The Game - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

The Game

After a couple of squeakers this past weekend, the Game is on; Buckeyes vs. Wolverines! Both teams come into the game undefeated for the 20th time in their storied rivalry going back to 1897. Each team has a common goal every season, beat their rival, earn a Big Ten title and a National Championship.

As most of my readers know, being an Ohio native and a Michigan alumnus, I root for both teams throughout the season hoping like this year, they come into the game undefeated. But the one day a year I don’t root for the Buckeye’s is the last Saturday each November.

I’m hoping Michigan wins by a last second field goal, then beats the Big Ten west champion and makes the BCS in the #2 spot playing #3 TCU and the Buckeyes make the #4 spot playing #1 Georgia.. And if both win, we’ll ideally have another rematch! On the other hand, if the Bucks win Saturday, likely the Wolverines will not make the BCS top 4 given their history of being snubbed; I recall the 1973 tie and subsequent Rose Bowl slight like it was yesterday! If we are snubbed, hope we play Alabama and beat the crap out of them!

To commemorate the Game, here’s a past blog from 2017. And be sure to check out my screen saver below for the past year. Go Blue!

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Ten Year War - Bo & Woody

At our family Christmas party this year, my niece’s boyfriend, an OSU grad, when discovering we live in Michigan, asked as an Ohio native if I was a Buckeye fan. My response was that I root for the Buckeyes for 365 days a year. When he realized that 2016 was a leap year, his suspicions were confirmed; I’m a fan of that “school up north”! He asked how and when I switched, and my response was while attending Michigan for my MBA in 1974, but it really started earlier while at General Motors Institute in Flint, MI. on November 22, 1969 in the Big House when the Wolverines, lead by new coach, Ohio native Bo Schembeckler, upset the #1 ranked and defending National Champion Buckeyes 24-12. This Columbus Dispatch article and youtube video about the game say it all! That victory started “The 10 year War" between Bo and Woody commemorated in the superb book with the same title by Joel Pennington. Needless to say, being a Michigan fan has made for some fun and interesting family get-togethers with my rabid OSU-rooting relatives. Check out this previous blog about some of those times.

Eventually our conversation turned to the most recent game and that 4th down spot. He (reluctantly) admitted that the Wolverine’s outplayed the Buckeye’s that day and likely would have won if Michigan’s quarterback was healthy or the game was played at the Big House.

With the greatest rivalry in sport renewed again with coaches Harbaugh and Meyer, Jim and Urban sounds rather congenial compared to Bo & Woody. They need to come up with some nicknames for the current coaches cause Jim and Urban will never make the list of famous football nicknames. Maybe with better nicknames, they'd win a bowl game!

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