Ever since she was nine years old, Katie Galuska has had a dream, to dot the “I” at Ohio Stadium when the OSU Marching Band performs Script Ohio at halftime of a Buckeye Football Game.
Her dream is about to come true.
At the November 13 game between the Buckeyes and Purdue, Katie will become the third North Royalton Band Alumi to dot the “I”.
There’s no greater thrill than to dot the “I” in front of 100,000 fans.
Katie said it was an incredible feeling when she was told that she would be an “I” dotter. “ Only fourth and fifth year band members can dot the “I”. I was supposed to dot last year, but because of COVID the season was basically canceled. So it was pushed back a year. To be able to pick a date and decide on a game and pick Purdue was an incredible experience.”
There will be six OSU band members that will dot the “I” this year. Band members are allowed to pick their game to be an “I” dotter. “We have a ranking system. Every week you have to challenge to gain a spot on the field. You don’t get to march every week. Based on my ranking, I was able to pick Purdue. Because the last time we played them they unexpectedly defeated us, I expect the crowd to be hyped up for the game.”
The week leading up to the Purdue game will be the only chance Katie will have to practice dotting the “I”. “We only get four chances during the week to practice the dot before we put it on the field before 100,000 fans. I’m on my own to practice as much as I want. The six of us who are dotting this year have been helping each other out.”
You may not believe it, but there is a science to dotting the “I” in Script Ohio. “The strut. The fancy marching we do to get to the top of the “I” is one of the most unnatural things you can imagine,” said Katie. “You’re leaning back with a 40 pound musical instrument hanging off one shoulder and your getting your legs up above parallel to the ground. It’s something that doesn’t come very naturally. It requires a lot of hard work and a lot of effort. And honestly it’s a mind game and dealing with nerves to accomplish your dreams in front of 100,000 Ohio State fans. It’s more of a mental game than physical.”
Another unnatural part of the dot is the bow at the end. “That’s a move that we learn during our summer practices. How to do the bow in front of everyone. So that move, we get a ton more practice because it is such a difficult move with a sousaphone,” said Katie.
Being in the North Royalton Marching Band and having two older sisters who played in the band got Katie thinking about music. “I knew I wanted to be in the band, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My older sister Jenny got to travel with the North Royalton Marching Band to the BCS Bowl that Ohio State played in during the 2007 season. And at that game which we watched on TV, my dad pointed out that someone from North Royalton was dotting the “I” at the game. I didn’t even know what that meant. He said it was a huge tradition and they showed a clip of that on TV.” (The “I” dotter in that game was Mike Nary). “After seeing it on TV, I don’t know what led me to say it, but I said I’m going to do that some day.”
At that time, Katie didn’t realize what it would take to dot the “I”. “Whatever instrument I had to play to dot the “I” was the instrument I was going to play. I wouldn’t have picked the heaviest instrument that’s for sure.”
Katie said it will be quite a thrill to have a lot of family and friends at the November 13 game to see her fulfill her dream. “My family has been with me every step of the way, from the very beginning when I said I wanted to dot the “I” to November 13. Every year when the band is announced they stay up until midnight waiting until I call them on their cell phone to let them know that I made the band again. It means a lot to know that they will be there to watch me fulfill my dream.”
Earlier this year, Katie got to dot the “I” when the Alumni Band played with the current Marching Band. “I dotted the “I” with one of my best friends in the band and two alumni band members. Anytime you get to dot the “I” is incredible. Doing it with two alumni members paid homage to the band members who came before you who have held this tradition for so long. But, there is something we hold dear about our single scripts.”
Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 13, at halftime of the Ohio State-Purdue football game. See Katie Galuska’s dream fulfilled.

By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer