LIMA — Weddings are okay, if you are into that sort of thing.
It is the grand expression of the love between two people, often carrying deep spiritual and religious significance, bringing family and friends together in celebration of the new union.
But it is not the Ohio State-Michigan football game.
There are some times when, in a display of hubris that rivals Desmond Howard’s 1991 Heisman pose, a wedding ceremony dares to take place during the classic rivalry game. Several readers shared memories of those experiences on The Lima News’ Facebook page this week.
“I was a DJ at a wedding on that day, and talking about some mad people,” Christopher Kirby said on Facebook. “I had people asking me why would they hold a wedding on this important day. I didn’t know what to say except, ‘I know.’”
Sue Maas Ricker married on an Ohio State-Michigan day, back on Nov. 22, 1975.
“When we planned the wedding, we had no idea it was the day of the Big Game,” she said on Facebook. “As it was, the game started at 1 p.m., and our wedding started at 2 p.m. There were people in church with transistor radios and earphones. The reception was a lot of fun. Someone brought an OSU throw rug and someone brought a Michigan throw rug, and people were wiping their feet on them.”
Shannon Wieging Jackson, of Delphos, and her husband, Scott, were married on Nov. 25, 1995, which happened to be during “The Game.”
“We knew this was going to happen, but I’m a teacher and I wanted a fall wedding. At Mass people were talking about the score. At the reception hall there was a TV, and people were watching,” Jackson said. “I focused on the wedding, and they focused on the score. It was a fun day. If you’re going to have a party and celebration, let’s have it on the biggest day of the football year.”
Berlin Carroll also married during an OSU-Michigan game, on Nov. 23, 2002.
“In order to get my groomsmen to agree to be such, we carried in a TV and ran what seemed like a mile’s worth of extension cord and (coaxial cable) to the preparation room in order to watch the game,” he said on Facebook. “A cheer went out as Will Allen intercepted a last-second pass at the goal line to preserve a 14-9 Buckeyes victory and undefeated season.
“We were all relieved of course, some because the Buckeyes had won and others because the wedding ceremony, which was on hold until the end of the game, could finally proceed.”
The 2002 game cemented Ohio State’s trip to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Buckeyes defeated Miami 31-24 to win the national championship.
Wedding announcements submitted to The Lima News over the past three years didn’t include a single notice for a wedding on the same date as the Midwest’s biggest college football rivalry game. That doesn’t mean people avoid it altogether, though.
Alexa Lammers, 23, of Tipp City, will marry her fiance, Patrick Fisher, on Nov. 24, 2018, the same day as the Ohio State-Michigan game. The date was chosen due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, helping to bring family together for both the holiday and the wedding, with the reception taking place at Veterans Memorial Civic Center.
“Football isn’t really big with the two of us,” she said. “We just said, ‘Look, you can stream it on your phone. Just put it away for the 30 minutes or so that we’re getting married. Then you can pull it up again, and there will be a TV in the Civic Center. So that will be on.’”
While some may swallow their college allegiance and attend a wedding during the game, for others, it will always be a question of priorities.
“I would never attend a wedding the day of the game, because if your ‘friends’ try to take that away from you, they obviously aren’t your real friends at all, and they make horrible life decisions,” Austin Lawrence wrote on Facebook. “I don’t need that negativity in my life.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
