Thank a veteran

I went on quite an adventure this past weekend, and none of it would have been possible if not for a veteran.

Of course, there’s the overarching reason with veterans having made the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free here in America, but my reason Saturday was through my friendship with Rick, a U.S. Navy veteran.

Through a promotion for veterans, Rick received $5 tickets to Saturday’s college football game for Ohio State at Purdue. I was one of the lucky friends he asked to come on the trip with him.

With the game taking place at 1 p.m. in West Lafayette, Indiana, my friends and I had a lengthy journey ahead of us. I met Rick at 6:15 a.m. Saturday and we carpooled to a friend’s house in Genoa. From there, we loaded into a larger vehicle that could (relatively) comfortably carry four large adult men on a four-hour drive each way.

For those who know me well, the first thing I did on the trip was immediately fall asleep. I woke up about 45 minutes into the journey and we were stopping for breakfast at the Paulding Pancake House in Cecil, Ohio.

Coincidentally, Paulding is the high school our local team in Carey will be facing in the third round of the Division VI state football playoffs this upcoming Friday. The room was buzzing with the news of the team moving to 11–0 after beating Fairview 14–10 the night before. The waitress even let us know that the Paulding head football coach is a regular and had just come in that morning.

After a delicious meal, we were back on the road headed west. Eventually we arrived in West Lafayette and I have to say, I was impressed. I had never been to an away football game as a visiting fan, but I’d had mixed experiences with the Browns and Guardians over the years.

Any worries I had were immediately resolved as an extremely nice Purdue fan allowed my friends and I to park in his driveway after watching us try to squeeze into a small parking space on the side of the road. He even turned down a few bucks that we offered for his generosity.

The game experience at Purdue was excellent as well. We got to witness the Big Bass Drum, which apparently is the world’s largest drum and a centerpiece for the Purdue marching band’s performances. There also was the “Boiler Up” chant and the “Block P” formation that the band marched to and there was the tradition of playing the song “Shout” between the third and fourth quarters.

The halftime show was great as well as the marching band played a variety of tunes including one of my favorites, “Bat Out of Hell” by Meatloaf. There also was a giant Boilermaker statue outside the stadium showing a man smashing a hammer into an anvil. It was quite the spectacle and everyone was taking pictures with it.

The only thing I didn’t like was the really loud noise the stadium played every time there was a third down and Purdue was on defense. They could put a stop to that any day now. My ears are still ringing!

With how well Ohio State fans travel, and with Purdue still winless in the Big Ten Conference, it wasn’t a big surprise that Ross-Ade Stadium was packed with scarlet and gray. The home fans also weren’t taking themselves too seriously, so I didn’t catch any guff for dressing up in my favorite Jim Tressel-esque red sweater vest for the game. In fact, we were mostly surrounded by Ohio State fans for the duration.

The game itself was exciting, but pretty one-sided. Ohio State scored a 75-yard touchdown on its first play, although it got called back due to a penalty. I got to witness the incredible ability of star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who made several circus catches throughout the day en route to finishing with 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown as the Buckeyes went on to win 34–10.

All in all, it was a great time. The trip back was relatively uneventful, other than a stop at a great wing joint where we all loaded up on nachos, cheese curds and chicken wings before finally making it home.

Perhaps my favorite memory of the entire trip was a more subtle one. There was a moment during the game where Purdue honored all the veterans in attendance and asked that they all stand so the crowd could recognize them.

I’ve always done my duty and made sure the veterans in attendance knew how important they were to me, but this time it was different. I had a veteran at the event with me.

Rick stood up, tall and proud.

At that exact moment, I’m not sure there was anyone who was cheering and clapping harder for him than me.