Big Game Preview

The college football world turns its eyes to Columbus, Ohio this weekend for one of the biggest regular season games in history. Not only is this clash of the titans between the two best teams in the country, it will give the winner a HUGE leg up in the race for the national title (they'll probably face a different, but worse team in the BCS Title Game) but even prior to this Ohio State-Michigan is the most bitter rivalry in college football, and possibly all of sports. To help understand better I asked two Poopheads with a vested interest in this matchup to give their perspectives.

First we get the view from Ann Arbor from Focks, a proud Michigan graduate:

"November 22, 1997...The Best Day In My Life...Michigan v. ohio state....Charles Woodson v. David Boston.

The rivalry between my Michigan Wolverines and the ohio state buckeyes (note: i will never use capital letters for that school) is the most intense rivalry in the country. To date, Michigan leads the overall series 57-39-6, which in my eyes is total domination. The hatred that I feel toward this subpar university is like no other. I hate the color red, I hate horseshoes and I hate people named Woody, Jim and Troy.
As a student from 1996-2000, I received a top 25 education from this Ann Arbor paradise. On November 22, my life entered a maize and blue heaven. On this day, Michigan muscled ohio shit 20-14 and Heisman Trophy Winner Charles Woodson beat up the obnoxious and probably steroid-injected David Boston.



On this day, I rushed the field (normally outlawed at the Big House) and felt the perfectly manicured grass as I ran among thousands of Wolverines with a rose in my mouth.



The number '1' is something all Michigan Wolverines expect; anything less is a failure. We have the largest stadium in the country. We have the most wins and highest winning percentage in the history of college football. We also have the best uniform (voted #1 by espn, msnbc, etc.) Therefore, this saturday at 3:30pm, the rest of the world will see the Wolverines become #1 once again.

The overrated Troy Smith will face the most dominant defense in the country. Antonio Pittman will cry when he gets gang-tackled by future NFLers Lamar Woodley, Alan Branch and David Harris. Ginn Jr will get harassed by future first-round pick Leon Hall. I hope ohio shit has been practicing on nintendo because Super Mario Manningham is going to exploit the osu secondary with his big-play potential. Of course, Henne and Hart will continue their superb play and pick apart the opponent.
The country is about to find out why Michigan is the best college football team in the country. Sorry ohio state, but once again, we will knock you from your fraudulent pre-season ranking.

Hail to the victors!

PS - Poor Maurice Clarett...his stay in prison hopefully won't be too long as he will always be the face of the osu program."



On the other side of the rivalry we have Pizza Parlor Derek. He went to Syracuse but visited The Ohio State University several times because his brother, Pizza Parlor Daren went there and now resides in Columbus. Read about his latest trip at the Pizza Parlor. PPD offers his view from the Columbus perspective:
"Two insurance companies in Columbus use similar strategies to send their message to prospective clients.

A billboard on High Street for State Farm urges Ohioans to call State Farm “In Case you Hit a Wolverine”.

Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance has billboards throughout Columbus with the names of the Buckeyes’ 2006 opponents crossed out in red each week under their national slogan “Life Comes at You Fast”.

T-Shirts with the words “Fuck Michigan” and “Ann Arbor is a Whore” which have been sold by private vendors at games for years are selling faster than they can be stocked this year.





The best rivalries are those in which a fanbase’s hatred of their teams rival is an equal part of their identity as their love of their own team. While Boston Red Sox fans may beg to differ, Ohioans hatred for “that school up North” might be unparalleled anywhere in the country, in any sport.



Although when I visited there two weeks ago, I noticed something unusual. Tailgaters in Columbus watching the Michigan-Northwestern game (a surprisingly defensive and close one), quietly rooting for Michigan. You see, in a year where many national football powerhouses are rebuilding and the best seasons are coming from the seemingly inferior Big East, Buckeye fans feel they follow the only great team in college football this year. Beating Michigan is almost a foregone conclusion and one Buckeye fans are relishing, as we get closer and closer to game day. The better the Wolverines record and ranking, the sweeter the victory will be. I don’t think any resident of Columbus has given serious thought to the possibility of Ohio State losing this game.

And let’s hope they don’t, or the insurance companies in Columbus may have more business than they can handle."


And here's my take:
I've visted Columbus two times, and hope to go back at least once in 2007. I loved the campus and the atmosphere both times. So I say "Go Bucks!"