Unpopular opinion: Attending Ohio State football games is now harder to justify

From now until the start of preseason camp in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will write articles on a different theme each week. This week is all about unpopular opinions. You can catch up on everything Content of the Theme Week here and all our “Unpopular opinion” articles here.

I remember how excited I was to attend my first Ohio State football game in 2005 when I moved to Columbus from New York. It was the season opener against Miami (OH), which was a win for the Buckeyes. Essentially the game against the RedHawks was a training run for me as I would be back at the iconic stadium the following Saturday for the showdown against Texas under the lights.

At the time, the tickets were relatively cheap for me because they were student tickets. I would enjoy the discounted tickets for a few seasons before my time at Ohio State was over.

Since then I have attended matches here and there. 2010 against the Miami Hurricanes, 2011 against Wisconsin, and in 2021 I was able to take my mom and stepdad to the game in Tulsa when they came to Columbus. I also have a friend who has season tickets and he has treated me to a few games over the years.

Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to find the motivation to attend Ohio State football games.

Ticket prices are out of control, watching at home or even outside at a bar seems more fun than actually going to the stadium, and it feels like athletic director Ross Bjork doesn’t care about the heart of Buckeye Nation, which is the mid-tier fans.

Before writing this, I went to StubHub to see how much the cheapest ticket for the season opener against Ball State and the game against Kent State two weeks later would cost. To get in and sit upstairs on C Deck, you pay about $100 per ticket.

There’s nothing like dropping a c-bill just to get a spot in the nosebleeds against teams the Buckeyes are favored by half a hundred points. I can understand that price for the Ball State game since it’s the season opener, but for Kent State that’s ridiculous.

The $100 you will spend to get through the gates does not include parking, food, drinks, and any souvenirs or clothing you purchased during the day. Imagine what a family of four would have to drop if they wanted to go to the game and root for the men in scarlet and gray.

With the prices of gas, groceries and everything else rising on what seems like a daily basis, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify spending that much to attend an Ohio State football game against a non-conference cupcake or a Big Ten bottom dweller.

Don’t get me wrong, I would still spend some money to attend the Michigan game, or another high-profile game like when Texas came to Columbus for the season opener last season. If it feels like there’s actually something on the line, I wouldn’t think twice about spending a few hundred dollars to watch a game at Ohio Stadium.

Unfortunately, given the current state of college football, there aren’t that many of those games, because now if the Buckeyes lose two or three games in a season, they’ll probably still be in the playoffs.

When I attended the game against Texas in 2005, it felt like Ohio State’s national title hopes were wiped away when the Longhorns won. Even in 2014, many wrote off the Buckeyes after the loss to Virginia Tech.

For games at Ohio Stadium, not against Michigan, or a highly ranked opponent, I just don’t feel like I’m getting enough bang for my buck. Since 2019, I have been a quarter-season ticket holder for 10 Columbus Blue Jackets games, which costs just over $40 per game for two tickets in the 200 level.

I know the Blue Jackets rarely make the playoffs, but the entertainment factor makes the tickets seem cheap. I swap friends with who I bring and they always have a great time no matter the outcome.

Besides tickets to Ohio State football games getting more expensive every year, the experience at Ohio Stadium never seems to improve. I understand it’s hard to do much when it comes to changing a building that’s over 100 years old, but sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Last year I went to the NHL game at the stadium and the lines for the restroom and drinks in C Deck were ridiculous. While it’s been a while since I’ve sat in C Deck for an Ohio State football game, I can’t imagine the experience being much better in the fall.

In any case, the university recently announced that the WiFi would be better in the fall! I’m sure that will change everything.

So what does Ross Bjork have in mind to make the Ohio Stadium experience more enjoyable? A members-only restaurant and more suites! Exactly what the majority of Buckeye fans were calling for! People like Bjork, who are in charge of the athletic department, make the decision to stay home on Saturdays easy because I don’t want to enable his never-ending greed.

The WiFi at my house works great, the drinks are cold and cheap, and there are no long lines for the bathroom. Plus, I don’t have to get up so early to get to campus for one of the many afternoon games.

I know I’m not the target audience when it comes to attending Ohio State games. I’m just a regular guy and not some mega donor who’s going to spend the money to help Bjork fund his projects to help the elite watch Buckeye games in a more comfortable way.

Families are getting more expensive from attending Ohio State games and while Buckeye Nation is huge, it doesn’t have the same feel as it used to.