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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2009 > November > 20 > Entry
OSU vs. Michigan — A Different Degree of Hate
COLUMBUS — A couple of days ago, Devin Barclay — Ohio State’s new and quite unlikely kicker, a guy who first had a career playing soccer for U.S., national teams and then five years as a pro — made a great point about the fanatical OSU and Michigan football rivalry.
The Bucks and Wolverines will go at it Saturday in Ann Arbor in, what all Buckeye players will tell you, is “the greatest rivalry in college sports.”
They say that distinction comes from longevity of the series, the storied tradition and grand success of both programs and, of course, the intense feelings the two neighboring teams have for each other.
“I know Ohio State and Michigan hate each other, but I think it’s more from a sense of competition,” said Barclay, who may have gone to high school in Maryland, but he knows enough about this scrap to distinguish it from other forms of “hate” he’s seen in his sports career.
“I’ve played qualifying matches in Mexico and I’ve seen how American players get treated there,” he said. “I’ve witnessed what they think of us and they REALLY don’t like us. Fans are not afraid to say anything and some of it would be really offensive to people here.
“FIFA is trying to deal with that stuff, not just there, but in some other places in the world, too, where you get the same kind of racism and racist comments. They really cross the line with some of the stuff they say. It just should never be said. But they say it and and believe it.
“Here, I know the feelings are pretty intense between Ohio State and Michigan, but I watched that documentary about Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and as much as they battled, at the end of the day you could see they really cared about each other. There was a respect.
“That’s the difference here.
“This ‘hate’ is based on competition, but that other is not. That other is pretty evil.”
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By Bob540
November 24, 2009 9:04 AM | Link to this
I agree. Behind all the venom is mutual respect between two schools, football programs and fan bases. The rivalry is diluted when one team or the other is in decline, but it quickly revs back up when both are doing well and “the game” has a lot riding on it. (Don’t know a thing about soccer, except I find it boring and frustrating to watch).