The Michigan men’s soccer team has kept things interesting during its remarkable run to this weekend’s College Cup in Santa Barbara, Calif.
In fact, the 19th-ranked Wolverines (17-4-3) have recently become YouTube sensations after the release of a video spawning from a friendly rivalry with the California men’s soccer program.
The video shows team members dancing and lip-synching to Drake’s chart-topper “Over.” It is the brainchild of senior defender Jeff Quijano, who notched his first goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory over Maryland.
“I have a friend (who) goes to Cal,” Quijano said on Monday. “She showed me the video. They did a wonderful job.”
Scenes from the video were shot at various locations, including the team’s charter flight, the locker room and Columbia, S.C. — the site of Michigan’s third-round victory. A brief introduction shows the team being honored at The Big House as Big Ten champions.
Amateur music video production has become a recent trend on the college soccer scene. The UCSD squad recently dropped a cover of “Love Like Woe” by The Ready Set.
The on-field success of the Wolverines — who have advanced further than any other team in the program’s history — combined with the online success of the video has led to speculation that more clips may be on the way.
According to senior midfielder Alex Wood, “something might be in the works”.
For Quijano, who will be playing about an hour away from his hometown of Canoga Park when Michigan faces No. 2 Akron (20-1-2) on Friday, the video exchange between the two programs is just part of a master plan for future entertainment.
“Hopefully it becomes kind of a yearly thing where (Cal) would … make a video and we’d kind of make one that responds,” Quijano said.
The hardest part for Quijano, the video’s producer, whose creation has accumulated well over 6,000 views so far, has been convincing his teammates to make the leap from the field to the studio.
“I told these guys ‘I’m gonna start filming,’ ” Quijano said. “They were a little sketchy at first, but I think it came out well.”
When asked about the video, Wolverine head coach Steve Burns couldn’t help but laugh. And who could blame him? As long as his team continues its winning ways — the tournament’s No. 10 seed has won nine straight games — the fun is okay with him.
The video, which Burns hopes “goes viral”, can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPj7MQnQVh0