Stadium Series Pep Rally sees O.A.R., Ohio State band rock St. John Arena

COLUMBUS – A few hours before over 90,000 fans packed Ohio Stadium for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, over 13,000 jammed into nearby St. John Arena to get the party started.

Led by host The Young Professor, the Stadium Series Pep Rally in the old barn on the Ohio State campus was the perfect warmup on a very chilly day in central Ohio.

It was clear where the fans’ loyalty stood when Journey’s “Don’t’ Stop Believing” played and the crowd booed the lyric that mentions south Detroit.

From there, The Ohio State University Athletic Band took over, opening up with its rendition of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ “The Impression That I Get,” then playing such hits as “Master of Puppets,” by Metallica, “Toxic” by Britney Spears and “Holiday” by Green Day. When the band broke into its signature song, “Hang On Sloopy,” it was time for the party to really get rocking.

First, rock band O.A.R., which is made up of members of Ohio State graduates, took the stage to begin a free concert. The Blue Jackets walked into the arena dressed like Johnny Gaudreau, their teammate who was tragically killed, along with his brother, Matthew, in August.

From there, the Athletic Band led the Blue Jackets players across the parking lot and into Ohio Stadium, where they began preparation for the game.

Richard On, the guitarist for O.A.R. told NHL.com on Friday that playing the pep rally was a “full circle” moment.

"We just we spent so much time at Ohio State, growing our band, you know, literally running around campus at one o'clock in the morning with staple guns flyering the campus," On said. "And the dream is to play something that's bigger than ourselves, you know. And being able to do that with a school that we spent a lot of time with. We credit our time at Ohio State with the building blocks of the band and that really put us into the whole touring circuit and become a full-time musicians."