Why do you think Ohio hates us?

Submitted by WindyCityBlue on

As a corollary to the "why do you hate Ohio?" thread, I thought I would visit the reasons why you think they hate us. I think its an interesting topic because of how much their hatred of us has changed in past couple decades. 

Some background: I have observed the shades of hatred my whole life.  My parents are from Cleveland and are OSU fans (yuck).  Also, I have had several family members attend OSU.  I have spent many holidays in Ohio watching the "hatred" not just in my family, but also with general OSU fans in Cleveland.

Late 80 and all of 90s:   They just straight up hated us.  The ire was deeply rooted and very personal.  Being a Michigan fan was actually dangerous in certain parts of Cleveland.  Going to Columbus was just plain miserable regardless of the game outcome. 

Early 2000s to present:  The hatred transformed to pity.  As much as want to try to rile up my OSU family for the game, they just don't care much anymore.  My family actually calls it 'The Scrimmage".   Wearing Michigan gear in Cleveland doesn't get the "Go Bucks" like it used to.  They are only pissed at Michigan these days for making the B10 look weak.

What's interesting is that I find that we are now more like OSU fans of the 90s.  While I don't think we are as bad as they were, I think the perceived gloomy future may compound our OSU hatred to classless levels.   

Thoughts??    

MMB95

November 27th, 2013 at 7:58 AM ^

This.  Which I think is also the case with MSU.  I remember a guy in my high school who was all pro-Michigan, then got rejected and ended up getting admitted to OSU.  From that point on all he did was rag on Michigan and wear OSU stuff every day.  Totally obvious in that case where the motivation came from. 

NiMRODPi

November 26th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^

Because U of M is a far superior University but OSU is all they have so they ride that shit hard. Even our more mellow fandom pisses them off, which they accurately recognize as the attitude of someone who actually has more important shit to do.

JeepinBen

November 26th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^

Maybe not every year on the football field, but in general. Michigan is a better academic institution. We've won 55 National Championships across all sports. They're one of only 4 schools to win Football/Basketball/Baseball National Titles. We have too. And we've won Hockey for good measure. Harvard is the "Michigan of the East". Ohio (the state) is the Florida (the state) of the midwest. Not to mention their whole existence is based on Michigan.

We taught them how to spell their script Ohio, and even how to play football. Huge parts of their economy (steel and cars) are Michigan driven (pun intended).

It's not Michigan Arrogance when it's true.

 

Series record Michigan leads, 58–44–6

 

I Have A Gnarly Face

November 26th, 2013 at 1:34 PM ^

Obviously it's good that we lead the series, but they have owned Michigan since 2001. I, for one, am sick of our using the overall series record to say we're better than they are. We need to start winning a hell of a lot more. I don't think it's too much to ask for to (on average) split every decade 50/50.

Erik_in_Dayton

November 26th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^

But you're right in that there is a lot of pity now too.  I can't imagine that 13 year old OSU fans hate Michigan the way older people do.  They've never seen Michigan as a threat.  To them, Michigan is more of a dog that's fun to kick. 

I'm sure there are various levels of dislike due to Michigan's academic superiority, but I don't believe most OSU fans think a lot about that.

UFM

November 26th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^

I think i speak for most OSU fans when i say that i love The Game.  I respect the rivalry and the lore.  And i know about all the great games in the past.  But our recent dominance in the rivalry (over the last decade or so) has withered down the "hate" or whatever you call it against you.

The target of our ire is the SEC in general (and in particular Alabama, because they're the best). 

Best of luck this Saturday.  You'll need it.

buckeyejonross

November 26th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^

I will only speak for myself, not my fanbase's lunatic fringe (Or lunatic majority?) but I hate Michigan because I'm supposed to. Your my team's No. 1 rival. I have to hate you. I don't really hate your fans, only when they say dumb things, but that's true of any fanbase. I don't hate your players outside of the fact they play for Michigan. Taylor Lewan acts like a douche sometimes, but that's not because he goes to Michigan, he would act the same way if he went to Texas A&M or something.

I can assure I don't hate you because your school is ranked higher, that is 100% irrelevant to my degree and where I attend graduate school, and more importantly, my football team. OSU is closer to you, than you are to Harvard, and you're the Harvard of the West! I guess we can be the Yale of the West. So it's whatever. This is a football game after all.

