Saturday, November 30, 2013

Ohio State versus Michigan - History of Rivalry

image source: runnerspace.com

Some of my favorite team rivalries include:
  • San Francisco Giants versus Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball)
  • North Carolina Tar Heels versus Duke Blue Devils (basketball)
  • Alabama Crimson Tide versus Auburn Tigers (football)
  • USC Trojans versus UCLA Bruins (football)
  • Oklahoma Sooners versus Nebraska Cornhuskers (football)
  • New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox (baseball)
But for me, what separates rivalries above all others:
Ohio State Buckeyes versus Michigan Wolverines.

Why? It began for me as a 9-year old growing up in Columbus, Ohio. Woody Hayes was the Ohio State coach. His former assistant coach, Bo Schembechler was the Michigan coach.

As Wikipedia describes it:
"The Ten Year War is the informal nickname given to the series of college football games in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, played between 1969 and 1978. This series of games pitted coaches Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan against each other in classic teacher-versus-student matchups. In most contests, the Big Ten conference championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl were at stake, and in some cases, a possible national championship."

It became the subject of a 2007 HBO documentary. See for yourself:



Wow, oh wow. This year's game, another one right down to the end. Ohio State 42, Michigan 41.

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