My dad played football for The Ohio State University

It was a Saturday in the middle of September in 2007, I was at my first ever Ohio State football game. The team I had been raised to love would play right before my eyes and I got to sit next to my dad, just the two of us in a sea of scarlet and gray.

In that moment I felt like the coolest person on the planet. Not because of my big red hair bow or the buckeye beads around my neck but the fact that the person sitting next to me was actually a football player at Ohio State, many years prior. He wore the uniform. His feet touched the field every Saturday in the fall.

He was a part of the greatest tradition I had grown to love for so many years. To me, my dad was a legend. To this day, I have yet to meet anyone quite like him. He has taught me everything I know about being a fierce competitor, never giving up, striving to be the best I can be and of course instilling a passion within me for Ohio State.

My dad at Ohio State football practice in 1984

So as you could imagine, an experience like this was one I would never forget. As I sat there in The Shoe, as a little girl with a lot of life to live, I realized that there was one thing I had to be in this life and that was an Ohio State Buckeye like my dad. So seasons passed and the years rolled and I found myself at the age of 17, dying to get out of high school, my hometown in South Carolina (an SEC playground) and the same old scene I had been a part of for the last 14 years.

I had a decision to make. Where would I go to college? Now sitting here I can’t believe I actually considered going anywhere other than Ohio State, but looking back the thought of leaving home and being over seven hours away from my mom and dad was terrifying.

I already had an older sister at Ohio State, my twin sister had already committed to swim at Ohio State and I had yet to decide where I would spend the next four years of my life. Despite my dad being the die hard buckeye fan that he is, he always supported me and told me I could go wherever I wanted as long as it wasn’t That Team Up North.

Now I can’t discredit my mom either. She did not attend Ohio State but I can say she is more passionate about this school and Ohio State football than some of the most die hard alumni. She is mine and the Buckeyes biggest cheerleader.

Anyways, after thinking long and hard, I came to the conclusion that if I got accepted into Ohio State I would attend the university and I thank the great Lord above everyday that I did.

To this day I still get annoyed with the people that approach me and ask, “why would you leave the the warm weather in the south for Ohio?” or “Oh, did you just go to Ohio State because your dad went there?” But you see here is the thing, I am not attending this university because my dad went here.

My dad found everlasting friendships, success and happiness in his time at Ohio State. I decided that if my dad was able to find all these great joys in this university then hey, I wanted a piece of that happiness too.

My dad and I at the OSU vs. Hawai’i game on September 12, 2016

So I became a part of it and in August of 2014 I started my own journey as an Ohio State Buckeye. I was lucky enough to have my big sister and twin sister with me along for the ride. The three of us, living the dream as Buckeyes.

But the point of my story is that the Ohio State University has given my family and I something that we will forever hold onto and cherish. My dad did not know at 20 something years old that playing football at Ohio State would have such an impact on his or the family he would later have lives, and at almost 20 something years old, I still don’t think I realize the impact these four years will have on my life.

With myself being almost halfway through my time here and my older sister graduating in a few months, I have realized how special this place truly is. I will forever be grateful for my dad’s time at Ohio State, as well as my own. The pride that is in the heart of every Ohio State Buckeye never dies. Scarlet and gray runs deep.