ESPN’s Dana Jacobson was supposed to jump into Mirror Lake on Thursday.
Settling a bet made on national TV, “First Take” hosts Jay Crawford and Jacobson made an appearance at Ohio State’s campus on Thursday because Jacobson had wagered on Michigan to beat OSU in Nov. 27’s football game — and lost.
But because of the extreme cold, Crawford allowed her to make a snow angel on the frozen lake instead, clad head to toe in scarlet and gray.
“If you were here to witness it, you would say that’s the coolest thing,” Crawford said of the yearly tradition where students jump into the lake the Thursday night prior to the rivalry game. “It’s grown every year over the past five years.”
Jacobson agreed, saying, “I like stuff like that.”
After Jacobson made a snow angel, Crawford worked to make sure she wrote “Go Bucks” for the ESPN cameras to see. Jacobson instead wrote “Go Blue” in the snow and fled the scene.
The second half of the wager involved Jacobson leading the OSU cheerleaders in a Buckeye cheer at Thursday’s basketball game against Michigan.
Crawford, a Sandusky, Ohio, native, didn’t actually attend OSU, despite his affection for the Buckeyes. He earned his degree from Bowling Green State University.
“It’s all the state university; this one just happens to be THE Ohio State University,” Crawford said. “When you’re born here, you’re given a name and a Buckeye card. That’s just the deal. I don’t care if you’re in Middletown or Cleveland or Dayton.”
Jacobson said, “We like to let people choose (in Michigan).”
Jacobson said this wasn’t her first trip to OSU’s campus. Her brother earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan, but attended graduate school at OSU.
“He knows who to root for, though. When he got his Ph.D., when he was walking across (the stage) … and I came out here for his graduation, my mom and I shouted, ‘Go Blue,’ for him,” she said. “So, he knows. He knows who to root for. He’s been threatening the last few years, but he knows. He knows once you jump off, there’s no room to come back on.”
The friendly banter never stopped.
“Her brother is the brains of the family,” Crawford said.