Photo courtesy of Charles Burrus
Scarlet and Gray
Retirement communities host Buckeye game day parties for residents
“This is Buckeye Nation here,” says Cheryl Fey, but she’s not talking about the Shoe.
At Wesley Ridge Retirement Community, where Fey serves as activity coordinator for independent living, the residents and staff bleed scarlet and gray. Wesley Ridge is just one area retirement community that hosts game day parties for The Ohio State University’s football games.
In Pickerington, Amber Park Assisted Living Community and Abbington of Pickerington Assisted Living both regularly host Buckeye football parties.
“We have a lot of Buckeye fans,” says Abbington Activity Director Brenda Welch.
Within each community, alumni from OSU and longtime Ohio residents create a strong demand for the parties. These residents grew up watching Buckeye football and have no intention of stopping.
“It’s something a lot of them have done all their life,” says Fey.
Residents originally from outside of Ohio enjoy the games as well. Fey says many residents come from out of state to be closer to family and become converted Buckeye fans.
“Once you’re a Buckeye, you’re a Buckeye. What else can I say?” Fey says.
The game day parties center on watching the game as a group, making community an important part of the events. Residents will even gather before the games to get into the spirit.
“Some of them come just for the togetherness,” says Amber Park Activity Director Elena Beery.
Photo courtesy of Charles Burrus
Scarlet and Gray
The parties typically take place for all Ohio State football games, both home and away, and feature food, decorations and plenty of team spirit from residents and staff members.
The communities serve food typical of sports bars such as pizza, burgers and hot dogs. Wesley Ridge hosts pizza parties during halftime of afternoon games and even throws a potluck for the University of Michigan rivalry game. Abbington generally serves chicken wings for the games.
“We just have all kinds of snack foods and drinks for residents,” says Welch.
For decorations, an abundance of buckeyes and Ohio State pennants are on display in each community. Wesley Ridge uses a scarecrow adorned with buckeye necklaces and an OSU hat as its unofficial mascot. Amber Park puts out OSU napkins and plates and even plays music by the Best Damn Band in the Land to set the mood.
“For a craft day, we’ll make buckeye necklaces or bracelets,” Beery says.
Wesley Ridge also hosts Buckeye Bingo. Essentially, replace “bingo” with “bucks” and the board’s numbers with football terms, and you’ve got the game down. Residents can win prizes at Buckeye Bingo or, during the Michigan game, by competing to predict the scores of each quarter.
One Wesley Ridge resident goes so far as to coordinate cheers for time-outs and commercial breaks and, yes, pom-poms are involved. A small group leads the cheers, but all residents participate.
“Let’s put it this way: If we didn’t do (the parties) we’d really hear about it,” says Fey.
All the communities agree, the games are a popular event among residents. Beery says Amber Park residents started asking about the parties as early as July this year.
“I can tell they enjoy that kind of thing,” she says. “They all come together.”
Cameron Carr is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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