page_title: Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry
section_title: In popular culture
hierarchical_section_title: Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry / In popular culture
caption_attribution_description: Soldiers from the 16th Engineer Brigade practice their "trash talk" at Camp Liberty, Nov. 16, 2009 in preparation for one of the biggest games of the year in college football, the University of Michigan vs. The Ohio State University. (Photo courtesy of Multi-National Division Baghdad)
context_page_description: The Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, occasionally referred to as “The Game”, is an American college football rivalry game played annually between the University of Michigan Wolverines and The Ohio State University Buckeyes. It gathered particular national interest as most of the games from the 1970s through the mid-2000s determined the Big Ten Conference title and the resulting Rose Bowl Game match ups, and many influenced the outcome of the national college football championship. The game was ranked by ESPN in 2000 as the greatest North American sports rivalry.
  The two Midwest state universities first met in 1897, and the rivalry has been played annually since 1918. The game has been played at the end of the regular season since 1935. Since 1918, the game's site has alternated between Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has been played in Ohio Stadium since 1922 and Michigan Stadium since 1927. Through 2010, Ohio State and Michigan have decided the Big Ten Conference championship between themselves on 22 different occasions, and have affected the determination of the conference title an additional 27 times.
context_section_description: During the mid-2000s, ESPN aired several commercials describing certain situations that would be "normal, if it wasn't for sports". One commercial featured a man in an Ohio State shirt making out with a woman wearing a Michigan shirt. An ESPNU commercial air portrayed a couple on a blind date that appears to be successful until it becomes clear that she is from Michigan and he is a fan of Ohio State.
  In 2006, as part of their "Midwest Midterm Midtacular", The Daily Show visited Ohio State University and made fun of the rivalry on the final night by having correspondent Rob Riggle report while wearing a Michigan sweatshirt. This brought boos, jeers, and a few laughs from the Ohio State audience. After the sketch was over, Jon Stewart compared the rivalry to the disputes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
  The 2007 HBO documentary Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry focused on the rivalry, chiefly the "Ten-Year War" through the present.
  The book Myth Directions by Robert Asprin, who attended Michigan, features a thinly veiled version of the Ohio State vs. Michigan game, parodying both sides and their fanaticism regarding the event.
  The 1942 movie The Male Animal, based on a play of the same name by Ohio State alumni James Thurber and Elliott Nugent, also features a version of the game.
  In 2011, 10-year-old Grant Reed of Columbus was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Not liking to use the word "cancer", Reed (whose parents are both Ohio State alums and himself is an Ohio State fan) decided to call his cancer "Michigan", since "Ohio State is always going to beat Michigan". The move of calling his cancer "Michigan" got the support of his parents, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer (who Reed later got to meet), and even some Michigan fans, including Michigan head coach Brady Hoke. After his last chemotherapy treatment in 2013 which placed him in remission, Reed told people that he "beat Michigan". When Reed died on February 10, 2019, his father posted on Facebook that "Grant won his final victory over 'M*CH*G*N' because it can never hurt him again."
caption: United States National Guard soldiers in Baghdad, Iraq, in November 2009.
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