Thoughts about Ohio State vs. Michigan

My beloved Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Michigan on Saturday, 42-39, to win the Big Ten Championship and a trip to the BCS Championship. The game was a classic and I'm looking forward to Ohio State playing in another National Championship.

As a kid growing up in Columbus, I was very naive. I'm showing my age, but I grew up during the "Glory Years" of Ohio State football when Woody Hayes was the head coach, and Big Ten Championships and Rose Bowls were assumed and expected. I honestly believed at one point in my life that every college had a two-time Heisman Trophy winner like Archie Griffin.

It was not until I moved away from Columbus until I realized how special (and crazy at times) it is to be a fan of the Buckeyes. While living in Columbia, Mo. in 1987, I was shocked to not hear the Missouri Tigers game on the radio while in a grocery. I remember asking at the checkout stand why the game was not on the radio and the guy just gave me a long stare. In Columbus, no matter where you are on a football Saturday, the score is always available. I just assumed that everyone else was as crazy about college football as the people in Columbus.

There was a big downer from this past weekend's game. Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler passed away on Friday morning. Even though he coached the "team up north", he was also a Buckeye. He received a Master's degree from Ohio State in 1952, and was an assistant under Hayes from 1958-1962.

When he became the head coach at Michigan, his friendship with Hayes and successful coaching style re-invigorated the rivalry between the two schools. I remember as a kid writing with chalk in the streets in front of our house, "Go Woody - Beat Bo!". He tooked what he learned from Woody and passed it on to Michigan.