At noon today, the defending Big Ten Champion Michigan Wolverines will open up their 2022 season as they host Colorado State at the Big House in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines will be looking to repeat as Big Ten Champions after they destroyed Ohio State and Iowa to win it all in 2021.
As you probably remember, a fun tradition continued in 2021 as “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers was played at the end of the third quarter as the fans sang along.
Are you ready for some Michigan football??!?! If not, here is a hype video to help get you fired up for the season!
GO BLUE!
Origin of Michigan Football playing ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers
For much of the past five seasons, “Mr. Brightside,” a 2003 song from the Las Vegas band The Killers, has played during Michigan football home games, typically near the end of the third quarter. Many fans, especially those in the student section, enthusiastically sing along.
The first time “Mr. Brightside” blared through the Big House speakers was on Oct. 1, 2016, during a game against Wisconsin.
Kurt Wisenbaugh was the director of game presentation for the Michigan athletic department at the time.
In a recent interview, some of the aforementioned characteristics of “Mr. Brightside” are mentioned to him. The song might not pump up fans and athletes quite like, say, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” another song once regularly played at Michigan Stadium.
“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.”
“Sweet Caroline” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” have been played at Michigan football games in recent years.
“We noticed that for some reason, the early 2000s songs seemed to relate to the students,” Wisenbaugh said. “I don’t know why to be honest.” He suggested that perhaps those songs have the same “throwback” appeal that early 90s songs would have to people in their early 40s.
Enter “Mr. Brightside” for the 2016 Wisconsin game.
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