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Pressure makes diamonds. No one is a bigger testament to this resounding cliche than Ohio State HC Ryan Day. Coaching a blueblood program of this ilk is expectantly a poisoned chalice. However, the prevalent sentiment in Columbus regarding Ryan Day before this CFP run? Definitely a little more venomous than was requisite. So much so that his family had to bear an ugly byproduct of threats towards him via Buckeye ‘fans,’ if they can even be called that. After rising above a type of adversity that no person deserves to go through, Coach Day is putting the horrors of being in charge of this behemoth program into perspective.
The National Championship has papered over the cracks in the relationship between Ryan Day and Buckeye Nation. One fateful Saturday in November, These proverbial cracks were so gaping that they let some terrible atrocities through. For the 4th consecutive year, Ohio State had to live out the tragedy of losing The Game to Michigan. This time, though, the reaction to this loss was much worse than previously. Not only on the gridiron, with the flag-planting fiasco. But especially off it. Every fanbase has a lunatic fringe. The Buckeyes’ version can sometimes be a little more lunatic and a little less on the fringes. Just ask Kirk Herbstreit. It’s borderline disingenuous to say otherwise. After the Michigan loss, a faction of them crossed the line. Ryan Day had to hire armed personnel to ensure the safety of himself and his family in the wake of d–th threats.
In the aftermath of the Natty, Ryan Day sat down with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley in ‘The Steam Room’. Amongst other, perhaps more positive things, the interview touched upon this ordeal and how the Day family coped. Despite everything he’s gone through, the coach refrained from throwing the fans and media that was spewing hate under the bus. “It’s one thing when it’s you. It’s another thing when it’s your family,” said Ryan Day. “You want to protect your kids and protect your wife. But the truth is, like this is part of the job.” Day even spoke about how he and his wife, Nina, realized this was a potential problem down the line from the onset of his getting the job. This positive spin on things could only go so far, though, especially when it came down to his kids.
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Recently, national football reporter Bruce Feldman spoke to Rich Eisen about a conversation he had with Ryan Day’s children after the Natty. Son RJ is in high school, while his two daughters, Ourania and Grace, are middle schoolers. It centered around the days that directly followed the Michigan game. “Talking to [RJ], he was like, you know, school was really rough. He didn’t go out much till after the Tennessee game. You gotta remember, that’s like three weeks [later].” remarked Feldman. He also acknowledged that the daughters “knew what’s going on”. “I think that’s mind-blowing,” he said, in the negative sense, of course. Both these accounts pertain to the aforementioned d**th threats. Nina Day, too, has made some extremely gut-wrenching comments. If you’re aware of Ryan Day’s childhood trauma, you’d understand the morbid theme.
Back to ‘The Steam Room’, Coach Day was asked a very damning question that delves deep into what children of all public figures go through. You can always trust Ernie to ask the right stuff. “Did you have to sit the kids down and say, ‘Look, we are under the microscope. There is going to be stuff said about your dad that you are going to hear.’ Did you have to talk to them and try to prepare them for, ‘When you’re in school, if we lose a tough game you’re going to hear stuff.’?” he asked. To this, Ryan Day replied, “Oh, yes.” He proceeded to expand on the intricacies of how exactly he went about things. The dark side of the fame and the pageantry you see from afar.
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Ryan Day explains how he approaches the bullying and taunting his kids face due to him
Ryan Day began by reminiscing about the day he and his family learned he was going to be the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Even this beautiful moment was inadvertently undercut by concern. Coach said, “My wife just started crying. [The children and us] are all sitting on the bed together. She said, ‘This is the last time our family is going to be normal.’ She was right.” In direct reply to Ernie Johnson, Coach Day said the following:
“Along the way, we’ve had great people in the community that have put their arms around our children. There’s good moments, and then there’s tough moments. But every year, my children and my wife have gotten stronger.” Nina Day seemingly was about to reach her tipping point this season though. She hinted that if the season didn’t have this fairytale end, she may have urged her husband to walk away. “I mean to sit there and say that kids don’t make comments or say things [to my children would be false]. But in the end, you know, it makes them stronger. It’s part of their story.” he said.
One particular statement summed up the psyche of Ryan Day in the face of all these problems. “I hope [my kids] use this as an opportunity to say, ‘I remember when dad was down and they counted them out and he just kept fighting.'”
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A story it sure is. One that seemed like it was headed towards a tragic epilogue, but fortunately transpired to be a happy ending. Some of the beats of this story were surely cusping on R-rated, though. Hopefully, Ryan Day and his family can revel in his vindication and come off edge a little. With how demanding the fanbase is, and rightfully so, one National Championship only affords him so much leverage. It’s back to a clean slate come September.
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Is the Buckeye fanbase's reaction to Ryan Day's losses justified, or have they crossed the line?
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Is the Buckeye fanbase's reaction to Ryan Day's losses justified, or have they crossed the line?
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