Time to finish the Battle of Toledo

Maybe it is time to finish the battle of Toledo!

For those of the uninitiated or unaware of why our rivalry with Ohio State is so intense; the rivalry existed prior to the creation of football. Seeds of animosity between our two states were planted as early as 1787. The results of the Congress of the Confederation created what was known as the Northwest Territory. The Northwest Territory comprised of what is today Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and our beloved Michigan.

In 1802 due to the economic significance of the Port of Miami (not that Miami) and the Maumee River, the delegates of the Ohio Constitutional Convention deliberated on the northern border of Ohio. If the extension of the border was even from east-to-west using the southern tip of Lake Michigan as a marker then what would become Toledo did not belong to Ohio (we had claim to it).  To counteract reports and guarantee that Maumee be established as a part of Ohio delegates voted on a provision that added the watershed into the northern border. The creation of the Erie Canal also added to the prosperity of Toledo.

Michigan assembled a militia of 1,000 strong and the conflict intensified to the point that the scoundrel President Andrew Jackson was involved in order to protect Ohio’s interests. Yes, we ended up benefitting with our admission into the union and a compromise that granted the Toledo strip to Ohio and us the Upper Peninsula but our conflict has remained unsettled and lives on in this football contest.

If football matchups transcend integrity and decency from the Ohio perspective then maybe it is time we up the ante and remind them that the only reason that the state exists is because Michigan entered a compromise. Ohio can’t rely on others to protect them from their unethical practices forever. Whether it is stacking a claim to Toledo and as far north as the Detroit River (I kid you not) or shielding a wife-beater; this filth must eventually be purged. To arms!