Today I set a personal record by attending my eighth college football game of the 2008 season – the most regular season games I have attended in one season. The day started out with my driving two Ohio St. fans up to Evanston, IL.

We parked on Milburn St. Although Milburn St. is about a 5-10 minute walk to Ryan Field it has no parking restrictions. Another plus with the parking location is that you pass most of the ticket scalpers as you walk to the stadium. With the game sold out and a lot of Ohio St. fans attending that game, I was not sure what the secondary ticket market would be like.

Obtaining Tickets
On the walk from the car to my regular tailgate in the west parking lot, we walked passed a few scalpers and fans with extra tickets – each one wanting face value ($50) or higher per ticket. Finally, we found a fan that had a single ticket for $36 (face value for a “season ticket” ticket). I agreed to buy it.

My Ohio St. friends bought tickets for face value from a fan walking by the tailgate. Of course, another friend of mine showed up late with two extra tickets. Ticket market is all based on timing.

On the walk to the stadium entrance (after the tailgate), there were a lot of scalpers and fans with extra tickets. We realized we had paid too much for tickets. I found a fan that had two extra tickets and he gave me the tickets for free. I sold the tickets to a scalper for $30 total – making my total cost for the game $5. If I had tried harder I probably could have found more free tickets.

The Game
Ohio St. defeated Northwestern 45-10. The last time I saw Ohio St. play, Northwestern beat Ohio St. in OT 33-27. In what may have been a first for me – Ohio St. faked a punt with 4th and 2 and ahead in the game 31-10. I do not remember seeing a fake punt with a team so far ahead in the 4th quarter.

Post Game Tailgate
After the game we went to an “official” Ohio St. tailgate – kropkogate.com – before driving back to Chicago.