Is it great to be a Michigan Wolverine??
This is relative to the cheer, not the statement.
Brian posted a snipet on the front page and The Michigan Daily's Andy Reid wrote up an article on the appropriate use of this cheer http://www.michigandaily.com/content/sportsmonday-column-win-over-easte…
I concur, lets stow this one for big wins. Its not even that original. Aren't we, the leaders and best, capable of coming up with something new and something that's our own. I don't dislike the cheer, and not disparaging those who do. I just think its not the most original thing and its definitely becoming overused.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:18 PM ^
I'm not going to be dictated by Brian, Andy or anyone else as to how I show support for the team. Short of booing, I'll cheer however I damn well please.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:21 PM ^
It is becoming overused, but I think that's just a reflection of the excitement around the program this year. Hopefully, if MIchigan wins this weekend we can do without the cheer, but it will be right back out if we (knock on wood) come out on top in EL.
That said, I love this cheer. It may not be original, but it's true. It IS great to be a Michigan Wolverine and I like the simplicity of it.
September 21st, 2009 at 5:11 PM ^
The beauty of the cheer is in the simplicity and the truth behind the cheer. However, I think what makes the cheer so powerful is the limited circumstances it's used in. The only times I can remember doing it were MSU 2004, PSU 2005, and at Notre Dame 2006 (all the Michigan fans there did it in the concourse as we were marching out of the stadium, maybe the greatest day of my life).
September 21st, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
i like the chant and i chanted with the student section after notre dame. i like it after a big game i.e. notre dame, but no, it isn't needed for a win against measly emu.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
Would you rather "Hail to the Victors" or O-H-I-O.... Yea conversation over....
September 21st, 2009 at 4:27 PM ^
This stuff is stupid. If I want to say its great to be a michigan wolverine then i am going to say it. People are getting nucking futs over this crap. Its just a show of spirit! and people want to censor it?
what the heck is wrong with you people?
September 21st, 2009 at 4:38 PM ^
Say what you want. Cheer in latin if it strikes you. It just surprises me that the former Miami cheer,and a cheer many other schools use is the one we adopted. It is indeed great to be a Wolverine.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:08 PM ^
So is that it? Is "The U" where this one started? I have a good friend who went to Florida and is now insufferable for 4-6 months per year; I'm pretty sure he once implied that the cheer started with "Florida Gator," but I've always thought that's the dumbest idea possible since you have to stretch out the word "gator" to even pronounce it.
A great deal of Googling proved extremely unproductive in finding out who started this, but Miami would be a satisfying answer. I think this is a perfectly acceptable appropriation since "Michigan Wolverine" not only contains the right number of syllables, but also actually kinda rhymes with "It's great to be".
September 21st, 2009 at 4:30 PM ^
I've felt meh about the cheer since I first heard it (the 97 season). So in that sense, I completely agree that it should be saved for the few moments where the significance of the win outweigh the meh.
But I also understand that damn near 75% of the undergrads on campus are experiencing their first nationally signficant football season. They don't have the "we always beat Penn State, regardless" or the "even if we go 8-4, we still beat the Buckeyes... regularly" context that some of us have as fans. So to them I'd say, "have at it."
September 21st, 2009 at 4:40 PM ^
I will continue to cheer however I feel like it from now until forever. Andy Reid is not going to use his new "I wrote a sweet article about Pahokee, so you have to listen to me" clout to tell me what to do.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:59 PM ^
about Eastern, but I'd be down for getting a group together and doing this cheer on Tuesday nights. Only during game weeks before big ten opponents though....
September 21st, 2009 at 5:06 PM ^
Sort of feels like the Fire Bucket Brigade at work here.
I know Brian means well, and some of you do too, but the Big House needs to become a charnel house of terror that weakens the hearts of opposing team members, just like Yost Arena does to opposing goalies. The way to do that isn't to censor the fans and say, "Hey man, you're too excited. Save that cheer for a 'special' game."
After a 3-9 season, and a loss to a mediocre MAC team, I don't understand the "save it for a real game" mentality. A win is a win right now. Each one is precious in it's own way as Coach Rod's trying to get this machine going.
That chant still gives me chills when I hear it. Use it. Get excited. Get loud. It shouldn't matter who we're playing, an excited Big House is an intimidating force.
And I don't get this "Non Big Game" attitude. We'd not tolerate it from our players, our players DON'T appreciate it from the fans, and recruits coming in aren't impressed by it.
I doubt that when the players are in a "quieter" big house, getting the opposing teams best bowl game imitation, and telling each other, "It's cool that our fans aren't really into this, it IS just EMU."
I doubt any recruits coming in for a "Non Big Game", as defined by Whomever, are standing on the sidelines enjoying the atmosphere of a subdued crowd that's waiting to save certain chants for "Big Games".
As an aside, I thought Eastern played their hearts out. Would seem to me that most fans want 100% from the team regardless of the opponent, yeah?
Coach Rod reminds his players every game to "Stay Hungry" AND "Stay Humble". Especially after last year, I think that advice is solid for the fans too.
September 21st, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^
Very well said.
September 21st, 2009 at 6:39 PM ^
Kudos, sir, kudos!
September 21st, 2009 at 7:40 PM ^
1. I did my undergrad at Michigan from 93-97 and never heard this cheer.
2. I heard "It's great to be a Florida Gator" for the first time in 1999 after the Florida-Tennesee game.
3. I've heard it now from at least 2 other schools.
Conclusion: I don't think we invented it. I don't think it's original and I don't think it's all that sweet.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 AM ^
the "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!!" cheer at a Florida-Tennessee game? And at two other schools?
That's flippin' sweet! Hearing Gator fans cheer about being a Michigan Wolverine is almost as good as the USC band playing Hail to the Victors in Buckeyeland.