A New Take On THE Rivalry

[OilerBuck]

Maybe this is common knowledge to others, but this thought is just starting to emerge with me.

In light of some of the NCAA investigations and dealings with other fans (Especially those from Wake, PSU, Etc.), I am starting to view our rivalry with scUM differently. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but Meatchicken fans have been coming to our defense and being generally civil and sympathetic with our situation.

All of this has made me rethink the rivalry, what it means to the players and what it SHOULD mean to us as fans. I used to think of TTUN as our sworn enemy. I have totally hated everything about them and wanted them to suffer in every form imaginable. Now, I am starting to view them as a brother to Ohio State. Before I am charged with blasphemy, consider the following:

Each of our two Universities are world-class institutions on our own, but together, THE rivalry between the schools make us part of something that cannot be equaled in all of sports. We push each other to a new level. When I play my brother in ANYTHING, my goal is to demonstrate dominance. I never play harder or cleaner than when I play him because I want there to be no doubt as to who is superior. That being said, without him pushing me, I wouldn't be where I am now. I hate losing in any form, but nothing could be worse than if he would beat me in something that I care about.

When we play a game of basketball, run a race or even wrestle...if I see him limp, hear him cough or even see him squint because the sun is in his eyes...I'll stop the match. I want him coming in at full strength, with no excuses. Likewise, I want to play TTUN at full strength as I'm sure they want to play us...No sanctions, no injuries, NO excuses.

My brother and I will pick on each other, push each other around and compete at anything to get temporary bragging rights until he is truly ready to challenge me again. This reminds me of all the smack talk that goes on between scUM and OSU in recruiting and other pregame/postgame matches...these things don't matter, but they are a temporary measuring stick until late November.

It may appear that we don't get along sometimes, but I respect the heck out of him. When he succeeds, I brag on him. When he gets in an argument, I back him. But when he lines up opposite me...I want to OWN him. Likewise, I think we, as universities should support each other against anyone else. The success of one of our schools is, in reality, the success of both of us.

Players in this game always talk about the respect they have for each other and how clean, yet intense the rivalry is. I never understood that until recently and I just wanted some of your thoughts on the analogy.

 

[IrontonBuck]

I agree with you 100% Oiler, but not many more will. Seems that the blind hatred of most Ohio State people toward Michigan started when they were 9 and never matured beyond that. Ohio State and Michigan football are yin and yang. One does not exist without the other. They are two sides of a whole. They oppose each other, yet they are twins. Each seeks to overwhelm the other, but in destroying one, the other is also destroyed.

Or, to put it in Jim Morrison's words...You know the day destroys the night, night divides the day....

 

[BB73]

Oiler, you're right, I've also seen the light. I will no longer refer to them as "low-life scUM", I will now try to call them "low-life, occasionally supportive scUM".

:scum4:

 

[LloydSev]

my out right hatred for scUM developed during the Cooper years, when Michigan fans devoted every waking moment telling us how shitty we were. Living 10 minutes from the scUM border, and having family in scUM, and working in scUM in the past, has given me and vast hatred of scUM beyond that I can even really understand.

And up until now.. I never really thought about it.. but in high school there were 3 main people i ALWAYS hung out with...

1 was an Ohio State fan, 1 was a Michigan fan, and the last was a very large Notre Dame fan... I hope that's not Notre Dame chief... LOL

 

[Brutus1]

I quietly respect them, but outwardly despise them.

I must admit, a 3-1 record makes them easier to put up with.

I quietly respect them, but outwardly despise them.

I must admit, a 3-1 record makes them easier to put up with, but I refuse to join the 'lovefest'.

