It has been some time, certainly too long, and I do apologize. A lot has happened since I last took the time to sit down and crank out a rant from the frigid cinder block escape. I’m actually typing from my real office, a place I’d much rather be during work hours surrounded by the growing number of coworkers finding their way back into the office in need of their own comradery and teambuilding, particularly with the droves of new hires walking the halls lately.
Too much going on in the world, too much going on in politics, social issues, climate-related catastrophes across the globe, an unusual amount of 2022 celebrity deaths, and last but certainly not least, a personal loss that I dealt with for months, followed by a lot of family time and much-needed travel of our own…there just hasn’t been the right time in 2022 to sit back and pretend like everything is so rosy that I can blow it off long enough to rant. Until now…
Columbus, OH named the No. 1 Airbnb destination in the country for Labor Day weekend! Whaaaaat? C’mon. I could name 5 pretty solid places ripe for a long Labor Day weekend road trip ahead of Cow Town…the Blue Ridge Mountains (biased, obv), New England, Maine, Michigan’s UP, the Upper Arlington Labor Neighbor Day and Arts Festival, etc.
Clearly, my head was in the wrong place. How dare I forget what Labor Day weekend marks in Columbus, OH every year? The return of the most sacred thing most Ohioans worship, and have to look forward to as we creep into fall…Ohio State Football.
Sigh.
One football game? Not just any game, I understand. But one football game? How many people can possibly be coming to town to bolster such a ranking when the host venue for Saturday’s contest only holds 110,000? Let’s assume even 25% of ticket holders for this long-awaited and extremely hyped showdown against the Golden Domers are coming in from out of town (say, greater than 100 miles).
Doing the math, that’s approximately 27,500 fans in need of transient accommodations, but assuming most travel in couples (at least) for out-of-town sporting events. Subtract out some outrageous number of hotels booked all weekend, I’m guessing somewhere in the tens of thousands of rooms. Also, subtract out of there those that are shacking up with folks already in Columbus, like my two college teammates and their sons going to the game and crashing in my basement for two nights. That’s likely another few thousand.
There can’t possibly be the need for even 10,000 Airbnbs, right? Are there really that many folks offering up Airbnbs in Columbus, OH in one weekend? Is there no other place in the country where 10,000 Airbnbs have been reserved for Labor Day weekend 2022?
Second sigh, but now staring at the ceiling.
Ok, fine, the math has me convinced. It actually might be possible. This is a big deal. It’s a national stage right out of the gate for two of the most storied college programs ever.
What else could you ask for as a Buckeye fan? Former Buckeye as a first-time head coach coming out of the opponent’s locker room; No. 2 vs. No. 5; the Buckeyes playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder; and lastly, an opponent coming to town sure to conjure up memories of one of the finer panoramas most Buckeye fans older than 35 can recall…Heisman Eddie being chased by 8 (Or was it 12? Or were players and coaches off the bench?) on his way to a beatdown of the Irish in 1995!
Go Bucks! I’ll see you at College GameDay Saturday morning!
