David Trinko: ‘OGSN’ sparks school spirit

The crew with the Ottawa-Glandorf Sports News had an exclusive interview with Titan coach Tyson McGlaughlin, asking the head boys basketball coach the important questions while pointing a water bottle with a coosie on it at him as if it were a microphone.

“I hear you watch a lot of movies,” said Spencer Alt, one of the Instagram sportscast’s “Big Three” and nicknamed the “Testosterone Scientist” and “Salt” in the videos. “Who’s your favorite player on the team?”

That, in a nutshell, is the OGSN, offering interesting insights into a Titan team and a school playing for a state championship today. More importantly, it shows the camaraderie between the students and players at the school.

The page, instagram.com/oghs_sportsnews, started off in junior high as a way for some players on the SS. Peter and Paul School basketball team to share pictures and memories of their exploits. The page went dark for a few years before rebranding itself just before the start of this year’s boys basketball season.

Ben Kahle, called “The Anchor” in the videos, is a senior at the school. He’s the apparent ringleader when you’re watching the videos, which borrow style and substance from ESPN SportsCenter and TV 44’s Sports Report. He acts as the host on the show that often has the feel of the “Bill Swerski’s Super Fans” skit from Saturday Night Live, complete with Alt offering ridiculously lopsided predictions to games. (Alt assures the world his math skills aren’t as bad as they appear on the show.)

What started as an inside joke inside the hallowed halls of O-G has spread, with 1,000 people watching many of the episodes. They bring in members of the community, including business owners, parents and even a local priest. They also create hype videos, similar to what you might see in an arena or stadium before a game, including one released last week that included a limousine, a smoke machine, strobe lights and several members of the Titan basketball team.

“We had one hype video up before tournaments, and it got almost 3,000 views, just going around town,” Kahle said. “We were uptown at the restaurant, and we had some little kids coming up to us, calling us the ‘Big Three,’ like the nickname we have on the show. They’re all excited and wanted to say ‘hi.’”

Cael Hoehn, nicknamed “Dr. Love” and another of the “Big Three” with Kahle and Alt, knew the show was a hit when a seasoned fan started watching.

“My grandma even got Instagram just for this, and she barely knows how to work her phone,” Hoehn said. “But she can hit the little app, and it’ll come up with us right away.”

The crew also includes Ethan Weis, nicknamed “The Hype Man” who also appears in many of the videos, and Sam Recker, who shoots and edits the videos. While they look carefree and unscripted, the team works hard each week, spending their Mondays during study hall creating ideas for that week’s show.

“We’ll make a Google Doc, and we’ll start typing down ideas and topics, talking about guest stars,” Alt said.

Hoehn added, “Everybody asks us who the brains are behind all these crazy ideas, and it’s really all of us. We’ll just get some random thing, say, ‘That’s a good one for the week,’ and we’ll kind of take it from there and build off that start.”

One of their proudest moment was filming one episode from St. Marys’ football field. They arrived on scene to discover the stadium was open and unlocked. The crew, which includes several football players who had the rare pleasure of winning on that rival’s field, especially enjoyed it.

Another favorite was “interview day,” when they asked questions of everyone from the public address announcer to the school’s principal.

“We really got the community more involved in that one,” Weis said.

McGlaughlin showed his support for the OGSN after the regional finals, donning a blue shirt with OGSN printed in yellow during the team photo and the postgame press conference.

“It’s incredible seeing Tyson doing that,” Alt said. “We’ve always used the term, ‘not affiliated with Ottawa-Glandorf High School,’ but everybody wants to be a part of it. It brings the community together.”

But not too close together. One running gag is asking each week’s guest about how a player having a girlfriend affects his game performance.

“I think we just randomly said that one time, and everybody loved it,” Kahle said. “… It just kind of flowed one time during the show, and now it’s stuck.”

They clearly show a preference for players remaining single during the season, although one guest, Kristen Gerding-Heffner, the owner of The Scoop of Main, cleared that up for the boys with statistics, noting that 63% of the players who won “Gems of the Game” from local radio station 106.3 FM The Fox have girlfriends.

They’re not sure what the future holds for the OGSN. They plan to keep it going in the spring, but they’re not sure past that. For now, they’re just having fun and building school spirit.

“I’m glad that we started it,” Hoehn said. “It just adds an element of fun to talk about with people. We’re getting the community more involved. I think the students are actually more involved, getting people to show up. It just makes it a more fun senior year.”

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https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/03/web1_NewMugTrinko-Square-4.jpg

The men behind the Ottawa-Glandorf Sports News Instagram page pose with “Titan Man” in the school’s lobby. Included are, from left, Sam Recker, Ethan Weis, Cael Hoehn, Ben Kahle and Spencer Alt.
https://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/03/web1_OGSN-dt-2.jpgThe men behind the Ottawa-Glandorf Sports News Instagram page pose with “Titan Man” in the school’s lobby. Included are, from left, Sam Recker, Ethan Weis, Cael Hoehn, Ben Kahle and Spencer Alt. David Trinko | The Lima News

By David Trinko

The Lima News

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David Trinko is editor of The Lima News. Reach him at 567-242-0467, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.