Ryan Day explains Ohio State's passion, why Buckeyes aren't for everybody

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has spent the past seven years of his life living and working in Columbus, Ohio. While he may not be a Buckeyes alum or even a native of Ohio, he has a great understanding of the passion the community feels for its team.

He explained on Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show what makes the passion of the Ohio State different and special.

“Ohio State’s not for everybody,” Day said. “It’s just not. Everything about Ohio State is passionate. People love Ohio State. When they put the block O on their chest, when they put the block O on their hat, that’s their identity. That’s who they are. I’ve been here now seven years. My youngest daughter doesn’t know anywhere else. When you first come, you’re learning a little bit about it. Then before you know it, that’s who you are as a person. So you take those things personal. But everything here matters, no matter what you do.”

The Buckeyes faithful will be loud this Saturday when they host Penn State in the biggest home game of the season.

Ohio State’s two other headlining games of the week — the September win over Notre Dame and then the November matchup with Michigan — are on the road.

“This game on Saturday, this is why you come to Ohio State,” Day said. “All eyes will be here. It’s gonna be a packed house. The passion will be there, but that’s what you love. I think it’s what 11 million fans. That’s amazing. Our fan base is crazy. So you’re never going to make everybody happy. Even if it’s 5%. that’s the half million people. That’s just how it goes. But our players, our coaches, everybody that comes to Ohio State wants to compete at the highest level. They want to be elite. They want it to matter. That’s just the way you got to live life. You got to go.”

The most visible display of Day’s passion came earlier this year when he called out Lou Holtz after the team’s victory over the Fighting Irish.

While Day’s speech received mixed reviews from fans across the country, Day explained why he responded the way he did that night to McAfee and company.

“It’s a passionate, intense, violent sport,” Day said. “You do everything you can to put your team in a situation to be successful. As a coach, sometimes you got to show emotion too. You got to be in the fight with the guys. They got to feel that part of it as a leader. There were a lot of things that were being said that week that we took personal and that’s okay. It’s okay to take things personally. It’s just the way it goes. We had a look in our eye that we’re continuing to build upon. That just wasn’t one game. It’s been like that all year, and it’s gonna continue to be this Saturday.”