When Marc Wolfson, ’71, walked into the Big House for last month’s homecoming game against Wisconsin, the last thing he expected was to wake up a few days later as a viral sensation.
He and his wife, Gail Wolfson, ’71, attended the “Maize Out” game on Oct. 4 with some longtime friends and fellow alumni.
“We have a group that ranges anywhere from maybe 10 to 20 people that all meet in Ann Arbor for a football weekend,” he says. “Whenever we go back to the Big House, it truly is a homecoming.”
Armed with a sheet of paper donning the lyrics to “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, Marc excitedly took part in what has become a beloved Wolverine tradition — fans joining together in a spirited rendition of the song at the end of the third quarter.
“I sing in a barbershop quartet, singing is part of my life,” Marc says. “You give me a set of lyrics and a melody, and I’m ready to go.”
Little did he know that wholesome moment would be captured on video by a nearby fan and uploaded to TikTok the following day, quickly garnering more than four million views and 1,500 comments from fellow sports fans.
“The comments have been really touching,” he says. “By far, the majority of them have been, ‘you know, isn’t that great? He’s crossing generations, being part of things.’”
Many others shared that the brief five-second clip made them cry with joy, he says, with several more commenters venerating him for coming to the game “prepared.” A few rival fans even chimed in to praise his efforts, and the video was reshared by Sports Illustrated — expanding its audience even further. That repost has nearly nine million views on Instagram alone.
“Being in the stadium with 111,000 fans, and having that [song] over the loudspeaker system, and seeing the kids up, standing and singing, you can’t help but want to sing along,” he says. “It’s just … it’s inspiring. It’s moving.”
Marc says the printed out lyrics were supplied to his group by their longtime friend — and Gail’s college roommate — Debbie Goodwin, ’71, who does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to organizing these biannual visits to their old stomping grounds.
“This year was the first time she printed out the ‘Mr. Brightside’ song lyrics for all of us,” he says.
But it wasn’t the first time Goodwin’s intervention led to a memorable experience at a U-M vs. Wisconsin game for Marc and Gail, he added. In fact, she introduced the couple on U-M’s campus back in 1968, and shortly after that, they went on their first date to a U-M vs. Wisconsin game at the Big House.
“That stadium is where it all started for us, so it’s a very special place,” he says.
Though he admits that “Mr. Brightside” will never have the same significance to him as “Hail to the Victors,” “it is part of the tradition now,” he says. “And, you know, to be able to be part of it felt really good.”
Jenny Sherman is a writer for Michigan Alum.
