50 Reasons It's Great To Be A Michigan Wolverine

Hail to the Victors, the Leaders and Best!

1. Creativity runs wild

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2. Michigan has world-class academics

Michigan was ranked the No. 1 public university in the nation by the QS World University Rankings in 2014

3. "The Victors" is the best college fight song

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Written in 1898, "The Victors" is the famous fight song for the Michigan athletic programs. Attend a home football game and you're sure to hear it dozens of times. There's nothing quite like this fight song. Everybody associated with Michigan knows the lyrics. Everybody.

4. Maize and Blue

Michigan's colors are the famous maize and blue. It's not yellow... it's maize.

5. Winged helmets

David Guralnick / Detroit News

Michigan sports the most iconic helmets in all of college football. The winged helmets are synonymous with Michigan football and have been a part of the program's storied history since Fritz Crisler first introduced them to the Wolverines in 1938.

6. The M Den on State Street

The M Den, Michigan's official merchandise retailer, is two floors of maize and blue heaven. It has literally EVERYTHING Michigan-related one can possibly imagine.

7. Michigan Mud Bowl

Marcin Szczepanski

This is the 82nd year of "the dirtiest tradition in college football." The Michigan Mud Bowl is a charity football game held on a Saturday each fall in the grass pit located next to the SAE fraternity house. The event has been hosted by SAE until this year when the frat lost it's national charter. Thousands of Michigan students watch this event each year and it's is often captured by TV stations.

8. The Rock

At the corner of Hill and Washtenaw sits on of the cooler traditions at Michigan. Various clubs, organizations and teams come to paint the rock with a new design. Rarely does the same design last longer than a day.

9. Michigan's new pre-game pump-up video at the Big House

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Impossible not to get the chills when you hear James Earl Jones in this video played at the Big House

10. The fear of stepping on the Block M is real

Perhaps one of Michigan's greatest traditions, the Block M is located in the heart of campus in the Diag. Be careful! The legend goes if you step on the Block M, you'll fail your first bluebook exam. How can you reverse the curse? Run naked from the Diag to the Bell Tower when it rings at midnight. Unfortunately due to a city ordinance, the Bell Tower no longer rings at midnight, so there's no way to reverse the curse. Most people on campus simply avoid stepping on the Block M all together.

11. The Law Library

I mean come on... this place looks like Hogwarts. Well, there's a reason for that. Supposedly this was the second option for the filming location of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.

In real life, if you make even the slightest noise in the Law Library, you'll be given death stares. Stay quiet!

12. The UGLI is the best place on campus... and worst

The Shapiro Undergraduate Library, known as the UGLI (it used to look hideous prior to renovations), is the most popular library on campus. The higher the floor, the quieter and less social it gets. The UGLI is a life-saver... except when you're there until 3 a.m.

13. Seven Nation Army

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It's impossible not to get the chills when "Seven Nation Army" is played at the Big House

14. Slippery Rock

Even though you have no clue what or where this school is, you still go nuts when the score of Slippery Rock's game is put up on the scoreboard at the Big House.

15. Yost Ice Arena

Eric Bronson / UM Photography, E. Bronson

Hockey is big at Michigan. There's no bigger stage in the nation for college hockey than the iconic Yost Ice Arena.

16. Children of Yost

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The "Children of Yost" is the nickname given to the student section at Michigan hockey games. These fans make up the best student section in college hockey. Between the countless songs and chants for each play on the ice, the atmosphere of Michigan home hockey games truly feels as intense and thrilling as that of a European soccer match. Nothing beats the Children of Yost and the marching band's rendition of "Can't Turn You Loose" by the Blues Brothers each game.

17. Nichols Arboretum ("The Arb")

For those who want tasty in touch with nature.

18. The Michigan Union

I mean seriously... what can't you do here?

19. The Cube

Perfect for all your photographic needs.

