Ohio News Outlets Clap Back At Detroit Newspaper’s Insulting Tweet

Heading into fall, the longstanding Ohio-Michigan rivalry is swinging full-force and some unlikely voices are already talking smack.

The Detroit Free Press, the largest daily newspaper in the city, threw shade to the Buckeye State in an unprompted tweet on Friday (August 28):

“If 2020 was a state, it’d be Ohio,” the Free Press wrote.

The tweet — followed by a link to the outlet's subscription offers — has since garnered more than 11,000 likes and 3,400 retweets and comments, many between Ohio and Michigan fans keeping tradition alive by duking it out over which state is better.

It also didn’t take long for Ohio news outlets to return shots to the Wolverines.

“Congrats to Michigan for not losing to Ohio State for the first time since 2011,” replied the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio’s daily newspaper.

The Dispatch wasn't alone in its response that draws attention specifically to the annually-anticipated Ohio State-Michigan game.

"If 2020 was a football team, it'd be Michigan trying to play Ohio State," News 5 Cleveland retweeted.

However, the banter could be a bit premature.

University of Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh announced earlier in August that the 2020 season would be postponed. Ohio State issued an announcement of its own, adding that it could lose $130 million without fall sports.

Though the game typically closes the regular season around Thanksgiving, it initially bumped up to October 24 this year before the 2020-21 season was postponed.

According to Ohio State, that would be the first time since 1942 that its classic rival won't be the team's final regular season challenger, closing a nearly eight-decade tradition.

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