Reposting a column EDSBS did back in 2012 that I love. I love some of the feel of The Game that he captures as an outsider.
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2012/11/26/3692940/blatant-homer...
Maybe that, in the end, is what makes Michigan/Ohio State so titanically death-y, huge, and haunted. There is a straight line connecting each game to the next, and the team, and the silent orders who keep the verse, chapter, and books safe somewhere. There is a continuity, one that says Brady Hoke should wear short sleeves because no, it is not cold, Professor Hayes, and yes, that the PA announcer will say "The school up north" before the game, but refer to Michigan by its proper name when the fight has started.