Two regulated years, two protests jump later and there's little doubting that the spirit of Mirror Lake jumps of yesteryear can't be dimmed by an attempt to formalize the affair.
Wristbands were required in order to participate in the jump for the second straight year and fences adorned the outside perimeter of the on-campus man made lake at The Ohio State University, but students took to the scene en masse all the same, some with wristbands and some without, and joined a mass of humanity in a near spiritual like baptism.
Though some loss cell phones, other lost dignity, and basically everyone lost sandals, the experience will stick with those that remember it for a lifetime. And for most folks who took the plunge and failed to dry off well enough in the 28 degrees fahrenheit, their immune systems will make sure the experiences lingers for at least another 7-10 days.
The songs were the same, the amounts of damns given unchanged, and the spirit and fervor of Mirror Lake alive and well in the hearts and minds of Buckeyes campus-wide and beyond.
Let's take a look at some of the best moments from the night that was:
Need visual verification the night was cold as advertised? Consider it done:
perfect temp for a swim in mirror lake pic.twitter.com/CMM9PpshhY
— shay-nuh (@ShainaJ6) November 26, 2014
Things weren't super crowded in the early goings (as is customary), but the spirit was there for the early jumpers:
Y'all...it's 29 degrees...I can't...like bruh, I'm cold just standing here. #MirrorLakeJump pic.twitter.com/OnwwHq3E4D
— camille. (@_AngelaCamille) November 26, 2014
These students are more than willing to do whatever it takes to beat Michigan:
They still don't give any damns for the whole state of Michigan:
As annoying as Seven Nation Army can be, there's something perfect about it in this context:
And then, just like that, it was a packed house lake:
So many people at @mirrorlakejump pic.twitter.com/6VjvyEf7lY
— Ryan Ginn (@RyanGinnBSB) November 26, 2014
Things got pretty real:
Then they got really real:
The Ohio State University, ladies and gentlemen:
That ... That is a lot of people:
And easily the most apropos photo of the night: