Saturday’s Blue Jackets game at Ohio Stadium put Columbus in the best possible light for a national audience.

After five years of planning, it was apparent that the smallest of details were examined and re-examined. Hats off to the working partnerships among the participants – the NHL, the Blue Jackets, the City of Columbus, the State of Ohio, and Ohio State University.

We didn’t hear about any of the problems usually associated with large sporting events. And, boy, was it a large event. Not only did 94,000+ souls make it into the game, but there were multiple television and radio broadcasts, two nationally-recognized bands, two giant ice-maintaining trucks, miles of cables and conduits, and a marching band creating Script Ohio on the ice.

Maybe the most important thing on display was the Blue Jackets management and fans showing their ability to be compassionate above all else, recognizing the Gaudreau family in so many big and little ways. All of us were again inspired by Johnny’s widow, Meredith, who is the symbol of strength and grace under the most difficult of life’s experiences.

And then there was the game. The back-and-forth action lived up to the moment. Just when the Jackets thought they had it, Detroit’s veterans came back to tie it. Then Justin Danforth, a rough and tumble lunch pail kind of player, split a double team to post the winning goal. We learned later that goalie Elvis Merzlikins couldn’t close his catching glove all the way because of the cold, but he managed to stop 43 shots, second most all-time in an outdoor game.

I’ll remember the faces of the players when they saw the stadium layout for the first time, then on game day, especially as they came onto the ice after their victory, sticks raised, looking up and around to take in every last second of the experience. Captain Boone Jenner, who fortunately was back with the team after a pre-season injury, the player with the most time as a Blue Jacket, said after the game, “I knew Columbus was going to show up, and they did. What an atmosphere, what an experience for us.”

It’s tough not to use superlatives for the whole Stadium Series experience. I hope the world understands a little more about what Columbus and Central Ohio can do when charged with a big task that requires cooperation among people who care more about the event than their station. It was another reason to be proud of our community and to be hopeful for what comes next.