As fans clad in scarlet and gray clapped along to “Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse” on a warm September day in Columbus, members of Ohio State’s marching band and its alumni went about precisely spelling “Ohio” in script on Ohio Stadium’s field.
The formation known as Script Ohio is a well-known college football tradition, but what made this rendition stand out was that the roughly 900 performers, ranging from freshmen to 97 years old, spelled the word four times — the most done at once by the band, which is also known by supporters as the Best Damn Band in the Land, or T.