Michigan football’s rivalry dominance recently has Ohio State feeling jumpy, especially with news of open practices and the specter of Jim Harbaugh spies.
The rivalry between Michigan football and Ohio State football doesn’t need to be rational. It just needs to be passionate. And it delivers on that front, that’s for sure.
In the latest edition of rivalry madness, some Ohio State fans are slightly concerned about the Buckeyes a selection of Fall Camp practices to fans.
Most fans in Columbus and the surrounding area were just excited to have that kind of access to the program, selling out the tickets in 75 minutes, per Joey Kauffman of the Columbus Dispatch.
Other fans took a more paranoid view of the opportunity:
“This is probably too ‘tinfoil hat’ of me, especially if they’re not showcasing anything of value, but if I’m Jim Harbuagh I’m buying one of my grad assistants Buckeye gear and sending him to Columbus with a ticket to these,” a fan named David tweeted.
The fan admitted his perspective was coming from a “sad, dark place” because of consecutuive rivalry losses.
David isn’t completely off base. At least based on the actions of coaches around the country each fall. Some are notorious for cutting off access to fans, media and anyone else outside the direct team. If they are worried about spies, why shouldn’t fans be?
Of course, the paranoia around football coaches tells us a whole lot about what fans can expect to actually see at the two open practices Ohio State has made available: A whole lot of nothing.
In fact, NCAA regulations require a lead up to padded practices, so fans will probably only see the players in shorts and jerseys with helmets on at most, running through basic drills. If Ryan Day had anything on tap for Harbaugh or anyone to glean, the practice wouldn’t be open.