Fellow Bobcats:
I am a proud OU graduate, class of 1975, and although that was entirely too many decades ago, I still bleed green and white.
However, I have also been a huge fan of the University of Michigan football program even before I graduated from OU.
Growing up in Tiffin, Ohio, I rooted for the Columbus school in my early years, but my allegiances changed when two of my high-school football teammates went on to play for Michigan.
Having followed the U of M program as I have for all these years, I can assure all Bobcats with total confidence that football coach Brady Hoke means absolutely no disrespect to OU when he refers to that school in Columbus as “Ohio.”
In fact, in an interview earlier this year, that exact subject was brought up. Coach Hoke said he differentiated OU from the Columbus school when he said, “They’re the Bobcats.” He was very familiar with our school; in fact, he has relatives that attended OU and had nothing but good things to say about us.
Believe me, Coach Hoke is in the clear. He’s a great coach and runs a clean program.
Now as for the school in Columbus, they like to call themselves “The Ohio State University.” So let’s give them the respect they deserve and refer to them as such.
However, I find that whole “The Ohio blah, blah thing” to be a bit too cumbersome.
My suggestion is we abbreviate it and simply refer to them as “TOSU.”
This of course would be pronounced “To Sue”.
There, that solves it … the school in Columbus will now be called “TOSU,” or simply “to Sue.”
Ohio University and the University of Michigan will be able to afford the Columbus school the respect they deserve. Certainly, their gracious fans have forgiven our Bobcat for knocking the stuffin’s out of their Buckeye mascot in their last gridiron encounter.
Besides, during every home game in Columbus, they honor the Bobcats by spelling out script “Ohio.” After all, if they were trying to recognize their own university, would they not spell out “The Ohio State University”?
Perhaps the next time OU plays “To Sue,” our far-superior band could show them how it’s done. After all, everyone knows the band from the Columbus school takes a back seat to the Marching 110 year in and year out.
Again, we raise the green and white above the rest.
’Cats forever.
Dennis Hoffman is a 1975 Ohio University graduate.
