TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - At the place where it all started for Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh, Mercy College continues to be a place of great history, including football.
"'Hey where were you born?' I was born in Toledo, Ohio," said University of Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh at media day of rivalry week. "Both being born in the same hospital... what a small world."
A small world that is at the center of The Ohio State University and University Michigan rivalry.
"It shows everyone what a great city we have but also what a great rich history and tradition," said Lori Edgeworth, VP of Strategic Planning & Enrollment, who's also a big Michigan fan. "Football is a big deal in Toledo. It's a big deal - people take it seriously."
"You sort of feel like you're in enemy territory," said Leslie Erwin, Director of Career & Personal Development, who's a big Buckeye fan. "When you live and go to school in Columbus, everyone is a buckeye fan. You can walk down the street and people yell OH - other people yell IO. You go into a store here and you yell OH, and you're not going to get a response, or you're going to get a bad one."
Not only were the two head coaches born at Mercy Hospital in the 1960's - they were born just 200 days apart.
Harbaugh being the oldest born December 23, 1963. Ohio State won 14-10 that year. Meyer born on July 10, 1964. The Wolverines won 10-0.
Today, Mercy Hospital is now Mercy College, and the staff loves being a part of the birth of one of the greatest rivalries in college football.
"You might think they were born in bigger cities or something like that, but yes, I think that adds fuel to the rivalry and fuel to the fire," Edgeworth said. "Especially when you're a Toledoan, because I live in the state of Ohio, so people say to me why aren't you an Ohio State fan - I've always been a Michigan fan."
Coach Meyer grew up watching the two teams play, and now he's coaching on the sidelines.
"I think that came from Coach Hayes and Bo Schembechler," said The Ohio State University Head Coach Urban Meyer. "I just think that was the classiest. Both programs had tremendous respect for each other and both programs played so damn hard."
