Just before Christmas I watched The Iron Claw in theaters, the first movie in I don’t even know how long I’ve gone to see on its opening night. Appealing to my love of the beautifully stupid art form that is professional wrestling, the A24 film tells the heartbreaking tale of wrestling’s Von Erich family. Rife with grief and tragedy, the close-knit clan seems to be haunted by a family curse blamed for the early deaths of far too many of their sons. Director Sean Durkin, however, does an admirable job throughout the film of suggesting to the audience that the ‘curse’ is not real – or rather, that it largely manifests the natural consequences of the intense pressure family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich, places upon his sons. That protagonist and oldest (well, second oldest technically speaking) son Kevin is able to ultimately overcome the shortcomings of his family members and outlast the ‘curse’ offers a bittersweet and altogether far too brief respite of satisfaction in an otherwise bleak story.

 

A major part of the allure of the film is its score, highlighted by an original song produced for the movie by Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry and partner Little Scream that plays over the closing credits. Titled “Live That Way Forever,” the guitar-laden track thumps out its hauntingly defiant yearning for the good old days as we watch ‘where are they now’ updates for many of the film’s tortured characters. It’s been stuck in my head since viewing - a real banger of a tune - and I was surprised to find out it hasn’t really been included on any Academy Award watchlists for Best Original Song. I suppose that shows what I know about the movie accolade scene…

 

 

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Victory is sweet; hard-earned victory is even sweeter.

 

I’ve got a fever these days

Revved up like a riot at the end of the game

Come on and open the gates

I’m hanging on to this feeling ‘til they drag me away

 

Often the adversity we face along the path to victory is self-inflicted. Sometimes our greatest enemy – the only thing standing between us and our goals – is ourselves. Sometimes we can’t get out of our own way in a manner that dooms us to failure, a fate infinitely more agonizing than defeat at the hand of a superior opponent. Mistakes add up, errors compound, and we can do nothing but watch as the certainties of our grasp slip away to “what-ifs” and “could-have-beens.” Occasionally, however, we are able to overcome our failures, and the story told therein ends on a far sweeter note than any victory that comes with ease.

 

I wanna live that way forever

I wanna live that way forever

 

I can sit here and tell you the story of the 2023 Michigan Wolverines is that they were the best college football team in the country, and that would be true. They demolished the vast majority of the schedule they faced; they trailed on the scoreboard for a collective 41 minutes and 47 seconds across 15 games – only one of which accrued any time toward that statistic during the second half of the game. Along the way they defeated four top-10 opponents and culminated their campaign with a 34-13 victory over the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff championship game. Simply put: Michigan beat everybody. 

 

But that isn’t the story of the 2023 Michigan football team that will be remembered. When this tale gets told to future generations, long after echoes of “The Victors” finally die out in Houston’s NRG Stadium, it will be one of adversity – and yes, much of that self-imposed.

 

I fell asleep at the wheel

I ran myself off the road and woke up in a field

It’s getting harder to stay

But I’ve got a vise grip on my future and I’m tougher than pain

 

For the majority of the season the greatest adversity Michigan faced came from off the field. Two of those aforementioned top-10 matchups saw the Wolverines sans their head coach, suspended by the Big Ten as punishment for an impermissible in-person scouting ‘scandal’ allegedly orchestrated by a low-level staffer. Though almost any purported Ball-Knower unaffiliated with a rival program insisted Michigan’s transgressions were not all that serious, and indeed employed to varying extents by most other teams around the country, the fact of the matter is that rules were broken and the consequential penalty meant Michigan had put itself at a massive disadvantage heading into the most important games on its schedule. All of the hard work the team had put in until that point was in jeopardy; the best season in recent memory was in danger of being all for naught. A curse is, in reality, something nobody can place upon you but yourself, and in such a manner the most promising campaign in decades decidedly felt cursed.

 

I feel it slipping

Oh, I feel it slipping

Oh, don’t say it’s slipping

Oh, don’t say it's slipping away

 

It’s the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game. After maintaining an early lead throughout the contest Michigan’s offense has largely stalled, looking disjointed and sloppy. Finally putting a drive together after what seems like ages, Michigan’s momentum is abruptly halted and the air sucked out of the stadium as perhaps the Wolverine’s best player, senior standout guard Zak Zinter, suffers a gruesome season-ending leg injury. All hope seems lost. On the very next play Blake Corum makes a cut and scampers into the endzone to give Michigan the lead for good. A Rod Moore interception officially seals the game, and the joy of victory sets in as memories of a controversial JT Barrett third down spot fade once more.

