herr2ck: Ohio Stadium, pt. 2 - "Turn Your Corners Square"

December 2024.

This second part to the Ohio Stadium article specifically covers the band center and TBDBITL traditions.

History

The Steinbrenner Band Center opened inside Ohio Stadium in 2001, though it wasn’t completed until 2004 or later. Before its construction, the band rehearsed under the northeast corner of the stadium, but they needed to move after the stadium’s expansion. The interior has various staff offices, an equipment room for uniforms and practice horns, practice rooms separated by instrument, and a large rehearsal hall. It was named after Joan Zieg Steinbrenner, wife of former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

TBDBITL Traditions

It would be impossible to discuss Ohio State football without mentioning the marching band, better known as The Best Damn Band in the Land (TBDBITL). I was in the Athletic Band for a time, which is similar, and I auditioned for the marching band in the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. As a result, I know much of the band’s traditions. (I’m still gonna gatekeep some of them, though.)

The band has a very rigid routine prior to every home game. If it is a noon kickoff, band members must report to the band center at 6 AM. They typically rehearse at Lincoln Tower Field starting an hour and a half later, and they then march north to St. John Arena for Skull Session, which is discussed in the St. John Arena article.

After Skull Session, the band marches south to the north rotunda, where they prepare to perform the iconic Ramp Entrance. At 19:45 remaining before kickoff, the scoreboards will display a black screen with a white Diamond Ohio in the center, which cues the percussion (JI Row) to begin marching onto the field at 180 bpm. They do not play cadences on their drums, rather, they quietly keep time among themselves. Once JI Row is situated, they begin to play cadences, and the remainder of the band files down the ramp onto the field and marks time in place, facing either east or west. They play 17 in total before the drill continues.

If you try out for TBDBITL, they do a similar “ramp” drill during rehearsal and tryouts, which omits the filing and begins with the cadences. This is a very physically demanding routine, and JI Row will vary how many cadences they play before cueing the next step. Sometimes they will exceed 17. I also got to march down the ramp during a spring game performance. It’s steeper than it looks!

When the final two trumpet rows (T and X) march into their rows, the squad leaders nod to the sousaphone squad leaders (KL Row), who then sound a blast on their whistles during the final cadence. The band members respond by yelling “Whistle!” as loud as possible. Once the cadence is complete, the percussion rolls the band off, and they perform a special facing movement to orient themselves southward. The band then continues marking time in place and plays Buckeye Battle Cry.

After the introduction, the band slows to a half-time step as they play the first verse. Since the tempo is slower, band members achieve the full 90° chair step, and the sousaphones uniquely swing their entire upper body and horn (which is how they marched until the 1970s). The drum major will run down the ramp and strut through the band, reaching the 50-yard line and bending backwards to touch the plume of the hat to the ground. Once the first verse is completed, the band steps off and marches south down the field, and the drum major struts ahead of them.

This part was fun to do during summer sessions, but I was never quite good at it. You’re judged on the precision of your chair step and there are so many ways to get it wrong. The thigh has to be parallel to the ground, the lower leg must be directly perpendicular beneath, and the toe must be pointed downwards. 90 bpm was hard when your legs were burning from all the other stuff that day. Another thing is you would have to sing the verse sometimes instead of playing it, which is why I know all the words to Buckeye Battle Cry. Also, 180 bpm is really fast! It was hard marching down the field that fast while playing and making sure I hit the yard lines while staying in line with the people next to me.

Once the band reaches the end zone, they conclude the song and come to a stop, then step forward and about-face to face north. TBDBITL will then perform the rest of the pregame show, including Script Ohio, Diamond Ohio as the team runs out, and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Script Ohio is an equally, if not more, iconic tradition of TBDBITL. Xichigan’s band made a script Ohio formation first, but it was not the unfurling Script Ohio as it is performed to this day. That version began in 1936 by director Eugene Weigel. The band starts in a rectangle, slowly unraveling behind the drum major to form the word “Ohio” in cursive. Everyone and their mother has heard of “dotting the I,” where a senior sousaphone player struts from the top of the lowercase “o” to become the little pip on top of the “i.” They bow to the east and west ends respectively, then soloes the chorus to Buckeye Battle Cry while the rest of the band sings along. TBDBITL does single, double (including the two alternate members in each row), and quadruple (the yearly alumni band performance) Script Ohios.

Hang on Sloopy is likely the band’s best known song. It is always played at the end of the third quarter, and the band does a unique horn swing and step while they play it. Fans will cheer “O-H-I-O” after “...Sloopy hang on.”

If you want to watch a cool video of these traditions, the band has a video here.

Photos

I was in the Athletic Band for a time and tried out for TBDBITL in the summer of 2023, so I spent a lot of time in the band center. I got these pictures during my last semester in band.

All of the stairwell murals are new and were painted in autumn semester of 2024. This one in the vestibule depicts a traditional I-dotter, an Athletic Band flute, a bass drummer (she’s hidden behind the golf carts) and honorary I-dotter Anthony Violi, who was 100 when he did it in 2018.

Looking up the stairs--note the marching and athletic band crests at the landing:

TBDBITL members will slap the letter of their row as they go up or down the stairs. I did that when trying out (I was assigned E-Row) and I wonder if it was bad karma.

Athletic Band baritone and saxophone and some marching band trumpets: