The Rivalry

[Iplayboard]

Thank you TomCollins and other tOSU-UM fans for describing how important the rivalry is.

American professional sports "rivalries" are a [censored] joke. Green Bay fans might talk about how much they hate the Bears, but to the players and coaches I'd guess it's just another game. One has to only look at the amount of effort the Bears put into their end of season encounter last year to realize this.

It makes perfect sense too. Many colleges hire coaches who played at or were assistants at the same school. In addition college coaches are much longer tenured. Most of the players are in-state or from close by and have been involved in the rivalry as a spectator since a very young age. Contrast this with the NFL where players and coaches are frequently changing teams. You can't expect a 9 year vet on his 4th team to muster much hatred towards his latest rival.

Professional sports rivalries are fleeting. Not too many people get excited these days when the Celtics and Lakers take the court or when the 49ers and Cowboys clash on the gridiron. Ten years from now it is likely that the Colts will just be another opponent for the Pats.

Professional sports in other countries cannot be compared to the American model. First of all there is no top-level collegiate competition. Secondly, countries like England, Italy or Spain are so much smaller than the United States that teams often share the same city and many times the same stadium.

Yes there are a few good American professional sports rivalries like Yankees-Red Sox or Browns-Steelers but they still pale in comparison to the best collegiate rivalries. Yankees-Red Sox regular season encounters are so meaningful, that they determine which team will go into the postseason as the division champion and which will be labeled the Wild Card.

I can understand if you prefer Auburn-Alabama (people there are [censored] obsessed with this game) or UNC-Duke basketball. But to suggest an MLB or NFL matchup is the greatest rivalry is absurd.

[Iplayboard]

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I thought The Rivalry was Army-Navy

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What was it like to have lived during the '40's?

[Senor Cardgage]

Yeah, as a college football fan, OSU-UM is probably the biggest overall rivalry to me.

I'm curious what people consider the biggest rivalry for their specific team- for me (a Tennessee fan), the Florida game is easily the biggest of the year. We've been losing more often than not, but it's still a great f'in game.

What about Florida fans- who do you consider your biggest rival? UT, FSU, somebody else?

[damaniac]

Muresan, obviously I wasn't implying that BosNY fans are consciously trying to hijack every non-BosNY thread. More a commentary on the speed with which a thread about a Midwestern college rivalry and TV show turned into some sort of BosNY pissing match despite a somewhat limited connection. Hyperbole, sarcasm, etc.

[MuresanForMVP]

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Muresan, obviously I wasn't implying that BosNY fans are consciously trying to hijack every non-BosNY thread. More a commentary on the speed with which a thread about a Midwestern college rivalry and TV show turned into some sort of BosNY pissing match despite a somewhat limited connection. Hyperbole, sarcasm, etc.

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K

[TomCollins]

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as a student at OSU, this rivalry really is all its cracked up to be

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just a thought, but could it be because you're a student at OSU that the rivalry is all it's cracked up to be? I'm from UMD, and I've been to games (and victories) against Duke (in basketball). Of course I'm gonna say "this rivalry's all it's cracked up to be" but that's definitely a biased opinion. But I would take getting swept by Duke on the season if it meant winning a national title 100 times out of 100. And though it doesn't quite have the history of UNC-Duke, UMD-Duke has definitely been the best college basketball rivalry of recent years.

Jgunnip-how can you honestly say that losing to a team during the season but winning the title is winning the battle but losing the war? that is completely irrational. The war is to win the championship. Maybe it's the fact that they play only once instead of a number of series like NY and Bos, but still I just dont understand how you can honestly tell me you'd rather win a game during the reg. season over winning it all.

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The rivalry is that important. I agree, I would rather beat Michigan than win a National Title. A loss to Michigan with a National Title is a huge * next to it.

You have to remember this whole national title business is relatively new for the Big 10 to even care about. It was all about getting to the Rose Bowl, winning the conference championship, and beating Michigan.

[smk67]

My freshman year at tOSU was great. It was 1998, the Buckeyes had been the number 1 team for half the season before losing to MSU 28-24 at home. We got UM at home, 9-1 going in with the hopes of playing for a NC (the first year of the BCS). The week of the Game was nothing but drinking, football talk, and hating on UM. Thursday night, a lot of people from my floor were drinking when we heard chants approaching. We look out the window to find thousands of students cheering and singing Michigan hate songs. So we join up and end up going all over campus gathering as many people as we could. It all leads to a small lake on campus where everyone is jumping in, its like 40 degrees out! So I'm not that kind of fan, but it was just an amazing thing to take in. People had UM stuff they were burning and tearing up. One group ripped up a jersey and used it to wipe the ass of the statue of William Oxley Thompson, a former tOSU president. This type of stuff is what the entire week was like, outside of some other more useful activities like the OSU-UM blood drive, shoe drive for homeless, and other 'good' causes.

That week was so much fun and I looked forward to it for the next three years. In fact, my junior year was tough because my dad had open-heart surgery the day before the game. I went home until he was in ICU before leaving home to go back to OSU - at his demand! That year was first chance I had to go to the Game and remains the only UM-OSU game I have been to.

Then of course there are the parties on Friday night before the game. In 1998, they busted a 60 kegger apartment complex party Friday before the Game. Literally, every other house was having keggers and everyone just went from one to the next. What makes this rivalary so big in my opinion is just how much this one game matters. I don't want to spew stats, but so often the big 10 comes down to the Game! There are no do-overs, no 3-game series like in baseball, one and only one chance! Win it and you get to brag for a year and the chance to play in a big bowl game. Lose it and you wait one year for redemption.

[TomCollins]

The interesting difference about the Auburn-Alabama game is the mix of Alabama/Auburn fans within the state. You get the entire "brother against brother" feel. My cousin is a huge Auburn fan, and a lot of his friends are Alabama fans. You really get mixed into it and interact a lot.

The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is a lot more "foreign". You aren't around Michigan fans very often, especially in Columbus. The entire city can be biased towards Ohio State and really drive towards supporting that one team. It gives the whole us-against-them feel, where Auburn-Alabama is more brother-against-brother. Don't get me wrong, thats definitely a great rivalry, but just different in a lot of reasons.

BTW- Michigan fans- do you "root for the conference" to do well, including rooting for Ohio State fans? I've noticed a lot of lame Ohio State fans starting to root for you guys on out of conference games and it pisses me off to no end. I would rather Michigan lose every game than root for them. However, I actually tend to pull for Michigan against Notre Dame. When we were watching the Appy State game, about 3/4 of the bar was rooting against Michigan, and about 1/4 was rooting for them (all OSU fans). Lame. I hope you guys root against us too.

[damaniac]

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BTW- Michigan fans- do you "root for the conference" to do well, including rooting for Ohio State fans? I've noticed a lot of lame Ohio State fans starting to root for you guys on out of conference games and it pisses me off to no end. I would rather Michigan lose every game than root for them. However, I actually tend to pull for Michigan against Notre Dame. When we were watching the Appy State game, about 3/4 of the bar was rooting against Michigan, and about 1/4 was rooting for them (all OSU fans). Lame. I hope you guys root against us too.

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It's weird. I want you to be 11-0 when we play to build up the significance, but I also want you to lose every individual game. Unless you're playing Notre Dame...I root for everyone over the Irish, mostly b/c of NDNation.

That conference thing is weird though. I'd bet it's a newer thing based on the Internet (and hence many more debates about whose conference is better) and the BCS/MNC mattering more since, as you pointed out, caring about national titles is very new. The 97 Michigan team's goal was the Big Ten Title and the Rose Bowl, for example. But I almost always root for everyone in the B10 in bowl games, including OSU. It feels dirty but that's what it's come to.

[Riverman]

Obviously fans will think the game they care about the most is the best rivalry. That said, I care alot about alot of teams and nothing comes close to The Game. I've been to every one since I was 6, and I will not break that streak until I die.

Also, I think it's pretty clear that Lloyd and Tressel don't like each other. But neither is the kind of guy who would ever publicly disparage the other.