My college job at Ohio Stadium had awesome perks
After I decided to transfer from John Carroll University to Ohio State for my third year of college, one of the first things I did was look for a job. I was in the admin / registration line when I saw a post on a bulletin board about a maintenance-type job at Ohio Stadium. With my papers in hand, I walked to the stadium to find out more about it.
I ran into Don Patko under Gate A. He was in charge of the operations side of the stadium crew, and asked what I was doing there. I told him I saw the note, and we began a conversation. It turned out that had previously played soccer for Ohio State. It was a perfect introduction, which 10 minutes later led to Don asking if I wanted to start working there the next day.
A manilla-colored time card with my name hand-written on it awaited me when I arrived the next morning. Upon putting my card back on the rack, a older man with a thick Italian accent introduced himself to me. His name was Guerino Carano. Then, out of no where, he asked if I had family in Akron. This surprised me. And then my jaw dropped when he started asking if I knew Stefano and Elvira Sferra - my grandparents.
Guerino's dad was cousins with my grandpa. Guerino told me that he remembered seeing my dad, 4 years-old at the time, leave with my grandparents on a boat from Italy on their way to Argentina some 40 years ago. Our families had not remained so tight, but my grandparents knew there was a Carano down in Columbus. However nobody could have predict we'd meet, and in this way.
Over the next few years I was part of the student stadium operation crew, eventually becoming a student supervisor. Our daily jobs were maintenance and upkeep. In the summer we took on bigger projects, like painting the entire lower bowl and then numbering each seat. And during the football season, our daily jobs - in between classes - we'd clean every part of the stadium (including bathrooms), and getting the Shoe ready for the next Ohio State football game.
While the work was not the most glamorous, it was flexible and let me pay off my school as well as rent and bills. And, more importantly, it helped me learn how to balance school with work with the responsibilities associated with being independent.
But perhaps the best aspect of the job was on game days.
We'd go in super early - at least for the standard of a college student on a Saturday morning. We'd begin by double checking every place the public would have access to. Then we placed the security signs on every gate, got the benches to the sidelines, and set up all the field pylons - 20 yards, 10 yards, and end zones. We'd also put up all the flags on the top of C-Deck, and we'd hook up the huge nets behind the goal posts - the ones that would prevent footballs kicked on field goals or extra points from reaching the stands.
We had plenty of time before kickoff, which we spent playing cards in the break room, or watching fans tailgate outside.
Once the games started, we split the student operations crew to man each side of the nets. That's right, I was right behind the end zones - under the goal posts - for every home football game during my time at Ohio State. We were allowed to cheer and celebrate - it's actually hard not to - but we were also challenged to quickly lift the nets after touchdowns. And we'd have to be on our toes on fourth downs to see if a team would kick, punt, or go for it.
After the games, we'd grab the pylons and follow the team into the locker room so we could cut through to our garage. It got scary a couple of time, like when the fans would storm the field. On those days, we'd either leave the nets and pylons, or grab what we could and took them to the benches while waiting for the masses to disperse.
I've kept all my 'nets' credentials from my stadium days from 1993-1996. I graduated in the spring of 1996, but was allowed to stay on until the Columbus Crew's inaugural year was over, so I got three football games in, as well.
I also traveled to watch the Buckeyes play at Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State, as well as a couple of bowl games. I've kept stubs of most of the games, including when the Buckeyes came down to Texas while I was living there.
Any Buckeye can attest to how special it is to hear the fight song, or Carmen Ohio, or see the scarlet and red. We're lucky to be a massive alumni group, and I'm proud to be an Ohio State Buckeye.
