During last night's Ohio State at Michigan men's basketball game Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson referenced the rivalry between the two schools. I wondered how much of a rivalry exists. First, we have Roddy Gayle transferring from Ohio State to Michigan Next we have a Michigan starting line-up the consisted of players who transferred in from Illinois, UNC,UAB,Alabama, and UCLA. Next we have Tilley from Santa Clara to OSU , Noel from Wright State to OSU, Cupps from Indiana to OSU, and Johnson from UNC and PSU to OSU.

Do the transfers really feel the rivalry? Would the transfers have joined another team if they had been offered more money than they received at Michigan and Ohio State respectively? I say yes, because the money is more important to them than any rivalry. There is no rivalry for the players.

I think rivalries are a thing of the past except for the fans who have lived and died with rivalries over the course of their fandom. I have been following Ohio State athletics since the days of Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek. I took losses to rival teams and every other team very hard, probably to hard. Sadly, the rivalries are less important to me than they were before the transfer portal and the NIL. It just isn't the same as it once was.