D.A, thanks for the history lesson. Hamilton Burger has nothing on you! I never disagreed with our right to use it or own it, as we certainly do own it. I put it in the context of Coca Cola objecting to the moniker "Coke" or McDonald's trying to reverse the term"Mickey D's". In both cases the respective companies just went with the nicknames and incorporated it into their slogans and ads.
However we did it, we morphed into OU or Ohio U. But everybody knew the difference between us and them. I'm not sure that was so bad. They certainly have no right to it. I'm in complete agreement with that truth.
You analogy misses the mark widely because neither Coke nor McDonalds have someone else trying to use their name.. At the core, if you want to defend your name from encroachment, you HAVE to use it. Think about DA's post for a minute - there was one and only one reason why Ohio was able to prevent Ohio State from calling themselves Ohio, and that was because Ohio University has long called themselves "Ohio". If they stop trying to use that name, then they give up that name. If Ohio does not promote itself as "Ohio", then in the future they will not be able to stop the university up north from using the "Ohio" name. It was precisely because Ohio "morphed into Ohio U" that Ohio State saw the opportunity to take the "Ohio" name. It didn't work this time, but if Ohio doesn't continue to insist on being called "Ohio", it might work the next time they try.
Maybe you see it as tilting at windmills. Maybe you see it as pointless. Nevertheless, from a legal perspective it is essential, because if they don't defend their name by using it, they lose it forever. Note that if they didn't have the very real threat of someone else taking their name, they could be somewhat more flexible about what they let people call them. They don't have that luxury, however.
You say everyone knows the difference between you and them, and by all accounts that distinction causes less confusion in all parts of the country now than 15 years ago, so maybe the things Ohio has been doing are helping. Suppose Ohio were to relax their vigilance, and allow Ohio State to call themselves "Ohio", do you think that there would still be no confusion?
I think what some people are saying on here is being taken way out of context....Ohio State is the Big Dog in Ohio, and sometimes we look like idiots when we make these stupid attacks on them. It is not being defeatist, it is being a realist. ...
The name issue goes way beyond a question of securing football fans, or not. The legal principle is clear: you either defend your name, or you give it up. In my mind a realist realizes that, and insists that the University be called "Ohio". A defeatist says "they are the big dog, and we can't stop them from taking the Ohio name anyway", and then proposes renaming the school something unique that they can't take such as "Athens State University".
Note that I'm not saying hate on them. I'm just saying that it is very important to insist on being called "Ohio". It is important, and it isn't futile.
Dispatch Article Mark Znidar, Bobcat man in Buckeye town gets the memo.
Perhaps, but he does make a different error. He says Vick is " the only quarterback on the roster with major-college experience.", but having watched Sprague on the field with my own eyes against EMU, I'm pretty sure he's wrong about that.