Until yesterday, this concert poster would have been just another novelty in the run-up to today’s Ohio State- Michigan game. For the first time in this rivalry’s 103-year history, the Buckeyes and Wolverines are meeting as the #1 and #2 teams in the country…and yes, I’m looking forward to the game as much as anyone else. She Who Endures My Myriad Eccentricities has already been put on notice that as of 2.30 this afternoon, Life As We Know It will come to a halt for about 3 hours.
The true irony of a band called “The Dead Schembechlers” is that, as of yesterday morning, Bo Schembechler actually is dead. There’s a certain symmetry, and no lack of irony, to Schembechler dying on the eve of one of the biggest games in each school’s football history. His passing certainly casts a pall over the game; Schemebechler was part and parcel of so much of the recent history of the OSU-Michigan football rivalry that he will deservedly be remembered by those attending the game and those watching it on television.
Schembechler’s passing serves as a reminder that so much of the history and tradition of the games we place rests on the legacies of the people and personalities involved. When you think of OSU-Michigan, what’s the first thing you think of? For most of us, it’s Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, both icons representative of a time and place that exists only in our memory banks. The fact that so many people have so many fond memories of both Hayes and Schembechler says a lot about who we are and what we cherish.
Bo Schembechler, at least in my mind, stood for so many things that seem much harder to come by today- strength of character, loyalty, the willingness to do the hard and dirty work it takes to be successful- and though I’ve never been a Michigan fan, it was difficult to dislike what Schembechler symbolized.
Growing up in Minnesota, I dreamed of playing quarterback at the “U”. The problem was that the Gophers were always HORRIBLE. Virtually every year, one could count on the Gophers giving up 50-60 points to both OSU and Michigan, and that they’d look like a Division III team in doing so. How Tony Dungy survived his years as a Minnesota QB is diffiucult to fathom. Michigan (and OSU) displayed the sort of superior talent, relentless dominance, and killer instinct that Minnesota football has never been known for- and likely never will be. Tradition will do that, I suppose.
Today’s game will be special, and not just because of what happens on the field. A little bit of history has passed from the arena, and those of us who love sports and the drama inherent in it are poorer for it. Nonetheless, the game will be played because the game must be played. Life, as it must, goes on.
