of 100. Each pillar criteria will receive a number 1-25 in one half increments. Two sub criteria with a maximum score of 12.5 for each make up one pillar criteria. We will do this for each game we attend, paying close attention to what we deem important for an enjoyable game day experience. 

WEEK ONE

For the first week of the season, we visited Ohio State university and watched the defending national champions host the number 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. This game was circled on the college football calendar immediately after the 2024 season’s end. Every media outlet that was remotely relevant in the college football realm was present. Our experience in one of the more highly anticipated game days ever in college football is as follows. 

Pageantry: 24.5

There is no lack of tradition at Ohio State. From Skull Session to the team’s arrival on the field, there is a sense of grandeur that fills the air. Game day presentation has a near unlimited budget and the video board is viewable from any seat. PA commentary is premier and there are plenty of things to see around the stadium. The smallest deduction was given to the presentation category because the scores around the country on the big screen were consistently wrong. 

Atmosphere: 24.5

The general buzz even approaching the stadium from where we parked was nearly tangible in the air. It felt like the ground was vibrating anywhere you went with anticipation. Fans were also very courteous in terms of personal space and navigation of the crowd. The smallest hit here was given to excitement level as the crowd was certainly very loud, but not deafening. A memorable atmosphere but maybe the smallest gap from the ceiling we believe was possible in Columbus. 

Level of care: 24

Both levels of knowledge in terms of football in general and of the Buckeyes themselves was a pleasant surprise. (I had gone to a game at West Virginia last year and you’d think it was most fans’ first time ever watching football). Fans are never going to know it all, most of them never played beyond high school and many of them even less than that. At Ohio State it seemed the fans (at least around us) made it a point to understand the game situationally and make intelligent statements about decisions and outcomes of plays. Also booing was appropriate situationally, understanding when a flag was warranted or a call was correct even if it favored Texas. 

Food: 21.5

We admittedly didn’t get to try as much food as we would have liked. The tailgate scene was absolutely massive and there were unlimited possibilities in that realm. There were also areas you could pay to be a part of a tailgate and receive food and alcohol. The biggest knock on food was in the stadium, as it was slightly pricey and just lacked any sort of unique qualities. Basic stadium food that I suppose could hit the spot but wasn’t especially tasty or memorable. Still though it was readily available and easily accessible for the price. 

All in all the game day experience in Columbus at Ohio State university revives a 94.5/100. That’s a score that will likely be the score to beat all season long. Maybe the politeness of Ohio rubbed off on me and gave a slightly generous score. The game day tour rolls on!

THE “TOURBOARD” through week 1

1. Ohio State (94.5)