I see DC is always represented.

I selfishly want to know if there will be one in Cincinnati. I know many in the area will be driving to Nashville (about four hours) and if I didn't have prior plans that I can't cancel on Saturday, I would be there as well. Can't remember the bar in the Nati two years ago (it was either in Oakley or Hyde Park), but there was a great tournament for both the Georgetown and Tennessee games. It was also funny to hear the chants...with many fans who didn't know what to chant---eventually, the bar started chanting "USA, USA"

Anyways, if there is thread for other viewing parties, please help direct people that way.

If there is not a thread then please list (all areas) them below ---

It was the Oak Tavern in Oakley that hosted the viewing parties two years ago. I was there for the Georgetown party and it was a blast. Couple hundred fans packed into that tiny place going nuts. I'll be in Cincinnati this weekend and would also like to have a big get-together. I wanted to go all the way to Nashville, but there's no way I'm dropping 80 bones on a ticket.

Any advice on the best spot in Chicago to catch the game on Friday? I checked out the "where to watch" tab, but the Chi town bars all seem pretty hit or miss for Bobcats fans. I assume that we must have a decent alumni presence there, and I'm just wondering if maybe they'll be throwing anything together. Any help would be appreciated, I'd like to watch us beat Michigan with as many Ohio fans as possible (though I'm sure the neutrals will be all in on rooting for DJ).

Any suggestions?

Holy Grail or somewhere else downtown?

Hyde Park area again?

Further north, like West Chester?

I liked the Oak Tavern, however it was small and hard to get a beverage at times. At the same time, that was kind of the cool part since it felt like you were back in Athens. But, that being said, there many better places to watch a basketball game.

Regardless, I don't mind calling a few places to see if they will give us any incentives of having us there. Please let me know where people might want to go. We do need to get on this quickly so we can get the word out.

Also, if anyone in the Cincinnati department can step up and let us know what is up ... please do so.

I thought the Oak was great to us and would suggest it again (by the Tennessee game they had actually gone out and purchased TVs for the patio, put all green beers--Heineken, Rolling Rock, etc.--on special, and one of the owners or managers went out and bought an OU hat. thats support). If you do try another place, I'd suggest a similar Hyde Park/Oakley type area. Downtown will be too busy with people watching other games and you're likely to get washed out by the Friday night crowd. I've had problems getting the 30 and under crowd to go further north to a West Chester-like location. 

That's my best suggestion. Good luck. (and again, let me know and I'll let my Cinci-OU contacts know about it) 

As for your questions about the Cincinnati "department" I don't know if that really exists. The OU Alumni Department resource has several geographies on her hands and it doesn't seem like Cincinnati is a priority for her. When we tried to get the group back up and running last summer/fall, I had trouble getting her to respond to emails with simple requests like access to the OU Alumni Cincinnati Facebook page so we could spread the word about upcoming events, or to share ideas/feedback on future plans over email. There's a real lack of organization and drive to build momentum coming from the Alumni Office resource(s) focused on Cincinnati and it's disappointing. 

Even with that said, the OU Alumni lead for Cincinnati is based in Athens and you need people on the ground in Cincinnati who are willing to lead a chapter for it to actually become one and start to grow. It seemed like there were plenty of people who were willing to get together and talk about what should/could be done, but when it came time to actually execute events, the meetings grew much smaller and email threads much quieter.

I've become fairly frustrated with the group and curtailed much of my involvement. To my knowledge they haven't had any events since this year's MACC versus NIU.

I realize there are probably very few others who care about this, happy to take the Cincinnati Alumni Group conversation to PM for anyone so inclined.

If anyone knows of any game watches in Columbus or central Ohio, please post them. Thanks

I think Oakley/Park would have the largest collection of alumni. Oak Tavern was a little small, and it would be good to have it at a place that serves food. O'bryan's would fit the category very well. Molly Malone's in Pleasant Ridge isn't too far and is a good size, too.

I'm just impressed and pleased you're taking the initiative and doing this. I went to Molly's last year for St. Patrick's day. It wasn't extremely crazy, but still pretty busy. It seemed busiest outside where they roped off their parking lot.

Leah - When I used frequent Mollys the manager was named Jeff and he was an OU alum. 

Thanks for running with this.

Sounds great. I think you nailed the location aspect. If I wasn't headed to Nashville I'd attend. 

O'bryan's sounds promising. I think I know the area you're talking about in Molly's. They had the UC game on last year during St. Patrick's day and although they had the big flat screen, there might be obstructed views if people were standing. O'bryan's is bigger and has enough TVs. Plus that second floor patio is nice if it's warm and clear out.

Thanks for getting this together Lash, I'll see you guys all on Friday night at O'Bryons.

It's my understanding that a Dayton Game Watch is in the works. Stay tuned.