 

It’s overtime of the Rose Bowl, a back-and-forth affair that has seen statistical dominance from Michigan not translate to the scoreboard due to a series of miscues from the Wolverines – a muffed punt from Semaj Morgan leading to a short Alabama field, a missed extra point from a bad snap, a series of dropped passes by otherwise open receivers. Michigan trailed late in the fourth quarter and all hope seemed lost, before the offense finally put together a drive for the first time in what seemed like ages to tie the game. The defense got a stop and earned the Maize and Blue the ball back at the end of regulation before disaster struck once more: Jake Thaw – in the game to offer a more sure-handed returner option in replacement of Morgan – muffs another punt inside the five yard-line, barely rescuing the ball before it goes into the endzone for a safety. Crisis briefly averted, and fans can breathe once more as the game stumbles to overtime. In Michigan’s first possession of the extra period Corum makes a cut and scampers into the endzone to give Michigan the lead for good. A fourth down tackle for loss of Jalen Milroe by the defense officially seals the game, and the joy of victory sets in as memories of “trouble with the snap” fade once more.

 

It's the fourth quarter of the national championship game. Michigan has raced out to an early lead on the back of two long Donovan Edwards touchdown runs, but the offense has largely stalled, looking disjointed and sloppy. Compounding mistakes and baffling-at-times playcalling have seen the Wolverines’ early dominance in the trenches dry up, giving electric Washington quarterback Michael Penix the ball numerous times with the game hanging in an uncomfortable balance. But the defense has repeatedly held firm, and with time ticking down JJ McCarthy finds Colston Loveland on a leaping catch and run over the middle for a long gain. A few plays later, Corum makes a cut and scampers into the endzone to extend Michigan’s lead for good. A Mike Sainristil interception all-but-officially seals the game, and the overwhelming joy of championship victory sets in as memories of past title game failures are washed away entirely.

 

Hold your head up high

I’m not ready to run so mama don’t you cry

I’m gonna light up the sky

A roman candle just waiting for the 4th of July

 

The thing about being the best is that the only way you lose is by beating yourself, and your enemies know this. They know they aren’t good enough to get the job done without your help, and so they celebrate each of your missteps as if those were their own triumphs. They salivate over your errors and mock your mistakes. They do this out of necessity, out of fear, for the hole you’ve dug yourself is the only lifeline standing between them and defeat.

 

Time and time again throughout the season this Michigan team looked around at the hole surrounding them, shovel in hand, and doubled down. “Bet,” they said as they got back to digging. And each time their bets paid off, as the Wolverines unflinchingly weaseled their way out of the difficult hands they’d dealt themselves. Where lesser teams may have folded, crippled by their mistakes, this one stood defiant. Now they stand as champions, each foe lying vanquished in their wake. 

 

To the victors go the spoils of letting everyone who doubted you know you are indeed the best, and this is perhaps the pièce de résistance of winning a title. The vitriol spewed by your enemies can be thrown back in their faces, and boy are there very few words in the English language more cathartic than “I told you so.” Countless Buckeye social media profiles are going private today, recoiling in fear and shame from a Maize and Blue swell that has shown up with receipts en masse. I implore each and every Michigan fan to talk as much shit as their heart desires, because the fleeting nature of greatness makes it important to seize such a glorious opportunity while it lasts.

 

Want you to know my name

I want you to think of my face when you’re running away

I made my mark on the page, get over yourself

‘Cause you’re being replaced

 

And so here we are; there isn’t much else left to say. College football is a beautifully stupid sport and Michigan is its Victors. Those who stayed became champions, just as they promised they would. They overcame their opponents and God and most importantly themselves to do it, unfolding across a heroic tale seemingly designed specifically to feature every type of literary conflict.

 

I don’t know what the future holds for the Michigan football program. Much of the team’s production on both sides of the ball will be gone next season, many of them heading to the NFL. Jim Harbaugh may follow them there, resuming his chase for the Super Bowl title he so clearly covets. The schedule next season seems daunting, featuring two of this year’s other three semifinalists, including a rematch in Seattle with the championship game foe. None of that matters right now, though, because Michigan is king. 

 

Savor this moment, because this is as good as it gets. As the wheel of time cycles seasons anew, this feeling is what lasts forever. They can’t take this feeling away from you – they’ll try, certainly, but they can’t. Michigan sits atop its rightful place on the college football throne, and all is briefly right in the world.

 

I wanna live that way forever

I wanna live that way forever

I wanna live that way forever

I wanna live that way forever