I don't hate your helmet, and your home uniforms are beautiful. I hate that you used to beat our ass in the 90s. I am petty and jealous and hate what I can't conquer. I'm from Pittsburgh, so the Patriots are my No. 1 sports villian, strictly because they ruined my childhood twice. Michigan has never really caused me any problems in my lifetime (I'm 23). I love that you hate us equally. I love that we hate each other. I love that I watch more Michigan games than any other team combined because I want to fuel the hate. I love that you're always there to hate. It's secure. I hate you because you're Michigan. We're Ohio State. It's not personal. You're probably all good people. But your football team suuuuuuuucks and I hate them.

Good luck this weekend. I love this week. I hate you. Go Buckeyes.

BlueDragon

November 26th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^

Inertia, and there isn't much else to do in Ohio besides go to the mall and enjoy entirely manufactured American culture. But hey, clean water and low cost of living.

Everyone Murders

November 26th, 2013 at 2:05 PM ^

 Our fans wear white in winter:

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Welding Engineer

November 26th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^

Cooper

 

For people like me who attended OSU during the Cooper years and watched TTUN ruin multiple seasons it's only natural.  We can only hate on Coop so much, TTUN takes the rest.

Wolverine 73

November 26th, 2013 at 2:26 PM ^

This was always an intense rivalry.  When Hayes was hired at OSU, he noted that a couple fairly recent predecessors had been fired for losing to Michigan.  He became obsessed with not losing the game.  He started calling Michigan "the team up north," refusing to buy fuel in Michigan and generally stoking the passions.  He then ran up the score in 1968, and got his team and a second straight national championship shoved up his ass by Bo in 1969.  This enraged the local populace even more.  Woody certainly never got over it, based on things Bo wrote in his book.  Another thing is jealousy.  I work with a bunch of OSU law grads, and they clearly resent being seen as coming from a second-rate school compared to Michigan--which is how pretty much everyone who did not attend OSU perceives it. 

True Blue Grit

November 26th, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^

The guy may have been a great football coach, but his main legacy to this day is the blind hatred he instilled in the Ohio fanbase for anything to do with Michigan.  He looked at football like all-out, take-no-prisoners warfare instead of a game like it was intended to be.  And Michigan was the STATE he targeted to be "the main enemy" for whatever reason.  Maybe it had something to do with the old border dispute that thankfully left them with Toledo.  And Hayes being a student of history, latched onto that.  I really don't know.  But, whatever the reason, Hayes and his hatred really spurred the rivalry beyond the more good-natured one that it was in the old days.  Bo really responded in kind to Hayes' lead more than anything.  Bo was from Ohio and coached down there for a while before coming to Michigan - so you know the hatred didn't come from him. 

What's sad about the rivalry today is all the inexcusable, ugly behavior exhibited by fans of both sides (mostly OSU ones in Columbus) toward the other side.  Swearing at and spitting on other people are just horrible ways to treat others.  Maybe it's just a symptom of this country's unhealthy view of the importance of sports.  But, I'd like to see fans of both schools show a lot more sportsmanship.

UMxWolverines

November 26th, 2013 at 2:53 PM ^

Almost everyone in Ohio is taught from birth to hate everything Michigan. It's just the way it is. I go to the University of Toledo and there are lots of people from all over Ohio. Even people that don't care about the game itself give me shit for being from Michigan. 

Personally I think more people in Michigan should return the favor. 

erald01

November 26th, 2013 at 2:50 PM ^

They hate Michigan because we are the state they want to be, huge automotive state, huge industry, huge sports fans, no shitty corn fields everywhere, we in Michigan have all our teeth and marry outside of our family :)

LeftCoastBuck

November 26th, 2013 at 5:04 PM ^

Glad to finally understand why Ohioans are so jealous of "Satan's Mitten." But I do have a couple of questions.

If you guys are the captains of the automotive industry, why did the federal government have to bail out 2 of the Big 3? Perhaps you're more like Captain Schettino.

How are things going from an economic perspective in Detroit?

So has Michigan developed any radicially new industries since Henry Ford? Semiconductors? Communication Semiconductors?, Software?

 

Perkis-Size Me

November 26th, 2013 at 3:16 PM ^

When it comes to football, I don't know if they hate us. I think they just pity us at this point. They probably want to hate us, and they want us to be good again. A rivalry isn't any fun if one team just consistently isn't good for a long time. I'm sure a lot of them enjoy kicking our asses even when we have down years, but I know that eventually I'd get bored with it. I'd be begging Michigan to get better so the last game of the year could finally mean something again.



But if they do hate us, it's probably because we still look down on them, consider ourselves to be better, and flaunt our superior education in their faces. OSU is a good school in its own right, but it's not Michigan. And they know it.