Some schools have football traditions that are loved, while some have traditions that just annoy others. For the Michigan Wolverines, their tradition of singing along to The Killers’ 2003 hit “Mr. Brightside” at Michigan Stadium has divided fans of other teams, as some aren’t fond of Wolverines fans singing the song.

The Athletic’s David Ubben has admitted that he is not a big fan of the Michigan tradition, and he found someone who agrees. ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum posted a clip of Ubben saying on “The Paul Finebaum Show” that the tradition must be stopped.

“Some of the new traditions that the sport has embraced over the last decade, some are better than others,” Ubben said. “I feel like if we can eradicate Mr. Brightside sing-alongs from the face of the Earth, the sport, and really, society and the world and maybe the solar system would be better off without that.”

“Noted,” replied Finebaum.

The tradition has fans singing The Killers’ 2003 hit song during home games, usually around the third quarter. It started back on Oct. 1, 2016, during a game against Wisconsin. As per MLive, in a 2021 interview, Kurt Wisenbaugh, Michigan’s director of game presentation in 2016, explained why they chose the song.

“The purpose wasn’t necessary to hype them up,” Wisenbaugh said. “We obviously have moments, specifically on defense, when we want to get them hype and get them loud, but we also want to create moments of fun and unity. Most people enjoy sing-along songs so we wanted to try some different ones.”

Michigan Players Confident They Can Win Last Few Games

Meanwhile, the 5-3 Michigan Wolverines are now out of the AP Top 25 and are about to face one of their biggest rivals, the Michigan State Spartans. After that, the team has only three games remaining, and they will face powerhouse teams UCLA, Oregon, and, finally, eternal rival Ohio State. However, their players are confident they can bounce back and win those final games, as junior tight end Hogan Hansen said in a recent interview, as per Wolverines Wire.

“We just need to play a complete game first quarter to fourth quarter,” he said. “we’re not living in the land of hypotheticals — we know we have all the tools. To go win out, and like we know we have all the tools to win some of the games we could have lost. And I think we have gotten better over the last couple weeks on sharpening up certain stuff.

At 2-6 overall, the Spartans are at the bottom of the Big Ten, and Wolverines may have the easiest game in their final four. Oregon, which may be struggling, is also 5-3 and could be a tough matchup, while UCLA is still undefeated at 8-0. Ohio State is currently No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and is also very dangerous.