Michigan’s Blues Brothers Tradition Up for Best in the Nation

The Michigan Wolverines are undoubtedly one of the most storied collegiate football programs in history.

The Maize and Blue was the first to record 1,000 victories, the only program with a Heisman Trophy winner from the defensive side of the ball, and has a list of traditions as deep as the Great Lakes.

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Seriously, the list of traditions is long and wildly impressive. But it should be expected considering the success the program has enjoyed in the 150+ years football has been played on college campuses across the country. It's only right that one of those traditions should be recognized as one of the best in the sport.

There are a few traditions that could easily compete for the best of the best: the "GO BLUE" banner, not permitting advertising inside Michigan Stadium, or the "1" in Michigan Stadium's official capacity. However, none of those are up for contention in USA Today's 10Best college sports traditions.

The nominee is still a strong choice, though a newer one among the historic standings of Michigan football lore. The Blue Brothers Dance at Michigan Stadium is up for nomination against 19 other traditions across college football.

You can head to this link to vote for the Blues Brothers Dance in USA Today's poll.

The Blues Brothers Dance actually got its start in Michigan hockey at Yost Ice Arena in 2008 as the student section in Section 17 choreographed a dance to I Can't Turn You Loose from the movie Blues Brothers. In 2011, the tradition made its way to Michigan Stadium where 100,000+ strong shake and pump their fists in unison to the performance of the Michigan Marching Band.

Just before I began writing this article, USA Today closed the leaderboard for the top vote-getters, but I got a quick peak before the page refreshed. At the time of writing, Iowa's incredibly popular "Hawkeye Wave" to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital was in the lead, which is a fine choice. Michigan's Blues Brothers Dance was 10th.

Cracking the top 10 would certainly be impressive against much older traditions (outside of Iowa). But Michigan is battling with Alabama's Rammer Jammer, Ohio State's Script Ohio and Wisconsin's Jump Around traditions, among others.