(WTOL) - Jon Peters is a man in his mid-50s from Fremont, Ohio. He may also be able to claim he his Ohio State's biggest fan.
During the week you can find Peters working at Whirlpool, but on college game day, you can bet he'll be front and center to watch his beloved Buckeyes play – a love that started at a young age and continued to grow after his grandfather took him to his first game when he was 15-years-old.
But it wasn't until he wanted to win a basket of cookies at a best-dressed contest in 1995 that Peters' super fan persona took off. Fast-forward a few years to the 2002 National Championship game in Tempe, Arizona and the Big Nut craze with Buckeye Nation was born.
"We decided to paint up for the pep rally the day before, and uh, we were well received by the Buckeye Nation. People wanted pictures with me after the event and stuff. And I thought well you know what, let's paint up for the championship game," Peters said.
Big Nut says he was blessed to be shown in the championship game DVD and since then his recognition has continued to grow. But, even as his Ohio State persona grew and became more demanding, his day-to-day life remained the same.
"The great thing about it was I was still going to work every day as John Peters, and uh, people had no idea what I was doing," he said.
Now fans come to expect him at every single game – home or away. He says he can't even remember the last regular season game he missed. The only game he remembers missing was the 2011 Sugar Bowl game against Arkansas. But he had a good reason for that – the birth of his second grandchild.
As his recognition continued to grow, so did his schedule of Buckeye events that take up nearly all five weeks of his vacation time
Peters says his trips might be based on the games but he and his wife, Terese, who he calls First Lady, make sure to fit some sightseeing while they're away.
"That is a form of our vacation while we're at the away games - to visit the community and visit different things," he said.
This year Big Nut and First Lady went to New York City where they visited Freedom Tower, Times Square and other attractions prior to the Ohio State game at Rutgers.
Peters says, if it weren't for First Lady bringing support to the Buckeyes and smiles to fans faces, each game wouldn't be possible.
"I couldn't do this without her. She actually deserves more credit and recognition than what I get because like I say, 'Behind every good man is a great woman', and I married a great one," he said. "It's priceless to watch your team play and to root for them and to see them win and to do quite well, but it's also a very pleasant thing to put a smile on someone's face."
And First Lady is the key to getting Big Nut ready for the big games. The season ticket holder and Buckeye Club member takes almost as much time to get ready for the game as the players. It can take up to two hours for First Lady to paint his face and help him get ready. Then it's off to tailgate, visit with fellow Buckeye fans and cheer on the team.
Buckeye fans of all ages constantly come up to him wanting to get there picture, people even bring their dogs up to meet him and you can even see him getting pictures taken with fans from the opposing team. Regardless of how many people come up to him, and how long it takes him to make his way to the Shoe because of all the pictures, Peters does it without hesitation and with a smile and contagious energy the whole time
And as fans continue to come up asking for a picture, First Lady is there to capture the moments and post them to Facebook. To date, Big Nut has more than 30,000 pictures from games and Buckeye events on his Facebook page. While this process would be overwhelming to some, to Big Nut it's a blessing.
"You know it's a blessing to me. I'm just a fat guy with face paint. It's a blessing to me somebody would want their picture taken with me," he said.
Whether it's getting his picture taken or passing out hand-made buckeye necklaces, Big Nut says he works to be a disciple of the University's ideals and traditions. And it's this "Pay It Forward" motto that continues to grow alongside his recognition with Buckeye Nation.
"It's our way of paying forward as the great Woody Hayes always talked about," he said. "There really isn't a day that doesn't go by that somebody will call us and see if we can do an event, or we'll get emails from different organizations," he said.
His work with March of Dimes, Nationwide Children's hospitals and local schools like R.C. Waters Elementary have led to another "Pay It Forward" movement.
"When we started making appearances at fundraisers…they would give us a donation, and I didn't feel that it was right, that we should just put the money in our pocket because we thought that we should do something with the money. Then a good friend of mine said, 'well why don't you start a scholarship program,' and I thought, 'you know what, that's a great idea'," Peters said.
Big Nut worked with a local businessman to become a 501(c)(3) charity in 2011. Since then, Big Nut and First Lady have awarded 21 scholarships for a total of $10,500. It's this act of giving back to the Ohio State community that is apparent whether he's reading to kids at a local elementary like R.C. Waters Elementary, passing out candy at the homecoming parade or visiting children at Nationwide Children's Hospital and passing out signed Brutus mascots.
And bringing smiles to others' faces, doesn't mean Buckeye Nation doesn't return the favor. Big Nut says he has people that call and send pictures of them dressing as him for Halloween. While it's reactions like these that make him feel blessed, he has one moment that holds a special place in his heart.
"But I had close friend her name's, her name's Kiera. And she's fighting, I'm sorry, she's fighting cancer. And a couple years ago she painted herself. She lost all her hair through chemo. Lost her hair so she wanted to paint her face and her head like the Big Nut for Halloween thing. And she did. And we did pictures and stuff, and she looked great as Little Nut, but she's strong, Keira Day from Port Clinton. But she's a strong woman and she's fighting cancer, but it was very heartwarming that she would want to paint up as the Big Nut and I love her," he said.
It's stories like these and his genuine personality that shows just how big of a heart Big Nut has for Buckeye Nation, which is all part of his main goal.
"You can't be everywhere, and do everything, for everybody, but all we can do is just try to do what we can do, and to put a smile on someone's face," he said.
Big Nut says there is a consistent feeling that has stood out after 144 season games and 13 bowl games since 2002.
"I still enjoy the atmosphere when we play that team up north, that's why they call it the game. It is the game of all games. And the intensity is just, it's so magnified. It's like when you're standing around a fire ring at night and you're looking in and you're feeling the heat from the fire. And you know how the closer you get to it the hotter it is? It's kind of like when you're in that first row up in Ann Arbor or in Columbus in the Horseshoe, the closer you get to the field, you can feel the heat, the fire, the passion of the game between them two schools is amazing and, to me, that is probably the highlight of watching my team the Buckeyes play," he said.
To connect with Jon Peters/Big Nut, click here.
