THE SCRIPT OHIO

Unquestionably, no educational institution on earth has a marching band capable of matching or coming remotely close in performance to the one representing Ohio State University. We confidently stand ready to reject any reader claims to the contrary. At home football games, the OSU crew consistently outclasses the halftime competition from every visiting school, Saturday after Saturday. Most significantly, the piece de resistance, the show of shows, the cat’s pajamas, is its traditional Script Ohio formation, which still lingers among this writer’s more nostalgic experiences from undergraduate years there.

For the benefit of those unfortunate folk who’ve never witnessed a Columbus stadium football encounter, we invite everyone to call up Script Ohio on the internet and view a live field presentation of what has been featured over countless decades in magnificent fashion. Although drum majors and musicians keep coming and graduating, the drill never fails to live up to its long-established standards. Flawless and downright inspiring execution remain the unalterable result.

By way of explanation, the entire marching band begins in a square formation near the opponents’ side of the field, spanning the fifty-yard line. Then, to the tune of the Somme March, the drum major leads a single file center-stage maneuver, whereby the group gradually “writes” – in longhand, mind you – the word Ohio. Finally, with a unison high kick strut, he escorts the tuba player to the point where the lad dots the i. Without fail, this closing step times precisely with the last note of the song.

Throughout four gridiron seasons, we were privileged to watch the state’s name methodically spelled out in such manner, and never tired of doing so. Even if the home team suffered a drubbing on the battlefield, the band’s halftime show would nevertheless make the afternoon worth remembering.

We were often tempted to urge the school’s athletic authorities to invite UCLA for a game in Columbus, so our marvelous band might go a bit further and perform a script University of California at Los Angeles. We honestly believe they could even have managed that.