Ohio governor: Avoid using letter ‘M’

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller (5) is congratulated on his touchdown against Indiana during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. John Kasich wants Ohioans to avoid using the dreaded letter “M” on Saturday when No. 3 Ohio State faces archrival Michigan.

Kasich declared the game day as “Scarlet Letter Saturday” in honor of Ohio State’s rivalry game with the Wolverines. Ohio fans have often found other words to refer to Michigan, calling the school “That Team Up North” among other epithets and singing songs about their utter disregard for the state.

Lately, Buckeyes fans on Twitter have taken to dropping the letter M from their tweets, even from their own names.

The resolution points out that “in the only instance in American history when two states went to war with each other, the state beginning with the letter ‘M’ lost.”

It also notes that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service suggested adding the wolverine to the threatened species list under the Endangered Species Act.

Each letter ‘M’ in the resolution is crossed out and in red ink — scarlet and gray are Ohio State’s school colors.

It closes, “We, John R. Kasich and Mary Taylor, Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State of Ohio, do hereby recognize Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013, as SCARLET LETTER SATURDAY throughout Ohio and encourage all Ohioans to avoid using the letter ‘M’ when possible.”

At the bottom is an official seal of the state of Ohio — contrary to popular belief, it does not include a football or a picture of Woody Hayes — along with Kasich’s signature.

———

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RustyMillerAP