“Because We Couldn’t Go for Three”

A Timeless Lesson In Healthy Competition

Late in the game with a 48-14 lead against Michigan, Head Coach Wood Hayes attempted a two-point conversion following a touchdown. Later, when asked why he attempted the two-point conversion with a 34 point lead, Hayes replied…”We went for two because we couldn’t go for three.”

Throughout recent decades there have beena number of great rivalries in the world of sport. In the NFL, there was the the great match-up of the Redskins and Cowboys (think Landry vs Gibbs on Thanksgiving Day with the unforgettable voice of Pat Summeral doing the play-by-play).

In baseball, it’s the Yankees and the Red Sox (enough said). In the NBA, the Celtics and the Lakers duked it out year-after-year in an east-coast, west-coast battle royale to see who could amass more championship rings.

In college basketball, there was the tug-of-war on Tobacco Road–North Carolina and Duke. The Dean versus Coach K in the gentlemanly, mano-a-mano, roll-up-your-sleeves, bare knuckled brawl to determine supremacy in the ACC.

Yet even with all of these great rivalries in sport, perhaps none were more intense than the annual college football match-up between Michigan and Ohio State. It’s hard to forget the fiery Woody Hayes versus the leather-knecked Bo Schembechler. Each year’s match-up was an old school, helmet-to-helmet, fight-to-the-death to see who would claim bragging rights in the Big Ten and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

For ten years, the two dominated the “Big 2 and Little 8,” splitting ten conference titles between themselves and with the other finishing second eight times. The rivalry was so intense that Hayes couldn’t (translated wouldn’t) even say the name of that “school up north.” Similarly, Schembechler treasured the annual opportunity to stick it to the Buckeyes whenever possible.

During the ten year rivalry, both were the fiercest of competitors and the tension was oftentimes so volatile between the two that even reporters didn’t want to be responsible for igniting the wrath of either man.

And, ironically enough, it is within this great rivalry–Michigan v Ohio State–that we find the ultimate spirit of healthy competition. The story has now become legendary and the lesson is timeless.

The year is 1968, and Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes are laying it on the Maize and Blue. With the score 42 to 14 late in the game, Ohio State scores a touchdown to bring the score to 48 to 14. To everyone’s dismay, despite the obvious shellacking, Hayes makes the decision to go for two on the conversion. Successfully executing the two point coup de tat, the final score reads: Ohio State 50, Michigan 14.

It was at this point when court was officially in session.

When asked by reporters in the post-game interview why he went for two despite a 34-point lead, Hayes narrowed his field of focus and testified…

“Because we couldn’t go for three.”

For this comment, Hayes would pay a price in the court of public opinion. In fact, for most everyone not associated with Buckeye football, Haye’s reputation as a cold-blooded mercenary was forever solidified.

In 1969, the year following the incident, a young Bo Schembechler took the field as Michigan’s new Head Coach. With the wound still smarting, you can bet that the memory of the two-point conversion fueled his competitive spirit.

Over the next ten years, Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes established one of the greatest rivalries sports has ever known. When it was all said and done,it was Michigan who held the slight upperhand with a 5-4-1 record.

And this is where the lesson is imparted.

Despite the two-point incident,Hayes and Schembechler maintained the greatest respect for one another. Each were keenly aware of the other’s character flaws–which, by the way, were legion. Introspectively, it’s also clear that each understood and wrestled with their own personal flaws. Perhaps most importantly, each understood what the job was all about–competing. Even after coaching, the two were considered to be close friends and spoke often.

It is this lesson that is so valuable. Despite being the fiercest of competitors, these two men demonstrated that it is possible to maintain a mutual admiration even in the heat of battle. In fact, just prior to his death in 2006, Schembechler recalled fondly the 10-year rivalry and also shared the fact that Hayes had been there for him in several of his darkest hours.

Like football, competition is inherent the workplace. Yet, even though we all must compete to survive, we learn the valuable lesson from Hayes and Schembechler that it is possible to not only maintain a deep sense of respect for the other person’s responsibilities but develop a sincere appreciation for the efforts and successes of those we compete against–even in the midst of what seems like life and death battles.

For more information about this great rivalry, be sure to visit: http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/exhibits/umosu/woodyvbo.htm

Yours in good health,

David Hunnicutt

Copyright 2006, David Hunnicutt.com

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