20. Fab Five

The Fab Five is the nickname given to the 1991 Michigan men's basketball recruiting class, considered by many to be the greatest recruiting class of all time. The Fab Five consisted of Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. As students, they helped to bring a popular "hip-hop" style to the game with their trash talk, wearing longer, baggier gym shorts and shaved heads. They also wore black athletic shoes, and black athletic socks. Their controversial antics on the court garnered much attention from the media.

21. Every bar you go to gets compared to Rick's

Rick's is the best. End of story. Derek Jeter agrees... he spent a night at Rick's during his latest visit to campus.

22. Zingerman's Deli

Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images

The food in Ann Arbor is crazy good, but Zingerman's is far-and-away the most famous place around town. It's tastes good too. Barack Obama would probably agree.

23. Pizza House

This place used to literally be a house. Now it's a popular Chicago-style pizza restaurant. It's often open until 4 a.m., making it a favorite late-night food option among students. The cheesy bread at Pizza House might just change your life.

24. Festifall

Austin Thomason / UM Photo Services, Austin Thomason

On one of the first days of the school year, representatives from every club on campus set up tables in the Diag to give students the chance to get involved. There are SO MANY CLUBS. It's basically impossible not to find something you like.

25. Michigan is everywhere

No matter where you go around the nation or around the world, you’ll run into someone wearing Michigan gear or you'll see the Block M logo. It's just the way it works. Michigan is everywhere. In fact, the next vacation you take, you'll probably see Michigan people there. But no matter who you see and no matter what the location, you can always yell "Go Blue" and expect a "Go Blue" in return.

26. Some pretty famous people attended Michigan

Maybe you've heard of some of these people...

Madonna, musician

Tom Brady, NFL quarterback

Lucy Liu, actress

Larry Page, co-founder & CEO of Google

Arthur Miller, playwright

James Earl Jones, actor

Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States

Adam Schefter, ESPN NFL Insider

Darren Criss, actor and musician

Derek Jeter, retired MLB shortstop

Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer

Stephen Ross, real estate investor and Miami Dolphins owner

Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent

Charles Woodson, NFL cornerback & Heisman Trophy winner

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football head coach

Desmond Howard, Heisman Trophy winner & ESPN analyst

The crew of Apollo 15

Dave Brandon, CEO of Toys ‘R’ Us

Jim Hackett, Michigan Interim Athletic Director

Rich Eisen, NFL television anchor and radio host

Red Berenson, Michigan hockey head coach

Bo Schembechler, former Michigan athletic director & football head coach

Mark Silverman, President of the Big Ten Network

Dick Costolo, former CEO of Twitter

27. The largest living alumni network

With over 530,000 living alumni, the Michigan faithful is as strong as any school in the world. This certainly helps boost school pride and can't hurt when on the hunt for a job.

28. Beyonce loves us

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I mean honestly what's cooler than hearing Beyonce say "Go Blue"?

29. ...and so does Kate Upton

The Michigan native even attended a Michigan basketball game in Atlanta when the Wolverines reached the Final Four a few years ago.

30. "Work hard, play hard"

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That's the motto of the students here at Michigan. Work hard, play hard. Let's just say the social life is, uhhh... pretty damn good.

31. The legend of the Engineering Arch

The legend goes that if two people kiss beneath the Engineering Arch at midnight, the couple will eventually marry. Many Michigan alumni have confirmed this legend.

32. Ann Arbor is the No. 1 Most Educated City in America, according to Forbes

33. Ross School of Business

Considered by a top ten business school in the nation by just about every reputable source, the Ross School of Business is about as elite as it looks. It's very difficult to get in, but once you're in... you're in a good spot. Complete with it's own fitness facility, Ross was entirely rebuilt thanks to a $100 million donation back in 2004. Ross is currently undergoing major construction to expand the building.

