Reeves family marches into Buckeye history

NORWALK — What began as a quiet nod between two marching band alumni has become a three-generation story of pride, perseverance and performance for the Reeves family. When the curtain lifted on the "Script Ohio" formation during the Oct. 4 halftime show at Ohio Stadium, the cameras of ESPN's "College GameDay" captured a historic moment: daughter Sydney Reeves, a Norwalk native and sousaphone player, stepping up to dot the "i" in the signature drill, continuing a legacy begun by her mother, Wendy Reeves, and father, Chad Reeves, who also hail from Norwalk. ESPN's "College GameDay" is a live, traveling pregame show that broadcasts from a different college football campus each week during the season. The segment on the Reeves was broadcast during the Oct. 4 Ohio State vs. Minnesota game. The trail to get there was anything but easy, and the competition was fierce. "About 400 people try out for the band each year," said Christopher Hoch, director of the marching and athletic bands at Ohio State, according to ESPN. "Students spend an entire summer working out, practicing, trying to get all their marching fundamentals right, trying to get their music learned." A family tradition Wendy first "dotted the i" on Oct. 10, 1992, in a home game vs. Illinois. The next year, Chad followed in completing the same honor. That made them the first married couple ever to each dot the "i" in the storied script Ohio formation. The Script Ohio formation has been called "one of college football's most iconic, longstanding traditions," according to the Ohio State University Marching Band archives. For Sydney, the goal emerged early. "I don't know when or how, but I'm going to do this," she recalled, thinking as a child watching the band, in the ESPN segment. Her parents helped: Wendy taught her tuba, and Chad helped her march sousaphone in high school. The 'College GameDay' moment As the "College GameDay" cameras panned through the stands and into the pregame rituals, they paused to highlight the Reeves family kneeling on the turf, wearing Buckeye colors and exchanging the buckeye charm Chad had carried. According to Wendy, she handed it to Sydney at the skull session — the band's pep rally — with the words, "This was Papa's." When Sydney got the nod to dot the "i," the buildup was captured live. "She has been so determined to meet this goal," Wendy told reporters. At the end of the halftime show, the drum major marched toward Sydney, she marched the signature strut — the bell of her sousaphone trilling — and she tipped her hat, nodded, bowed and officially joining the exclusive i-dotters club. In the stands, Wendy murmured, "Come on, little one! Come on, little one!" counting the steps in her head, according to ESPN. Legacy, loss and triumph But the moment carried deeper layers. Chad passed away four years ago at age 51. "My dad was one of my favorite people in the world," Sydney said. "I know he would be proud, and he would give me the biggest hug ever." With her i-dot, Sydney became the first child of two people who had previously dotted the "i" at Ohio State to also earn that honor. "I was really thinking that my dad would have been so proud," Sydney told ESPN.