The week of Thanksgiving is a busy time around the College of Pharmacy, with professors finishing up topics to give us an uninterrupted break and students heading home for the holiday or hosting Friendsgivings in Columbus. But beyond the frenzy of the holiday, you’ll notice a lot of signs across campus with a certain letter crossed out and a lot more people wearing scarlet and grey than usual. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rivalry Week – every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Buckeyes play our arch rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. While OSU is definitely a big sports school, it reaches an exciting fever pitch during this week and campus is all caught up in the excitement. I am writing this post before the big game so I can’t say whether I’m celebrating or disappointed yet, but either way it will be an amazing game for sure!
While Rivalry Week is definitely the focal point of sports at OSU, there are tons of different opportunities to get involved in the sports culture while at OSU whether as a spectator or a participant. Parks Hall, where most PharmD courses are held, is right across the field from the Shoe, OSU’s massive football stadium. Many students get season tickets for football every year, and there are multiple seating groups of pharmacy students cheering on the Buckeyes at every game. Even though I’m not a big football fan, game days are very exciting and all of campus gets into the fun. (Just hope that you don’t have to drive anywhere during a home game!)
If you’re more of a competitor than a spectator, Intramural sports are a great way to stay active and take a break from studying. Some student organizations will make teams to compete in everything from the traditional sports like baseball to the more quirky ones like battleship (played in canoes in a pool where you try and sink your opponents boats while staying afloat) or the midwestern favorite, corn hole.
Beyond campus, Columbus has a lot of great local sports teams to check out as well. Whether you’re a hockey fan and wanna check out a Blue Jackets game or into soccer and get tickets to the Crew, there are plenty of opportunities for either. The Columbus Clippers, our minor league baseball team, even has Dime a Dog nights that a lot of students love to check out for cheap food and great company.
Even as someone who isn’t huge into sports, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the sports scene both on and off campus in Columbus and definitely encourage you to take part if you come to OSU!