Last night's pre-jump was unquestionably awesome in spirit. While the unauthorized rebellious nature of the rare double dip (an impromptu jump marking the assassination of Osama Bin Laden by Seal Team 6 being one of the only others in recent memory) may have given it a bit of an edge, last night's actual jump, despite a slow start, proved to live up to many of the past frigid November nights (weather tonight hovered around 30 with a windchill that made it feel like 23).
For an unsanctioned event, the university sure had its fingerprints all over Ohio State's annual Mirror Lake jump, however.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that students would be required to wear a wristband to participate in the jump, which had been held every year on Thursdays from 1990 to 2009. When the Big Ten schedule moved the rivalry matchup with Michigan to after Thanksgiving, students were forced to jump on the Tuesday before they went home for break.
This year, however, many students protested the university's involvement, which included the wristbands and fencing in the lake, by knocking over the fences and jumping in on Monday.
On Tuesday, many expected increased security, some even a riot, in response to the students' actions the night before.
When students walked to the lone entrance, they were required to show their "Beat Michigan" wristbands to multiple event staff members before they were allowed in. As usual, officers from the Columbus Police Department and paramedics from the Columbus Fire Department surrounded the lake in case of an emergency.
While Monday's events seemed to discourage some from attending the actual event, thousands of students were splashing in Mirror Lake's muddy water, singing "We Don't Give A Damn", and chanting "Let's Go Bucks" or "U.S.A".
Despite the university "sanctioning" of an unsanctioned event, Mirror Lake 2013, Parts 1 and 2, will be something to remember.
Kayla Rice contributed to this report.