It has become a tradition for Urban Meyer and Ohio State to hold a Student Appreciation Day at the midway point of Ohio State's spring practices. But this year seemed to be a little bit different.
With cameras rolling, and coaches / support staff in suits, ties, and sunglasses with the red carpet was rolled out as players arrived at the facility to see if their names were on "the list" for an event being touted as the "Buckspys".
The Buckeyes also got introduced to "Winner / Loser Day" as they entered the building. Winners were slapped with a name tag and given the red carpet treatment, showered with love, attention, and applause and while giving interviews on the way into the locker room, while losers were slapped with a name tag signifying that they had lost while they quietly headed in to get ready for practice.
Once the cleats hit the field, that theme continued and the energy in the facility seemed to be ultra high with coaches buzzing around. Then Urban delivered a message regarding the winner / loser theme of the day.
"This is winner and loser day. There will be a winner, and a loser at the end of the day. Halfway through the scrimmage you'll see thousands of students start to come in. It's going to be loud, chaotic, noisy, but great competitors find ways to win, they always win. THEY ALWAYS WIN." Urban explained before turning the team loose for the rest of practice.
The Buckeye staff made sure some of the students got involved in a few of the drills, and it looked like a great time for all involved. The intensity was ratcheted up, the players (and fans) had a ton of fun, and the video crew did a great job of capturing the atmosphere of the day.
Excellent idea all around.