Why Michigan fans are saying 'let's dance' entering 2023 season

After two big victories in The Game and back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, Michigan has its sights set on a national championship in 2023. There’s a high energy around the fan base, and the attitude can be summed up with two words.

“The pulse of the program at Michigan is, ‘Let’s dance,'” On3’s J.D. PicKell said. “That’s how the fan base feels.”

Much like Ren McCormack — played, of course, by the great Kevin Bacon — in the 1984 classic Footloose, Michigan is ready to launch some confetti and hit the dance floor. The Wolverines have come up short in the last two CFPs, including last year’s back-and-forth loss to TCU. But with two straight victories over Ohio State, PicKell said there are some great vibes around the Michigan program.

After getting a feel for the dance floor, the Wolverines are ready to take the spotlight.

“For so long for Michigan, it was like ‘Man, if we could just beat Ohio State,'” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “They went eight years in a row, they hadn’t been the Buckeyes. And now, the last two, they’re 2-for-2. They’re here in the music playing, beats bumping a little bit, the BPMs are starting to pick up. They’re like, ‘Alright, let’s dance,’ because they feel like, ‘We want to go with the big one now.’ … But they’ve tasted a little bit now, has that fan base.

“They want more. They got the appetizer, they love it — they got it two years in a row, actually. Made the College Football Playoff. Probably woulda, shoulda, coulda last year against TCU. You do enough to lose that game. That’s not gonna be good enough anymore for that fan base. They’re trying to get their party on here in Houston. They’re trying to go win not just a College Football Playoff game, they’re trying to win a national title. And they have been very open about that.”

Michigan fans waited a long time to beat Ohio State again. Then, they had to wait for the program’s first-ever CFP appearance. It’s safe to say they’re tired of standing off to the side watching others under the lights.

They’re ready to, at last, dance the night away.

“For the first time in a while now, the music is playing in Ann Arbor,” PicKell said. “And that fan base is getting to dance and they love it. Don’t stop the party, don’t stop the music. Let’s dance. Let’s keep this thing going, let’s keep this dance going, let’s keep this show going all the way to a national title. That is the feel within that fan base. And as these things usually go, that same pulse overlaps into what’s going on internally.”