'It's the most wonderful time of the year'

Mid-November here in Buckeye Nation and the air has a sharp bite to it. Snow flurries dance against the gray-white sky. Before we even think about making plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, however, another celebration demands our attention.

It's the first day of Beat Michigan Week.

With yesterday's win over Illinois, 11 of 12 games are in the books. OSU fans who bought the pre-season hype and believed the Sports Illustrated cover consider 2008 a disappointing year.

None of that matters -- this is Ohio State-Michigan. This is The Game.

While the Buckeyes enter The Game 9-2 and ranked #10, the Wolverines will drag themselves into The 'Shoe next Saturday with a 3-8 record -- in over a century of playing football, the University of Michigan has never lost as many games in a season. Under new head coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan won't be playing in a bowl game for the first time in over three decades.

None of that matters. This is Ohio State-Michigan. This is The Game.

For those of us who have loved and lived The Game since childhood, every edition of OSU-Michigan is memorable. We understand why it's considered the greatest rivalry in all of sports -- but distinction matters less than tradition.

From Columbus to Ann Arbor, and in countless communities in between, these are the high holy days of our gridiron religion. We tolerate the rest of the season -- in fact, we suffer the rest of the year -- only because each passing day brings us closer to November's most sacred liturgy.

Non-believers will suggest that worshipping a college football game is a relatively trivial pursuit, even misguided, that perhaps Ohioans and Michiganders have more important things to think about. After all, hundreds of thousands of us are out of work and the unemployment line grows longer by the day. Our cities are slashing budgets, venerable companies are closing their doors and our shared auto industry is circling the bowl. Two faraway wars are claiming our sons and daughters.

Here in the Heartland, the tougher the times, the more cherished our traditions. The tighter you squeeze us, the louder we'll cheer for the Scarlet and Gray, the Maize and Blue.

Sure, these are hard days. But for one week, for four hours on a cold November afternoon, none of that matters. This is Ohio State-Michigan. This is The Game.