Some of the effort the Big Ten Conference and its Big Ten Network put into a public service campaign can get washed away in just a moment -- and that happened late in Wednesday's game between Ohio State and Penn State.While Ohio State controlled much of the game, a late run by Penn State brought the crowd back into the game and pumped some atmosphere and emotion into the arena. That was something the BTN on-site and studio commentators had mentioned was missing earlier in the game.
Players clearly got caught up in it, too. When OSU's William Buford fouled out with 30 seconds remaining in the game, and the Buckeyes again comfortably in the lead, 71-64, he took his seat on the bench, water bottle in hand, and grabbed himself to taunt the student section. He then pointed at the scoreboard.
It was an exchange clearly visible on the Big Ten Network broadcast of the game but the on-air crew wisely ignored the exchange. It was just a brief poor decision by Buford -- hardly a newsworthy moment.
What made it striking, though, was that it came in such stark contrast to the conference's "Big Life. Big State. Big Ten." effort. That series of public service commercials features individual student-athletes from a variety of conference schools talking about all the positives of being a member of a community or the conference. They're nice pieces, and they air regularly during all BTN broadcasts.
Sometimes, though, the real-life moments do send a slightly different message than the scripted stuff.