The flyover was cancelled yesterday but the sonic boom showed up in the Big House anyway. Sometime late in the 4th quarter it hit! You could feel it coming a long way off. Booming out from the south scoreboard, it raced down to the best damn band in the land, skipped on to the upper levels on the east sideline, and then ricocheted over to a group of OSU parents in the southwest end zone. The snoozing Wolverine fans never knew what hit them as O – H – I – O went round and round the stadium. Once they woke up, some made a futile attempt to drown it out with boos; others headed streaming to the exits.

Admittedly, it wasn’t your typical Ohio Stadium measured and practiced O-H-I-O. It was more an o – H – i – O with some sections stronger than others. But round and round it went. Each pass grew in volume and in the number of Buckeyes proud and confident to stand up and give the hand signals along with it, to pour an added measure of salt in the wound. In the end, the Wolverine fans left in their house were powerless to stop it as we relished in the realization that at this time and on this day, the Buckeyes owned this game and this stadium!

If you were there, you will forever have that o – H – i – O imprinted in your OSU special memories. Give others the magic by sharing your story of yesterday’s game experience for the “Michigan Memories” chapter of Stories of the Shoe. While it may not have physically taken place in the Horseshoe, remember, Ohio Stadium is not only a place but also a state of mind!

Thirty years from now, you can pull out the book, give it to your grandkids, and tell them “I was there!”