thelantern.com @TheLantern
Ohio State Marching Band looks to soak in the
moment in 118th edition of ‘The Game’
The historic rivalry football game be-
tween Ohio State and Michigan hasn’t
been played in Ohio Stadium since 2018,
and while it’s a dream come to life for
many football players, there are other
performers for whom this will be their
first, or last time, playing the Michigan
game in the ‘Shoe.
The Ohio State Marching Band is re-
nowned for its performances during
games, and for many members, Nov. 26
will be the first time performing “The
Game” in front of a home crowd. Crosbee
Lisser, a fourth-year in music education
and psychology who plays the mello-
phone, said she’s looking forward to the
atmosphere of Ohio Stadium and hopes
to add to the “home team advantage”
brought by the fans.
“I’m really excited to just play for all
the fans at halftime,” Lisser said. “It’s go-
ing to feel like we’re a part of that day.
I think that’s what’s going to be really
special, all the fans are going to come all
riled up for this rivalry.”
Lisser is one of many members of the
program, also known as “The Best Damn
Band in the Land,” who has performed
during the rivalry game in Michigan
Stadium, but not the ‘Shoe. The football
teams were scheduled to play in Colum-
bus in 2020, but Michigan canceled the
matchup as a result of rising COVID-19
cases within the program.
Avery Voress, a fifth-year in zoology
and sousaphone player, said the atmo-
sphere he experienced in Ohio Stadium
during his first year was unlike anything
he’s experienced since.
“Playing at home against Michigan,
that was the loudest I think I’ve ever
heard Ohio Stadium,” Voress said. “You
know, everybody hates Michigan. But
playing at home and then getting the
win, and everybody storming the field,
that was just amazing. That was a great
experience.”
STEVEN KISHPAUGH
Lantern Asst. Sports Editor
ZACHARY RILLEY | PHOTO EDITOR
Band members celebrate an Ohio State touchdown during then-No. 3 Ohio State’s 77-21 win over Toledo Sept. 17.
Voress will have the honor of dotting
the ‘i’ Nov. 26 for the performance of
“Script Ohio.” He said although the band
has several performances before the
Michigan game, he knows the prepara-
tion leading up is going to be intense.
For band members like Voress, the
performance in the Michigan game is
the final time they will perform in front
of an Ohio State crowd. He said he gets
the same “nerve wracking” feeling ev-
ery time he walks down the ramp, but he
wants his final game to be perfect.
“I think that upcoming game, it’s defi-
nitely going to be reminiscent of the very
first game,” Voress said. “Just because it’s
my last one, I want it to be perfect. And
I’m dotting the ‘i,’ and that needs to be
perfect.”
Christopher Hoch, the director of
Marching and Athletic Bands, said the
band focuses on one routine for each
performance. But specifically for the
upcoming Michigan game Nov. 26, the
preparation is more intensive because of
Ohio State’s Thanksgiving break week,
giving the band half the normal time to
work with.
“We take every performance that we do
very seriously,” Hoch said. “Everything
is kicked up a notch because this game
means everything to Ohio State fans, it
means everything to us and it means ev-
erything to the team. It’s special.”
Lisser is playing her first home per-
formance in the next rendition of “The
Game,” and knows she and other fellow
band members take pride in the reputa-
tion they’ve built and want to put on their
best performance. She believes practice
for rivalry week will be “the most intense
challenge I’ve ever had as a band person.”
Despite that, she thinks the atmo-
sphere will be incredible, even more so
coming off last season’s loss.
“I’m looking forward to the atmo-
sphere,” Lisser said. “I’ve been looking
forward to that my entire marching sea-
son. Getting to be in the stadium with all
of those fans and getting to be a part of
the whole rivalry. But having the home
field advantage, I think is going to be
amazing.”
Hoch also said while it will be a chal-
lenging week, he wants his students to
soak in the moments in the stadium. For
those whose final home performance will
be Nov. 26, they will want to work extra
hard to make it special, he said.
