I enjoyed this show. It confirmed for me just how fanatical the fans involved in this rivalry can be (are!) but it also explained why pretty well.
I, of course, don't know that much about the history of these two states and the part about the "Toledo Strip" was news to me. That is an old, old, old grudge!
I don't think I could stand living in that town that straddles the two states. It seems like it would be too much like living in a constant state of civil war, brother against brother sort of thing.
I really enjoyed seeing how Woody and Bo worked so energetically against each other but also came to such an understanding and friendship towards the end. It made me sad to hear that Woody died so soon after his speech but it was inspiring at the same time to know that he made sure to do it before he died. Bo was very young when he passed and that is a tragedy as well.
All in all, coming from the perspective of someone who DOESN'T know all this information already, I found the show to be informative and relatively balanced. I learned quite a bit not only about the Game, but also about why it is such a rivalry, what it has come to really mean to people, and how it permeates not only the two states, but everyone in it, from birth to death.
A couple of great moments that illustrate this for me:
*the extremely elderly, stooped gentleman, walking past other fans, who says "Go Blue!"
*the newborn baby, still in the hospital, draped in an
OSU jacket*
The entire first half of the show is dedicated to *ichigan, but yes it does come off with an
OSU slant, by the end. However, I strongly feel it is because there is so little recorded imagery of the early years of tSUN's triumphs. Seeing so much of
OSU's more recent history in bright color makes more of an impact and it therefore seems to give the whole documentary a slant.
