Ohio State Football Scandal: Michigan Fans Turn Jim Tressel into Pinocchio

As the Jim Tressel scandal unfolded at Ohio State, we could already hear the rumblings and chuckling coming from around the Big Ten. After all, Tressel had dominated the league like few before him during his tenure in Columbus, running roughshod over one of the best conferences in college football year in and year out. 

But nowhere have the peals of laughter and the pointed jokes come louder or harsher than from Ann Arbor, home of the Buckeyes' arch nemesis, Michigan.

After being absolutely dominated by the Buckeyes with Tressel at the helm, the Wolverine faithful have been reveling in their southern rivals' woes with NCAA violations and even more so in the firing of the Buckeyes' intrepid coach. 

Nowhere is this joy better illustrated than in this video.

In it, a few ingenious Michigan fans turned Tressel into Vestocchio, the little lying puppet whose bending of the truth to the fairy (who we can only assume is playing the role of the Ohio State administration, looking for some way to keep their beleaguered coach from losing his job) causes his nose to grow. 

Jiminy Cricket is clearly athletic director Gene Smith, imploring Vestocchio to tell the truth the whole time, only to continue to get burned as his nose grows and grows. 

While this little clip is sure to get under the skin of the Buckeye faithful, I can't help but find it clever. Sure, the reference is a bit obvious, but that doesn't make it any less fun.

I love when college programs and their fanbases go at it like this—it shows that the rivalries still matter, which is more than can be said for the NFL at this point. 

In the end, it's just a bit of good, harmless fun courtesy of the Michigan faithful, who are clearly enjoying their moment of revelry while Ohio State is in such hot water.