34. Stephen Ross

Marc Serota / Getty Images

Ahhh, the man behind the business school. Stephen Ross is a Michigan alum who made his money as a real estate investor. He currently owns the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Ross made that $100 million donation in 2004 and the new business school was named in his honor. In 2013, Ross donated $200 million to the school. Half of that money was used by the Business School while the other half was used by the athletic department. In 2015, it was announced that the university would begin developing the Stephen Ross Athletic Complex. the expected cost of the facility is $168 million, but Ross donated $100 million to the project for naming rights.

Let's just say Stephen Ross helps make life pretty good here on campus.

35. Career opportunities

Getting a job upon graduating from Michigan is much easier than most other schools. This is because so many recruiters from companies come on campus to hire Wolverine grads straight out of college. This is particularly true in the Ross School of Business, which hosts Fortune 500 companies on a regular basis.

36. Jim Harbaugh

The man. The myth. The legend. The prodigal son came home. The former Michigan star quarterback has returned as the head football coach of his beloved alma mater. Harbaugh is considered by many to be one of the top coaches in all of football and is one of the few in history to succeed at both the collegiate and professional levels. One could make the argument Harbaugh is the biggest celebrity in sports today.

37. Bo Schembechler

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When Harbaugh was a little kid running around the football office, this guy was the legendary head coach of the Wolverines. Bo Schembechler is one of the most historic names in college sports. The successful head coach's famous quote "Those who stay will be champions" is still repeated by the Michigan faithful today. Bo's "The Team" speech (shown above) was another historic moment in his career.

38. Michigan vs. Michigan State

Michigan State... aka "Little Brother." We know our in-state peers are lesser when it comes to academics, but beating them in sports is pretty fun too.

39. The greatest rivalry in sports

Is calling the Michigan-Ohio State matchup "the greatest rivalry in sports" a bold statement? Yes. But it's true. There's nothing quite like "The Game."

40. Michigan Marching Band

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When you hear the classic four-word command, your heart starts racing. "Band take the field." The Michigan Marching Band's pregame performance is a tradition unlike any other, and there's nothing cooler than singing the words to "The Victors" with 110,000+ other loyal Wolverines.

41. Michigan Stadium (aka "The Big House")

The Big House is big. Really big. The Wolverines play their home football games at the largest stadium in the nation. On September 7, 2013, the game between Michigan and Notre Dame attracted a crowd of 115,109, the largest in football history.

42. The Wave

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You've done the wave before, but have you done the wave like we do it at the Big House?

Regular speed, slow-mo, super fast, backwards, double wave.

43. Nike/Jordan Brand

Starting in 2016, Michigan athletics will switch back to Nike apparel. Michigan's new deal with Nike is the richest in the history of college sports. The $169 million deal runs through 2027, with an option to extend to 2031. Jordan Brand, a special sector of Nike, will outfit the men's and women's basketball programs. Thanks to some help from Michigan football legend Charles Woodson, Michael Jordan himself called Jim Harbaugh to inform him that he wanted Michigan to be the first football team to don Jordan Brand's iconic Jumpman logo.

44. The ART statue

Outside the newly renovated art museum on campus sits this massive piece of red artwork. Supposedly, the statue spells "ART" from every angle.

45. When President John F. Kennedy spoke in front of the Union, he called his alma mater Harvard the "Michigan of the East"

46. Desmond Howard striking the Heisman Pose

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En route to a victory over Ohio State, Desmond Howard struck the famous Heisman Pose after scoring a touchdown on a punt return, all but assuring he'd win the award.

47. Our dorms look like hotels

Scott C. Soderberg / UM Photography, S. Soderberg

48. The dining hall at South Quad might be the best in the nation

South Quad's dining hall is more or less a five-star restaurant. There are essentially different restaurants within the restaurant.

49. Tailgating on game days

You have never experienced college football until you've tailgated with the maize and blue faithful prior to a home football game. It will change your life.

50. The letter 'M' means the world to you

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Wherever you go, go blue!