OT: Beilein now referring to OSU as 'Ohio' as well

Submitted by beenplumb on

Via Detroit News:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120130/SPORTS0201/201300408/1131/sports0201/Michigan-coach-John-Beilein-calling-Buckeyes-Ohio-now-too

"We have received no direction in those areas, none," Beilein said during the Big Ten coaches teleconference. "No direction from anyone; we just adopted it. There's just some uniformity with what Brady has done."

San Diego Mick

January 31st, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

I predicted back a couple weeks after Hoke was hired and hearing him being interviewed and entertained by his general attitude and persona that people would start mimicking him, which is a true form of adoration and respect and down right likability.

In a nutshell, we got a hell of guy leading our program from so many different aspects like coaching, recruiting, motivating, etc.

glewe

January 31st, 2012 at 6:36 PM ^

It's a branding technique. Dave Brandon is instituting a lot of things to formulate the "Michigan brand." It's all about marketing. The more unique our rivalries, the more unique our brand. The more appeal to recruits. The better teams, and then the better games. Better games and higher stakes means more money.

Gatekeeper

January 31st, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^

Meanwhile, I just stopped and am just referring to them as Ohio State or OSU again. Calling them anything else just gives them extra attention that they don't deserve.

DrewGOBLUE

January 31st, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^

I'm sure everyone has heard certain NFL players introduce themselves as being from "THE Ohio State University" in which they are overly emphasizing the word "the." It's really obnoxious as are just about all OSU fans so referring to them simply as Ohio is a good way to sort of put them in their place.

A2BeerLover

January 31st, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^

We should probably just call them Columbus to be more specific about their location.  All the Bobcats in Athens will live with a lot less anxiety of being constantly hated by a fanbase they rarely encounter in athletics.  Though phrases like "Fuck Columbus" or  "I hate Columbus" might stir up some serious heat from the Italian population.

 

 

I don't want to see them at a tailgate.  Do you?

Aziraphale

January 31st, 2012 at 3:32 PM ^

(Full disclosure: I am an OSU fan. I promise not to bite.)

I do get what Michigan fans are going for with "Ohio". It shows disdain, and "Ohio" is a way to support Brady Hoke by adopting a quirk of his. Those are sufficient reasons to use it, but the idea that it drives us up a wall because we're irrationally insane (er, about this, anyway) is overstated. The comparison I'd draw is Texas A&M fans using "tu" and "teasips" to refer to Texas. Texas fans recognize it's a slight but don't really mind and think it's just their rivals being weird and all that. Goodness knows we've got our own weird terms (TTUN, M*ch*g*n, etc.) we use that you think less of us for; "Ohio" is another one of those terms. Also, we feel bad for Ohio U.

In summary, there's always a bat-guano 2% that takes offense to every slight ever, but I don't think "Ohio" is a big deal to most of us.

jmblue

January 31st, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^

FWIW, I don't even see the "Ohio" thing as a slap in the face to OSU; I just see it as giving the rivalry elevated importance - it means so much to Hoke that he can't say the whole name.  Likewise, I've never minded all the "That School Up North" stuff. 

OTOH, I find "scUM," "O$U" and the like to be a little juvenile.

blueloosh

January 31st, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^

I noticed that and I love it.  I don't see "Ohio" as disrespectful.  It is just a more efficient way of referring to the school, since there is no confusion about whether our coaches mean Ohio State or Ohio U.  I think more than anything it shows familiarity with OSU, almost like being on a first-name basis.  It is totally different from something stupid like "that school down south."

Wolvercane

January 31st, 2012 at 1:25 PM ^

And I absolutely refuse to make a new tread about Ohio recruiting and Meyer, as there has already been too many of them, here is this:

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2012/01/29/0129-doubt-surrou…

My question about his article, if it is about his "test scores", then why is he looking at other D-I programs (Bowling Green, Ohio (NTO), and Marshall)? Assuming it is about "test scores", then he would not be able to qualify at any of those other schools. To me this is really sounding like the SEC has indeed invaded the Big 10. 

Mr. Yost

January 31st, 2012 at 3:09 PM ^

I still feel think SOME people see Beilein as an outsider...he doesn't get the Michigan Man tag like Coach Hoke.

I spoke with him directly about a year ago and he shocked me in how committed he was to Michigan. He didn't give me a PC answer when we were talking about his future...he said flat out, "Ann Arbor is my home, if I'm fortunate enough to retire here - I will, this is the last stop for me."

We swung and missed BIG TIME with Coach Rod, but Coach Beilein is certainly someone who is going to represent the University of Michigan with class and honor. He's maize and blue until the very end. I love that the Ohio rivalry is getting to him...obviously Michigan State was most important on his agenda like Ohio was most important on Hoke's. Now that they've each knocked out those demons...it's time to go win MULTIPLE B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS!

bluecanuck

January 31st, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^

There are two important differences between RR and Beilein.  1) Expectations for basketball were so low when Amaker was fired that Beilein got to operate with relative immunity and a bit out of the spotlight at first.  RR was thrust into the highest profile post at Michigan, meaning that he had less time and a shorter leash.  2) Relatedly, his level of success in relation to the basketball baseline (at least of late) was much better than RR's.  This has to do both with the fact that he has won and bball recently has not.  RR, on the other hand, well.. we all know how that turned out.

 

What's my point?  Winning fixes anything.  Beilein doesn't go around spouting Michiganisms and pointing (gloriously, I might add) but he wins, and because of that no one cares about it.  RR didn't win, so people did care that he wasn't a Michigan Man.  That's it, plain and simple.

CRISPed in the DIAG

January 31st, 2012 at 2:45 PM ^

I don't care whether the "Ohio" reference bothers their fans.  There was something absolutely tribal about 100,000 people yelling "BEAT O-HI-O" near the end of the Nebraska and OSU games.

JustGoBlue

January 31st, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^

Maybe it was just a typo, but...

[Red Berenson] On Shawn Hunwick's play this weekend ... "He had a good weekend obviously. I didn't think he had as many chances late in the game, but there were parts of the game where he had to be sharp. I think he gives our team a lot of confidence and he's playing rock solid right now. He came out of this weekend with only one goal against and you've got to be playing well to do that against a team like OHIO [emphasis added]."  http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-hockey/recaps/011512aak.html

Was one of Red's quotes after the Frozen Diamond Face-off.  Maybe it was just a one time thing at the end of the statement, maybe it was transcripted wrong and he definitely uses "Ohio State" most of the time, but when I first read that 2 weeks ago it stood out to me enough for me to remember it now.

jmdblue

January 31st, 2012 at 3:23 PM ^

It's perfect.  Simple.  Easily repeatable.  And with no effort at all on our part it will never....ever stop irritating them to the point of cooler pooping.   It's even better than calling Sparty "Sparty" or ending Notre with an "er" sound rather than their preferred "tra". 

LSAClassOf2000

January 31st, 2012 at 4:42 PM ^

....in  which "Ohio" is contagious. Awesome move by Beilein and I like the unity starting to show across varsity sports. It is a testament to how transformative Brady Hoke's presence in Ann Arbor has been, and I like it personally.