ATLANTA — The Ohio State University Marching Band is iconic. It goes hand in hand with the football team, and they often rival each other in great performances.
For the band, those performances come with a signature moment in each game they play — the script "Ohio" formed by the band members on the field. And you can't Form "Ohio" without someone to dot the "i." That honor goes to two sousaphone players each game.
"There is no better tradition in college marching band, I think, than the script Ohio," said Christopher Hoch, the director of The Ohio State University Marching and Athletic Bands. "Dotting the 'i' has been an honor in this band since 1936, and it's something that the sousaphone players, they come here to do that."
A nearly 100-year tradition, drawing players from around the country to be a part of, and inspiring homegrown players in the same way.
Players like Mike Sterling, a graduate of Twinsburg High School, who goes by "Mulch" more often than not.
When Sterling decided to pick up the horn in fifth grade, he hoped to one day play for The Ohio State University and be selected to dot the "i' at least once.
"When I selected the horn, I was like, Oh, I could do tuba, it'd be kind of fun, if I get a chance to dot the 'i,' it would be kind of cool,'" Sterling recalled. "I never really had it set on it until about high school and I was like, 'there's a chance I could really do this.'"
Sterling works each week to earn his spot in the band. The competitive beast that is the Ohio State University Marching Band always has a lineup of talented musicians looking to earn their place, so each week they hold challenges for their spots. Over the years, Sterling lived up to the challenges, and last year against Notre Dame, he got to dot the 'i' for the very first time.
It wouldn't be his last.
"The first time was against Notre Dame last year, that special game with the walk-off touchdown," Sterling said. "I got the Rose Bowl this past year, a couple of weeks ago. That was always a childhood dream of watching the Rose Bowl parade for so long and watching the Rose Bowl game for so long."
Being a part of the storied tradition in the Rose Bowl is an unforgettable moment. But Sterling, who is in his sixth and final year with the band, has one more moment waiting for him.
After auditioning to be one of the two players who dot the 'i' on Monday in the Buckeyes' national championship matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Sterling was selected by underclassmen sousaphone players to do it one last time.
"To do it at the top of the sport, the top of college football, the national championship game, very few people get the opportunity to do that," Hoch said.
Sterling's parents, Karen and Jeff, made the trip with other family to Atlanta to support their son. They also marvel at the magnitude of the moment.
"When he called and said he was dotting the 'i' it was unbelievable. Thinking of how many humans have ever dotted the 'i' at the national championship, and for him to have that opportunity, we're super proud," Jeff said as Karen added "Super, super proud."
Sterling's first time was against the Fighting Irish, and his last will be, too. A true full-circle moment that Sterling hasn't yet been able to fully grasp. He said he's expecting a bittersweet feeling to rush over him as he completes the script Ohio and tips his cap to the crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
"I'm lucky to know that this last one overall with Notre Dame, glad to go out hopefully on top and it'll be a bittersweet moment at the end of it, taking off the uniform [Monday]," Sterling said.
