Those who grew up as rabid OSU or Michigan fans may find it hard to explain to outsiders why these two Midwest Kingdoms of Football have remained at such joyous war with each other these many years. This documentary attempts to explain the intensity and duration of that annual gridiron battle with humor (which side has the most lunatic fans?)and with humanity (Woody Hayes'touching late tribute to his former student, long-time rival coach Bo Schembechler). The film of course emphasizes the Woody-Bo years since these have elements of super-personalities, tragedy, and redemption. It includes interpretations about how the fan rivalry is really rooted in Midwesterners' traditional steadfastness and courage. Well, maybe a little, but mostly for the eternal fan it's about forgetting your personal problems, donning the team colors, and rushing down to the stadium to shout your lungs out as part of a one-hundred-year-plus tradition. Most of my family were Ohio Staters and never missed a game of the Great Rivalry. My mother would always cry on hearing the OSU anthem. Opinions on the moral quality of Woody rose and fell around Columbus, depending mostly on how well the Bucks were doing that year, but as the film suggests most fans refused to abandon him even after the disgraceful ending of his controversial career with an assault on a player of the opposing team. The documentary somewhat softens this tragic fall, as noted above, with reference to the Bo-Woody friendship. (I recently talked about this documentary with a guy who had been an assistant coach for Woody, and to this day he sees no fault with anything the man ever did.) That's admirable loyalty, of course, not logic, but it suggests the need to believe, as the film suggests,is part of this colorful All-American phenomenon. Whether you're a fan of Michigan or of OSU, or no football fan at all, you'll find this documentary entertaining, spiced with little truths about the way we celebrate as Americans.

Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry (2007) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Extremely fun and entertaining look at the history of the rival between Michigan and Ohio State. It's made clear that football is king in both states and through interviews with those who played as well as those sitting in the stands, we learn how much hatred there is between the two sides. Even better is that we go all the way back to the first time they played in 1897. We hear about the big runs that Michigan would go on early in the history, the "Snow Bowl" and of course Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler who would take the series to a whole new level. I'm not sure how much new stuff fans of Michigan or Ohio State are going to learn here and it's probably fair to say these knowledgeable fans already know just about everything there is to know about the history of the rival. From someone not familiar with the rivalry this documentary really helped with a lot of things I didn't know. This includes the early portions of the history where Michigan dominated the series and I had only heard brief things about the Snow Bowl so it was great getting to see actual footage. I think anyone who knows anything about football will know about Hayes but it's still great seeing him in all the footage here. We also get some footage of him paying tribute to Schembechler before dying a short time later. In a strange turn of events, Schembechler is interviewed here but he too would end up passing away just days after the interview. MICHIGAN VS. OHIO STATE: THE RIVALRY lasts just over fifty-five minutes but it contains some very good interviews and does a nice job at explaining the history of these two schools.

While I am not a fan of either team, my family roots are in Ohio and I remember my grandfather telling me the storied games between Michigan and Ohio State. They were great stories. My grandmother even sang a song that was in the documentary called "Don't give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan". The documentary also tells of the stories of Woody Hayes, the great coach who was known for his tough coaching tactics and outstanding results on the field. The documentary provided me with images that had been long talked about in my family for years. It was great! The funny thing is that I am a Notre Dame fan, so I guess that I am the black sheep of the family, but nevertheless this documentary gives great insight to the football culture between these two proud states. It also is always a great reminder for me of my grandparents who one is passed away and the other who has Alzheimer's. It will always be a positive memory and I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. Highly recommend it.