A tradition that never gets old!
This weekend past was the ‘game’, which apparently was not only a game but also a great opportunity for research on human behavior (“studying the big game”). The game is the annual college football match between The Ohio State ‘Buckeyes’ and The University of Michigan ‘Wolverines’. The rivalry has dated back to 1897 and there have been 106 meetings total between the two teams. The University of Michigan has an edge overall with 57 to 43 wins but in recent years Ohio State has been the stronger of the two teams with a run of 6 victories in a row. This weekend they got the sixth win with a 21-10 score line in Ann Arbor, MI to leave the team 10-2 on the season and heading to a big bowl game in Pasadena CA in January known as the Rose Bowl.
The rivalry has a range of traditions such as jumping in Mirror Lake on the OSU campus on the Thursday night before the game (where did the jumping tradition came from?), usually in some very cold temperatures leading to a range of illnesses….. The scene on a Thursday night is something that everyone should experience, jumping into questionable water quality in sub zero temperatures, I’m not so sure……
The game also allows for a range of charitable organizations to benefit, with a run for cancer occurring between the two universities and also a blood battle to see which university can gain the most donations playing a role in stocking local hospitals blood supplies. It is also the last game of the intense football season and everyone’s attention on campus focuses on it with a range of events occurring.
This year the football team has had a good year - one poor performance against big ten rival Purdue and a tough loss against University of Southern California has meant they do not get to go for a national championship title. It does mean however that the team won a Big Ten title and the team has improved as the season has gone on and the campus is excited for next season already. The only problem is that the season doesn’t start until August of next year!
As I write this blog, I need to acknowledge my sports advisor Ed, a big contributor for this blog and without whom I would not have any idea of what is football or its rules so ever :)