Eleven Warriors

There are some that say that this rivalry has lost it's spark.  Somewhere between the Vest's dominance of the Midwest and the miserable RichRod years, the passion and intrigue disappeared..  Screw that noise.

We hate because it's in our blood.  Our fathers hated, their fathers hated, and their fathers before them hated.  Our sons will hate, as will their sons after him (and daughters too, no sexism in hate).  This is hatred that supersedes generation gaps.  Time and change will surly show how firm the hatred remains.

We hate because these states have never been allies.  Ohio and that state up north are the only two states to engage in actual battle with each other (outside the civil war of course).  Each state sent their militia to the border in a territorial battle over the Toledo strip.  Ohio won (though no one was actually killed) and those people up north are still bitter.

We hate because we've known the bitterness of defeat.  Desmond's Heisman pose.  The Cooper years.  Bo's win in '69.  The collapse in '95.  The Snow Bowl.  These loses haunt us to this day.

We hate because we've known the sweetness of victory.  Going for 2 in '68.  The first win in '19. The Woody golden years.  2001.  2002.  The Game of the Century.  7 in a row.  These wins are the greatest in the history of the program.

We hate because we know that this is the greatest rivalry in sports.  My hate is only matched by the hate from the other sideline.  In the same sense that Woody and Bo were actually the best of friends, we realize that our two schools, our two states, or tied together in a way few can possibly comprehend.  We know that no matter what happens in the world, this rivalry will persist in a profound way that defies the decaying effects of time.

We hate because we love it.