By Mark Buckets (Not Buck-eyes)
As my colleague has stated in a previous post, this blog is all about basketball, so we usually just talk about - guess what - basketball. Rarely do we delve into the world of college football.
But while studying online game film and scouring morning editions of newspapers across the nation, an HBO program documenting the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry that was beaming on my television caught my eye. So I turned off the projector and turned my attention to the tube.
As a Duke fan, I know a few things about integral rivalries.
However, there is nothing - I'll say it again - NOTHING like the Michigan-Ohio State game.
From Bo's arrival to Woody's upheaval, there isn't a rivalry in sports that matches the punch-by-punch storylines that "The Big Game" offers.
For a Duke supporter, this might come across as sacrilege. But not even the Duke - North Carolina rivalry in basketball can compare to Michigan - Ohio State football rivalry. I know, you may be thinking, "who forms an opinion on a rivalry based off of an HBO documentary?"
I am from the midwest, so I didn't need a documentary to educate me as to the importance of this game. Michigan - Ohio State is as big as it gets. Sure, a few folks in the state of Alabama might object to that, but there's a general understanding that this is must-see live theater. And even with the litany of intriguing storylineson the field, there are equally as many off of it.
This long-standing rivalry isn't simply all about the game.
It even extends to what past graduates have done in and out of the classroom.
Names of past graduates are eye-popping. From Mike Wallace of 60 minutes (U of M class of '39), to writer R.L. Stine (OSU class of '69), these two schools alumni bases boast some of America's most influential public figures (and I didn't even get around to mentioning Michigan alum and football great Gerald Ford, who - even some Ohio State fans will know - was the 38th president of the United States).
So, as you tune into ABC at high noon on Saturday (or as they call it now, ESPN on ABC), remember that this contest is more than just a game. It sounds cliche, but this rivalry lives up to that moniker.
And after all that build up, you're probably expecting a prediction.
Well, we usually don't make predictions around here, but ...
Bucks win 31-24
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3 comments:
You're right. Ohio State v. Michigan is unparalleled in terms of college football rivalries (I don't care what Auburn and Alabama fans say about how great their rivalry is, nor do I care what Texas and Texas A&M fans say about theirs - and my family is filled with alums of the latter two schools).
Since you listed some prominent alumni of UM & OSU, I'm sort of surprised that you didn't mention the many Heisman Trophy winners who have played for both schools. Hell, Desmond Howard (UM), Eddie George (OSU), Charles Woodson (UM) and Troy Smith (OSU) are all Heismann winners of fairly recent vintage - and no discussion of the Michigan V. Ohio State rivalry is complete without a mention of Ohio State's Archie Griffin (a two time Heisman winner).
And no discussion of the UM, OSU rivalry should be devoid of a Maurice Clarett mug shot - take your pick, there are several.
Since you're doing predictions now, could you tell me if I have more than a snowball's chance in Hell at getting the Democratic nomination? I asked the gray aliens the last time I was on board one of their UFO's, but they wouldn't tell me anything -- other than to bend over so that they could give me one of their painful anal probes. And I asked my friend Shirly McClain because she has ESP and other psychic powers - especially when psilocybin mushrooms are involved - but I just don't know if I can trust anything she says.
So please help me out if you can. Throw me a freakin bone, if you will. Do I have a chance?
Somebody told me you're doin' predictions. Well I want to know if yall think I'm gunna be aquitted or if I'm gunna get locked up.
What do yall think my chances are?
I'm totally innocent. I didn't take no mutherfuckin stereroids. I had no idea that somebody put that nandrolone shit in my flaxseed oil. And when I took all that HGH, I thought it was health food or some shit. That's what they told me. I don't know nothin and I didn't do do nothin. It wasn't me.
So what do yall think? Should I cut a deal with the prosecutors, or should I fight this thing out? Remember, I am innocent. I didn't do nothin wrong. It wasn't me.
Also, what are the chances that my head is gunna stop growin? It's getting too damn hard to find a hat that will fit my muthafuckin head anymore ... cause my damn head just keeps on growin'!
It's gotten so bad that I've had to throw a lot of my older hats out. I mean, Just last Sunday I had to throw away my favorite Ohio State hat cause it wouldn't fit anymore.
Help a brotha out.
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