This rivalry just confuses one Buckeye

YOUNGSTOWN — Ed Muransky didn’t seem particularly surprised that he’s received seven telephone voice mails over the past few days playing the “Hang On Sloopy” unofficial Ohio State fight song.

After all, Muransky, whose Muransky Companies in Boardman include health-care companies, Auntie Anne’s Pretzel franchises and real estate, is an alumnus of the University of Michigan.

Unless you live in a cave, you know that the biggest college football game of the regular season — perhaps in decades — will be played Saturday when Michigan travels to Ohio State, a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the country. Ohio State is No. 1.

Muransky acknowledged that Michigan alums are in the minority in this part of Ohio, so he expects some good-natured ribbing from friends who chose to attend or root for Ohio State.

“It’s a little piece of life that allows us to have fun,” he said.

Muransky played offensive tackle for Michigan from 1978 to 1982, and was rated All-Big Ten twice and made All-American as a senior. He later played professional football.

From a player’s point of view, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is one of the main reasons people choose to go to Michigan or Ohio State, he said. It’s that big of a deal.

Having some local young men playing on both teams this year only heightens the interest, he said.

Dr. John Babyak, an ear, nose and throat surgeon from Canfield, is also a Michigan alum. His father played football for Michigan in the 1940s, and “I was born and raised a Michigan person,” he said.

He’s also been subjected to friendly harassment from Ohio State friends.

“I get beat up unmercifully over this,” he said, laughing about someone wearing a disparaging Michigan pin into the operating room Tuesday.

He was having some new air conditioning units placed on his office roof last year by one of those Ohio State friends and came to work one day to find one of the units was painted black and had a large block “O” on it, representing Ohio State.

That same friend has a dog named “Buckeye,” in honor of the Ohio State team.

“I call him Wolverine [the Michigan team mascot],” Babyak said. “They get mad.”