Buckeyes Enjoy Motorcade around Phoenix Area – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 4, 2007
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Bob Tucker, the director of operations for the Ohio State football team, said there were three things the players asked him about when they found out they were heading back to Arizona to play in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
The first question he got was, “Are we staying at the Princess?”
The second, “Will we have the same locker room for practice at Pinnacle High School?”
And third, “Will we have the police escort again?”
He was able to reply to all three questions with the same answer.
“Yes!”
The Buckeyes, making their fourth appearance in the Phoenix area in the last five years, have grown accustomed to the first-class treatment provided by the local communities and by the Fiesta Bowl committee members. Ohio State has played in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl the previous three visits, but returned to the Valley of the Sun this year as one of two participants in the inaugural BCS title game.
“The escort just shows the grand scale of the game,” Brian Robiskie, sophomore wide receiver, said after practice Wednesday. “You look at it and it shows how big the event is. It is just a part of the first-class way this city operates.”
The Scottsdale Police Department is responsible for making sure the Buckeyes arrive to all events in a timely fashion.
Nearly one dozen motorcycles, two trucks and one cruiser move four Ohio State charter busses from point A to point B, whether it is to a practice, to the game or other events the team participates in during its stay. “It is amazing how efficient they are,” A.J. Trapasso, redshirt sophomore punter, said while standing next to and admiring the motorcycles. Going to the Fiesta Bowl game the other night, they shut everything down. We had the highway to ourselves and were able to get there very quickly.”
Both players said the motorcade has made an impression on the entire team, but many of the police officers leading the motorcade find it nearly as impressive to be escorting the Buckeyes.
“It is a great honor for us to be able to lead the teams around town,” Lt. Frank O’Halloran, of the Scottsdale Police Department, said. His unit is assigned to the teams staying at the Scottsdale Fairmont Princess Resort and Spa for the Fiesta Bowl and BCS title game.
“This is the third time we have been with Ohio State,” Holloran said. “We were definitely pulling for them at the end of the year to stay the No. 1 team and return to the Princess.”
O’Halloran, whose wife is originally from Ohio, said he is not necessarily a Buckeye fan, but he has enjoyed working with Ohio State during their visits to Phoenix.
Jim Butera, a motor sergeant for the Scottsdale Police Department, has taken a few jabs from his fellow officers for being a long-time Ohio State fan and being assigned to the Buckeyes.
“I’ve been a Buckeye fan since Pete Johnson went to Ohio State, Butera said. “He was my brother’s best friend. Our family knew him well, growing up in Long Island (N.Y.). He was the first guy from our hometown to play major college football and I have always followed Ohio State.”
Ribbing aside, he enjoys the experience. The Buckeyes do too.