 

[stxbuck]

If I meet a scUM fan from Michigan, I will respect them. I respect scUM as an academic institution. That said, I will NEVER stop wanting to see scUM athletics fall on it's face, because I want EVERY scUM fan living within the borders of our state to have to choke on their blue and yellow bile, and admit their traitorousness, and the failings of their school. If I didn't have to see Ohioans wearing that crap and signing w/ that school, I would have a lot more respect for the fans actually from Michigan. It isn't a school thing, it's a pride in your state thing.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

OilerBuck actually has a point. I've met quite a few cool Michigan fans during my 26 years in service and almost 4 years now as a IT contractor working with the Air Force. One of the active duty Staff Sergeants here is a big Michigan fan, but openly rooted for Ohio State in the Alamo Bowl and even congratulated me after our pasting of scUM in The Game. He never gave me any shit about the Clarett clusterfuck, which he easily could have and made my life hell during that time. But the biggest example is when I was stationed in Okinawa in the mid-90s and my kids were still here in Hawaii. At Christmas time, I'd fly back to Hawaii to visit them and a good friend of mine (from Michigan and a big Michigan fan) left me the keys to his house and car while he and his family were back in Michigan visiting relatives. This was for anywhere from 7-10 days. And this happened every Christmas for the three Christmas holidays I was in Okinawa. Think about it...the guy let me, a staunch Ohio State fan, use his house, eat his food, drink his beer, drive his car, etc., for nothing while they were away. All I had to do was make sure there was gas left in the car. My time in service has shown me that good people come from everywhere.

That being said, I will always, always, always fucking hate Michigan football. Even when I try to pull for them in a bowl game "for the good of the conference", it is painful. I hate seeing their team being successful in any way, shape, or form. I hate their uniforms. I hate their stadium. They're arrogant. They steal our recruits. They think that everything football has evolved from Ann Arbor.

Fuck Michigan football.

 

[Steve19]

Today, I had lunch with a professor (and priest) from Notre Dame. As I sat down, his first words concerned not the charges against OSU basketball but rather the exoneration of OSU football. He was genuinely happy for me. An American in a blue TSUN sweatshirt passed me walking from our hotel to the mall. Spotting my shirt and said, "glad to see you guys got off."

So, I was a bit surprised to see this thread. Given their own melt-down in NCAA investigation land, it's not surprising that they aren't lording it over us. However, I think it goes deeper than that.

I have made some really good friends from TSUN over the years, not like Mili, but good friends nonetheless. They were people one could really argue football with and quickly agree that, no matter how strong the rivalry, PAC 10, SEC and Big 12 were vastly over-rated and that nothing compared to The Game.

I think that they know, no matter how much they despise Ohio State, the substance to these allegations wasn't true. They need us and we need them. The Rivalry does not exist without both teams. We, and we alone, understand the importance of the rivalry. We ARE yin and yang.

I want TSUN to win every game except The Game every year. I want them to enter that game the same way I want us to enter it, undefeated, man-to-man, national title on the line. And then, I want to win by 50 points!

My wife is a South African and asked me to explain why this was so important to me. I could only say that it is my culture. It is what my people want. It is a moment that many of them live for every year. It is just how it has always been.

We want to see Jack Tatum take their quarterback out of the game. We want to see Ted Ginn dance through them like a hot knife through butter. We want to win so badly that we cannot stand it. I don't care if it seems rational or if I am called a "football fanatic" as I was jokingly called at lunch today.
The rest of the year, let TSUN win and win big. But on that day, I want the ghost of Woody to go for those three extra points!

 

[AJHawkfan]

I agree as well. (Hard to believe this is post #9 of this thread, and no one has vehemently opposed this.) From where I sit, there are a few things I'd like to add:

1. They went through a very ugly investigation and embarrassing situation with their basketball program a few years ago. They know what it feels like.
2. There is a lot of mutual dislike amongst fans, coaches and players, but there is also an awful lot of mutual respect amongst fans, coaches and players. I don't think you would ever see an OSU/Michigan game have an ugly event like the brawl at the end of the South Carolina/Clemson game last year. There's just too much pride and respect for something like that to take place. That is why it is the greatest rivalry in sports.

Now, like Milli said: Fuck Michigan Football!

 

[Bucklion]

One hates them but respects them...I don't know how it can be any other way. For example I've always said that if I was in a fight, give me a Michigan lineman any day on my side, because they always seem to be big, mean, tough, and play hard on the field. I won't say I root for them, because I don't and never do, except in bowl games occasionally, I hate them, and especially their bitch of a coach, but I can say I respect their program's tradition, just like I expect people to respect ours, and get pissed when they don't.


