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The question isn't importance.

The question is relative importance.

I personally don't find rivalry games to be any less important in my brain.

They are less important certainly wrt final outcomes.

Yes, relatively less important because it has MUCH less impact on final outcomes:

Yup.  Look no further than our resident Buckeye fans.  The loss to Michigan stung for sure, but they ended up in the best place possible.

This, exactly this.  Losing to Michigan sucked but our team won the NC and that is clearly more important.  

If you look at my list above, Ohio State had losses to Michigan that ended our NC hopes in:

• 1993:  Also had tied UW previously.  This loss made it a "co" championship, no RoseBowl, and no NC.  
• 1995:  First loss but that killed NC hopes AND took away the league title and RoseBowl because Northwestern went undefeated in the league.  
• 1996:  First loss but that killed NC hopes because UF and FSU were both ranked ahead of us and played in a bowl.  
• 2003:  Also had lost to UW previously.  This loss took away the league title and RoseBowl and spiked NC hopes.  

Historically in Columbus the goals were always stated as:

• Beat Michigan.  
• Win the BigTen.  
• Win the Rose Bowl.  
• Win the NC.  

Beating Michigan is still #1 but it is a LOT less important because the other three can realistically be accomplished WITHOUT beating Michigan.  In 1993, 1995, and 2003 the loss to Michigan also prevented the other three.  In 1996 the Buckeyes won the league and Rose Bowl without beating Michigan but the Michigan loss still took the NC off the table.  


Winning rivalry games still matters a lot but it doesn't matter as much because you can still accomplish your other goals without winning your rivalry game(s).  

I still view rivalry games as just as important as twenty years ago.  That's maybe just me. 

Maybe if my teams loses I can rationalize that it doesn't matter as much, we're still in the hunt, maybe.

I can't speak to whether or not that's "just you" but there are clear examples on this thread and all around the country, of people who don't share your opinion.

If you can shake off what would otherwise have been a soul crushing loss and say, "well, we're still in the NC hunt" then no it doesn't matter as much.  That's what several people are saying on this thread.

I once posed a question about a magic shirt.  Your team would win that day if you wore it, one time guaranteed, so when would you wear it?

Back then several Dawg fans said Florida, always, no matter, that likely has changed to Alabama now.  I'm sure OSU fans now would say UM (again, if that ever morphed).

Texas fans this year would be interesting, is it always OU or is it now you'd take a chance on that one and pick say UGA?

I once posed a question about a magic shirt.  Your team would win that day if you wore it, one time guaranteed, so when would you wear it?

Back then several Dawg fans said Florida, always, no matter, that likely has changed to Alabama now.  I'm sure OSU fans now would say UM (again, if that ever morphed).

Texas fans this year would be interesting, is it always OU or is it now you'd take a chance on that one and pick say UGA?

For me it's still always OU.

I've never said rivalries aren't important.  I'm just saying they're less important now, than they were before the large playoff.

I once posed a question about a magic shirt.  Your team would win that day if you wore it, one time guaranteed, so when would you wear it?

Back then several Dawg fans said Florida, always, no matter, that likely has changed to Alabama now.  I'm sure OSU fans now would say UM (again, if that ever morphed).

Texas fans this year would be interesting, is it always OU or is it now you'd take a chance on that one and pick say UGA?

I used to have 20 magic shirts and since 2020 they are all in a landfill.

I think the portal exacerbated it even more.  Do Michigan fans have any feelings one way or another towards Will Howard?

Michigan basketball had two 7 foot white dudes this year.  I would have hated their punchable faces by the time they were juniors.  Instead they were on campus for like 4 months