“You will remember that performance
for the rest of your life,” Hoch said. “You’ll
remember this game, that moment, your
last time putting on the uniform in Ohio
Stadium, and you’ll remember that for-
ever.”
Block ‘O’ making sure to ‘dot our I’s and cross our
T’s’ for first rivalry game in Columbus since 2018
Most Ohio State students haven’t wit-
nessed “The Game” between the Buck-
eyes and Wolverines at Ohio Stadium.
Sam King, a fourth-year in neurosci-
ence and vice president of the Block
“O” student section, traveled to Ann Ar-
bor during his freshman year in 2019
and watched Ohio State play Michigan.
He said the excitement built for when
he could see “The Game” take place on
campus as a student in Columbus for the
2020 season.
But the COVID-19 pandemic sent
plans astray.
Not only could fans not witness the
2020 rivalry meeting, but “The Game”
didn’t take place at all, as increasing
numbers of COVID-19 cases among the
Wolverines’ program forced its cancella-
tion, snapping a streak of 102 years.
“I was just kind of disappointed,” King
said. “Excited to see it on our home turf
— and then have our hopes dashed.”
JACOB BENGE
Lantern Sports Editor
Block “O” plans to pack the stands at
Ohio Stadium Nov. 26 for the first meet-
ing between Ohio State and Michigan in
the ‘Shoe since 2018.
Yusty Sanchez, a fifth-year in commu-
nication technology and Block “O” foot-
ball director, recalled when the Buckeyes
defeated the Wolverines 62-39 during his
first year at Ohio State. Sitting in Block
“O” North and storming the field after
the game, Sanchez said he could sense
the pressure on campus before “The
Game” in 2018.
“I can’t really put words together to ex-
plain what that game feels like there in
the ‘Shoe,” Sanchez said. “That Monday,
everyone’s here on campus, but you feel
the tension in the air. Tuesday, Wednes-
day, Thursday, campus kind of dies. It be-
comes a ghost town. It’s really eerie just
because of Thanksgiving, and then you
see people slowly coming back Friday
and then game day.”
Four hours before kickoff, the Block
“O” student section arrives at Ohio Sta-
dium and sets up the traditional card
stunts,
which collectively display a thematic
image and has been tradition since the
organization’s founding in 1938. Sanchez
said they’re among the first inside on
game day.
Preparation begins long before game
day, Mackenzie Swartz, a fourth-year in
psychology and president of Block “O,”
said.
Come game week, Block “O” takes part
in the Rivalry Run 2022 on campus Nov.
20 with a 1- and 3-mile course beginning
near the RPAC, Swartz said. Block “O”
will also partner with the Student-Alum-
ni Council and Ohio Staters to hold a ri-
valry rally at the Ohio Union Nov. 21.
“It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime op-
portunity for people — at least my year.
This will be our only chance as students,”
Swartz said. “You can already hear peo-
ple start talking about it, how excited
they are, so I can’t wait. I think that week
is just going to be electric.”
Both Ohio State and Michigan are on
track to meet in Columbus with playoff
implications, as both placed among the
top-five teams in the first two College
Football Playoff rankings.
With high stakes and as bitter of a ri-
valry, King said he can sense emotions
trending in a particular direction come
time to take part in “The Game” in per-
son.
“Everyone’s really excited,” King said.
“All season, just kind of building up, espe-
cially with Michigan and Ohio State both
being very good teams this year.”
Sanchez said preparation for Nov. 26
will be “business as usual” for the student
section.
Overseeing both the Block “O” North
and South sections, Sanchez said excite-
ment continues to build as Ohio State
students get closer to witnessing “The
Game” on campus for the first time in
four years.
“For us, it won’t be any different,” San-
chez said. “It’s just making sure that we
kind of dot our i’s and cross our t’s and
make sure that from our perspective,
we’re ready to go. Whether that’s the
card stunt, any other logistics that we
have for that game in particular, just so
that when it’s kickoff, we’re rocking and
rolling for that game.”
Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 | The Lantern | 5