I know this is pretty damn early, but I will be a Senior at Ohio State next year and a few of my friends and I are already planning on making the trip up north to hopefully secure a spot in the B1G Championship Game. I just thought I'd get some info, so I can do some research in the next upcoming months regarding where I should stay, tailgate, etc. Is it tough to find a place to stay in Ann Arbor? I would really rather stay in AA than Detroit. Any recommendations on hotels? Bars? Places Ohio State fans usually tailgate? Thanks a lot!
We plan on making an additional road trip to another B1G game as well(as well as Indy and Pasadena, fingers crossed). We were thinking either Illinois or Northwestern. What are your guys' opinons?
Every time I've gone to AA it's been an up and back the same day type thing, its not a hard trip to do that way. You could always stay in Toledo to avoid commerce in that state. I'd say Northwestern over Illinois simply because I'm a big fan of Chicago, but UofI is a fun and easy trip as well, another that you can do over/back same day (if it's a 3:30 game).
I am not much help on the other parts of your post, but I did attend a Buckeye game at Northwestern a few years back. I had a great time, mostly because I went over there with a friend and stayed with some college friends who had just moved to the area. My agenda was pretty much set. I just woke up, bought some frosty bevs and took the L train from outside of Naperville to Evanston. At the time, we were allowed to drink on the train... Good times. The game atmosphere didn't feel like much of an away game, as there were as many of "us" as there were of "them." Afterwards, we hit up some sports bars/pubs near Wrigley and had a blast. Have fun!
Tom Crean listens to Nickelback...
Go to the Michigan game. It's the closest, and Ann Arbor > Evanstown > Champaign.
Ann Arbor > Evanston? Maybe you're talking about the stadiums or the gameday environment, but if you're just talking about a place to spend a weekend just a short trip down the Purple Line brings you to Chicago which is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> AA.
Well, 1) Ann Arbor is nicer than Evanston itself, but if you are staying the whole weekend, Evanston would certainly be nice due to its proximity to Chicago. 2) Ann Arbor is an awesome college town, with great bars and restaraunts. Plus UM might have one of the prettiest campuses in the B1G. That was all tough to say as an OSU student too.
Of course Chicago is better than Ann Arbor. I think it's the best city in the world.
The OP said he's hoping to hit AA and one of the other two, which I would also vote Northwestern. Aside from being just north of Chicago, that will likely be the best game to watch on OSU's schedule besides Wisconsin (home) and Michigan. I think Northwestern will be projected #2 in the Legends division behind Nebraska who OSU doesn't play. There is also a strong chance the OSU/NW game could be a night game.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
Been to Evanston and it's very very nice. The other nice thing about it is you'll be able to find a plethora of OSU friendly bars in Chicago and at the stadium itself the crowd will be at least 50% full with OSU fans making the trip (at least that's been my experiences with a high expectations team in '06 in Evanston previously).