I cover the Buckeyes for a living and write about Ohio State just about 365 days a year. I’m not the hardest working guy on the beat. I know that. I work as hard as I choose to. That being said, I always felt like I had a pretty good feel for the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. At least until Wednesday, that is.
It was on Wednesday that my whole perspective of this rivalry changed, and in a time where we are growing more divisive as a society by the day, it brought true joy to my heart.
Former Buckeye All-American Kirk Barton tweeted out the picture above yesterday. It is a piece of Michigan recruiting material featuring current UM offensive line coach Ed Warinner and a handful of the players he sent to the NFL in his time at Ohio State.
So often those of us on the outside never truly know what is happening on the inside, and when we learn how wrong we are, we can be taken aback.
Even as I type this, I am still floating on the hope that this gives all of us.
Here is the University of Michigan touting their new offensive line coach, but in the same material they are essentially saying, “But if Ed Warinner is not your thing, you can go to Ohio State and they will put you in the NFL.”
This isn’t dogs and cats living together. It’s dogs and cats inventing clean energy, and then inviting everyone over for a pool party.
This is Michigan saying that they may not be for everyone, but if the NFL is your ultimate goal, there is always Ohio State.
There are olive branches and then there are olive branches. This is the latter. Hell, it’s an entire olive tree.
Now if we can just get Ohio State to follow suit, assuming they find something that Michigan can do for a player that they can’t, of course.
But what a statement by the Wolverines. If this is the future of college football, imagine how it could change society as we know it.
As I look out my window right now, the rain is falling in Columbus, but the sun is shining in my heart.
This is right up there with Rocky’s speech after he beat Drago. In fact, it’s bigger, because this is real life, and this is Michigan saying, “Hey guys, look at what Ohio State has done over the last few years. Isn’t that great? It would be awesome if we could tout something similar, but we can’t, and anyway, that’s not important right now. What is important is that there are always options and you should know that.”
Michigan is basically Flo from Progressive. They may not have the best price for you, but they’ll let you know who does.
If that doesn’t make you smile, then you are a petty, heartless monster.
Yeah, sports can be competitive, and rivalries can be vicious, but we should all take a minute to appreciate that Michigan is saying that there are more important things than rivalries. The most important thing in college football is the players, and they should have all of the information schools can give them.
Writing this, I keep wondering if this has lessened my love of this rivalry, and I don’t think it has. It has only made me love it more. The players always talk about having respect for the rivalry and the opponents, and I guess I just never truly understood what that meant. Now, however, I get it.
Having a rivalry doesn’t just mean hating your rival, it can sometimes mean loving your rival. Even if that love is unrequited.
Michigan has taken the first step in making the world a friendlier place, and I will happily applaud them for it.
It’s not every day that a school gushes about the benefits of going to another school, but that’s why Michigan is the leader and best, and everybody else is just fighting for second place.