COLUMBUS, Ohio — With Veterans Day having just passed on Friday, Ohio State Football is honoring vets and active military members at the game against Indiana. But the team makes sure the military is honored all season-long, thanks to a special behind-the-scenes look at the football team’s training facility.
What You Need To Know
- Every other week, military and veterans get a chance for a behind-the-scenes look at OSU Football
- Steve Stormes started giving tours in 2009 when then-Coach Jim Tressel wanted to get local veterans and military involved
- The tour includes seeing the locker room, weight room, cafeteria and training facility
- The team and coaches greet the group after practice
In the atrium of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center is where you find all the Buckeyes' trophies. And, every other week, you'll find a group of military and vets alongside tour guide Steve Stormes, a retired command sergeant major in the army.
Stormes says he lucked into this gig back when Jim Tressel was coach in 2009.
“I would say it’s in the blood, plus being in the right place and the right time with Tressel and being able to fall into helping with the tours, it’s tremendous," Stormes said.
He, alongside Larry Romanoff, help lead this group around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. They get to see what most people don’t, like a Woody Hayes relic.
“You’re not going to find it any place else," Stormes said. "Woody made what Ohio State is today, so to see part of that history is phenomenal.”
The visitors also get to see the weight room and even get some Buckeye leaves.
Most OSU fans don’t get this behind-the-scenes look, which is exclusively for military and vets. Stormes said it’s made his experience as a lifetime Buckeye fan even better.
“Seeing everyone’s faces ... no. it never gets old," he said.
But perhaps the best part is what comes at the end of the tour. The group gets a chance to watch practice. Staff Sergeant Kodi Moen says this experience is something he’ll never forget.
“Since being a kid, this has always been a dream for me, especially coming to the university, coming to the stadium," Moen said. "Being a kid from Florida, I never thought I’d actually be able to come see the facility, see the Horseshoe.”
Stormes said that, as a vet, he knows what this means to members of the military.
“You go around the state and Ohio State football’s huge," Stormes said. "So to let somebody see behind the scenes things that most people don’t, you know they’re going to go brag about it, they’re going to go talk about it. It just feels good to look out for veterans.”
And it keeps getting better. The group lines up and gets a chance to shake hands with the players and coaches.
“Hey, how you doing coach?" Moen asked Coach Ryan Day. "Would you mind signing this for me? You have time for a quick picture too?”
It’s a day they’ll never forget.
“That was crazy!” Moen said.
It's a day Stormes will make sure that military members will enjoy for many years to come.
“I’m going to do it until I physically cannot do it anymore," Stormes said. "It doesn’t get old.”