Ryan Day reflects on ‘mix of emotions’ after final whistle, throwing headset

Ryan Day finally achieved greatness with Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to victory in Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game over Notre Dame.

As the clock struck zero and his team was officially crowned, Day was filled with elation, tossing his headset and looking youthful as ever in a tremendous moment of happiness. During his postgame press conference, he reflected on the emotions he felt, and why it all poured out of him when the victory was official.

“I think a couple people asked me, ‘If you win the game, what will your reaction be?’ For me, I couldn’t go there. Didn’t know what this week that we were about to go into even entailed. Celebrations or anything, for me, I couldn’t go there. I just wanted this so much for these players,” Day told the media, following the win. “I was focused on — these guys will tell you, just obsessed with, ‘Alright, how do we get better today? How do we do a good job with this walkthrough? This meeting, this practice, to get ourselves prepared for the game?’ And then, once we win the whole thing, we’ll figure out what’s next. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. But it was a mix of emotions there.

“At the end of the day, to be there with your family — when you talk about family, you have your wife and kids. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to make this run, and especially, just the last month and a half, what they provided for me, in terms of strength, I can’t say enough. Especially my wife and kids. They’ve been unbelievable. But then, when you’re talking about family, you talk about our team. This has become family. Every team is together for a while, but then, when the Playoff started, we went on this like, special run. We were with each other like, 24/7 for the last month and a half. We were spending more time together than we were our own families. It’s like a big family.

“Just to see those guys enjoying and smiling, and to have something to show, for all the work that they put in, it was a mix of emotions, but I couldn’t be any happier for these guys.”

In one fell swoop, Day proved his believers correct, and his haters wrong. It provided a mix of happiness and relief, for the Buckeyes head coach and their fanbase alike.

“It was, I guess both. I don’t know if it’s a spectrum. All of the above. Yeah, all of the above. There’s a mix of emotions there,” Day added, regarding his feelings. “It’s hard to really put into words. You just want to let out a scream. I threw my headset. I don’t know where that came from. I looked back and I forgot I even did that. I don’t know what that reaction was. But it was just, I guess jubilation. Relief. But more important, happiness for these guys.

“When you say happy for your family, this is the family, right here. This is it. But also for my wife and kids. I think, for all of these guys now, they can have some peace, and to me, that’s important.”

Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes will enjoy their championship, and now the mission becomes to remain on top of the college football world. That’s easier said than done, but they’ll certainly be tough to beat moving forward.