Yeah we'll you cant see too well, in many places college football is passion. The fans are much more dedicaed and you dont see empty seats or people beating traffic or people showing up late due to their tailgates. You obviously dont know much of the general public very well.
The fan environment at RU/Louisville beat any of the 100+ Jet games I've attended, including a couple division clinchers and playoff games.
you're right about the blowout part. but if Michigan wins by a FG - or even less - I don't think there'll be a rematch. Ohio St. would be hard-pressed to make a case for a rematch after losing so late in the season in their own house. now, if Michigan loses by a FG (or less), and the other one-loss teams loose, then there may be a rematch because it'll be played on a neutral field. i don't agree with it, because I think - in that scenario - Rutgers should play if they run the table. bottom line: of course this game is huge, but this weekend and next are just as huge for the BCS Bowls and Title game. cheers
To the fans.. Not the players... If a player starts all 4 years he is in school, he will still only get to play the team 4 times (maybe one or two more if they meet in a bowl game).... Barring a HUGE game among those four, that is not enough to build a hatred. Even if you play a team and hate them your freshman year, most of the players who you were angry at are gone the next year or the year after....
Speaking of great matchups, I'm going to see LSU and the Razorbacks the day after Thanksgiving in Little Rock. TBTF
You're just wrong. The players for tOSU and Michigan care very deeply about this game. Why else would the alums of those schools that play for the Jets be making bets on the game? A couple of things you should know about "The Game". --Tressell has a clock in the athletic complex that counts down the days and hours until the Michigan game. Immediatly following each game against Michigan it is reset for the next year and counts down all year. --Many of the players from Michigan are from Ohio and want to beat tOSU to show that the Buckeyes should have recruited them more heavily. Because of the large number of Ohio kids on both teams they know each other from High School sometimes. Not only that if they're from either state they've grown up with the tradition of the rivalry and been fans of one or the other school their whole lives. --I had dinner the night before the 04 Michigan game with Buckeye players from the 60s and 70s and they still hated Michigan. --Buckeye players who are on the team when they beat Michigan get a charm that is a pair of gold pants that have the score of the game engraved on them. --Either team -- even in a year other than this year -- bases their whole season on the outcome of the game. If one of the team is average and they upset the other it makes the whole season. This rivalry and others like it is intensly felt by both the players and the fans. Trust me the players care a good deal more than most pro-players care about beating their rivals.
There are also many bandwagon jumpers. I know many people who have a favorite college team even though they have no connection to the school.
