As an Ohio State fan, if you've had the pleasure of being around, listening to, or simply watching legendary running back Archie Griffin, there's little doubt about what kind of human being he is. Despite being the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in college football history, he's about as humble as they come and is always lending his time and efforts to good causes.
One of those causes is the Abbott and Big Ten's We Give Blood Competition. We were fortunate enough to sit down with Griffin and talk about this competition among all eighteen Big Ten programs that log blood donated and registered by fans to their Big Ten team of choice, and that's where you come in. Griffin put it into perspective when talking about the importance of giving blood,
how Ohio State has some work to do to get from third place up to first, and how to get involved.
"The competition has been going on since August 12 and runs through December 4, so time is running out, and we want Buckeye Nation to show up," Griffin told Buckeyes Wire. "OSU fans go from coast to coast, and so you can go donate blood anywhere in the country, and then go to the website and register your donation towards Ohio State and make sure credit is given toward the Buckeyes.
"Giving blood is such an important thing to get involved in," Griffin continued. "Donated blood has so many uses; it could be for an accident, maybe surgery of some sort, so you always need blood. We've got to make sure that our centers have the right amount of blood to help the people that need to be helped. And with this campaign being across the country, because the Big Ten is spread out throughout the country, it can go a long, long way to help."
Griffin played for Woody Hayes, and the longtime coach had a way of making sure his players always gave back to the community and understood what was important. In this case, it doesn't take much to make a difference. Heck, you can even get a free T-shirt to remember giving to the cause.
"And to me, I've always felt that this campaign is one of the easier ways that you could pay it forward, as my former coach Woody Hayes talked about all the time — doing things to help others," Griffin said. "One of the easier ways you could do that, because when you don't need blood, you know that you're making a difference, and you may be saving a life, but you know that you're making a difference."
Griffin would love to see Buckeye Nation get involved, and he puts it into perspective about how getting just a little more Ohio State fans aware and involved can go a long, long way. As it stands right now, OSU's blood donations are behind first-place Wisconsin and second-place Nebraska, and if it means anything -- and it should -- Michigan is in fourth place just behind the Buckeyes.
And it doesn't just have to be blood currently donated. If you had a donation between August 12 and now, you can get credit for that too.
"We've got some work to do. Again, I just envision that stadium. It's small, but six or seven thousand people in that stadium giving blood — it can make a difference," Griffin said. "And this campaign started back on August 12th. So if you've given blood from August 12th, any time from August 12th through now, you can go back and log that donation in for Ohio State, or whatever college you want to log in to, and that would count as well. So I know there's probably a lot of people out there who may have given blood August 12 or after and maybe not logged it in. You can log in to the school of your choice."
As Urban Meyer once said, anytime they are keeping score, you want to win, and that's where we are with the Abbott and Big Ten's We Give Blood Competition. Ohio State is losing to two other Big Ten programs, and why not marry a competition with a great cause? Find your nearest blood donation center, then log on to BigTen.org/Abbott to submit your donation. You will need a picture to upload to prove it, so be sure to take one that you can upload on the dedicated website.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Archie Griffin asks Ohio State fans to give blood, win competition