As for having friends from there and the like, it's certainly not blasphemy to separate a football Saturday from the rest of your life....actually, I would call that reality. Anyone who, outside of the sports realm, looks for people to hate because of a football rivalry needs some psychological evaluation, I would say.

That said, now back to your regularly scheduled hate-fest of the arrogant, whiny, Princeton-logo-stealing bitch of a football team

 

[cincibuck]

I root for any and all Big 10 schools when they play an out of conference foe. I root for any team playing USC except Notre Dame and teams from the SEC... well, I'd root for Vandy against USC... I root for SEC teams when they play Miami (Fla) and Notre Dame. I root for Notre Dame when... when... well, maybe if they played the Auschwitz Prison Guards or the New York Yankees.

I do not root against Michigan in bowl games or out of conference games... if Michigan were Indiana (football wise) why would you give a damn? You care about the game because it matches up the two best programs in the conference. I root for Michigan because everytime they win a non conference game it advances our conference and thus our program.

 

[Dryden]

I do not hate Michigan fans from the state of Michigan nor do I hate students or alum who have attended the university. My venom is directedly solely at the Michigan fans, and I use the term loosely, who grew up in Ohio and cheer for the maize and blue simply because they relish being the dick at the party ... all those defectors and bandwagon jumpers who only wear their Michigan clothes one November day a year and then don't have the balls to go out to the bars after Tressel has led the Bucks to victory in The Game.

Going out for a few beers in late November through the entirety of the 90s was pure misery.

I hope Tressel continues the success against Michigan for years and years to come, not just for Big-10 championships and National Title implications, but also because I love seeing these Central Ohio born Michigan fans suffer their three losses a year under LLLoyd Carr, with the exclaimation point coming in The Game (or the Rose Bowl).

Michigan is 'down,' at least relative to Michigan tradition and their dominance of the Cooper-era Buckeyes, and Notre Dame is unquestionably down, so both fan bases seem to be shrinking within Ohio. That said, there seems to be a groundswell of damn Wisconsin fans now, and of course the MAC has never been more popular. I think that Solich's arrival at Ohio U will give a large base of now ex-Michigan fans something else to cheer for that isn't diametrically opposed to The Buckeyes, which is convenient since many of the Michigan fans I know actually went to school at Ohio U in Athens, and obviously never had a real football team of their own that was worth following.

 

[great1]

I have no problem with Michgian fans from Michigan. But the rednecks from Ohio who route for Michigan just to piss people off are very annoying. I remember in Cooper times they would always run there mouth and be glad tosu lost but now that Tressel is here they really dont care about football so much anymore.

 

[rocketman]

"Mutual Respect" is the best way I can put it. Some of my best friends from high school go to Michigan. They come down here for The Game, and I go up there to watch it. Win or lose, there aren't any hard feelings (of course in 2003 I was irate after we lost, but it didn't linger too long). I follow Michigan football almost as much as Ohio State football. It only makes The Game that much more exciting to witness. When you know everything about your opponent, it's really something else.

 

[stxbuck]

Michigan is 'down,' at least relative to Michigan tradition and their dominance of the Cooper-era Buckeyes, and Notre Dame is unquestionably down, so both fan bases seem to be shrinking within Ohio. That said, there seems to be a groundswell of damn Wisconsin fans now, and of course the MAC has never been more popular. I think that Solich's arrival at Ohio U will give a large base of now ex-Michigan fans something else to cheer for that isn't diametrically opposed to The Buckeyes, which is convenient since many of the Michigan fans I know actually went to school at Ohio U in Athens, and obviously never had a real football team of their own that was worth following.

I agree 100% w/ the rest of your post, but you could have Woody Hayes, Knute Rockne, and Paul Brown on the staff at Ohio-and it wouldn't make one lick of difference-fans,performance,whatever-football just isn't OU's thing.

I actually did wind up rooting for scUM against USC in the Rose Bowl two years ago-hated to do it, but USC needed a beat down-of course scUM wasn't up to the task........