COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After leading Ohio State to a national championship, Joey Bosa had one question for the 45,000 fans who crowded into Ohio Stadium in late January.
“How are you guys out here right now? It’s freezing,” he said from a makeshift stage erected on the south end of the field.
Buckeyes fans were on their feet as coach Urban Meyer and the team emerged from the southeast tunnel obscured by fog and flanked by flames. Onstage, local politicians delivered speeches and players danced and joked with each other while chants of “O-H! I-O!” rang out throughout the stadium and several highlight videos from the Buckeyes’ 14-1 season played on the scoreboard.
The university awarded 2,500 free passes allowing fans to watch from the field. More than an hour before the event got underway, they lined a barrier on the 45-yard line as children did somersaults and threw footballs in the north end zone and Brutus Buckeye high-fived those at the front.