Andraya Carter Pays Off the Bet

A bet comes due on live television, and ESPN analyst Andraya Carter is the one holding up her end.

Earlier in the tournament, Carter and Rich struck a deal on behalf of Reese's. If Michigan beat Tennessee in the NCAA tournament, Carter would sing Rocky Top. If Tennessee won, Rich would sing The Victors. Michigan took care of Tennessee in the Elite Eight. The bill came due.

Rich admits he could not tell you a single word of the Michigan fight song. He does not even know what it is called. Carter informs him it is called The Victors. Rich asks if he can do a dramatic reading. Carter agrees.

He starts. Hail to the victors valiant. Hail to the conquering heroes. Hail. Hail to Michigan, the leaders and the best. He pauses, asks if he is on the right track. Carter laughs and tells him to keep going. He loops back through, hits the champions of the west line, and declares that good enough.

Carter is not impressed. She notes that for an organization as victorious as Michigan, the fight song is pretty subpar. It is basically verse, chorus, repeat. Rocky Top, she points out, at least has verse one, chorus, verse two. Rich counters that it is not a Biggie song, Andraya, and pivots to a dad joke about Michigan making short work of Tennessee on Sunday. Carter accepts the salt in the wound.

The exchange ends with a running promise. Michigan plays Texas for the women's Elite Eight that night. If Michigan takes care of business, that is men's and women's, just like UConn, except UConn does not have a team in the Frozen Four and Michigan does. Carter takes the ribbing in stride and promises they will run this back, baseball, softball, whatever sport comes next. Tennessee, she reminds Rich, is an everything school.

The bit lands because both parties are in on the game. Carter came prepared to sing Rocky Top if the other result hit. Rich came prepared to butcher The Victors. The payment gets made, the fight song gets critiqued, and the running joke stays loaded for the next round.