'Titanic,' Tom Brady on the bench and more trends from Michigan's last national title
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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines defeated the No. 2 Washington Huskies 34-13 to win their first College Football Playoff National Championship and outright national title since 1948 (the Wolverines split the title with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1997).
The 74 years between outright national titles is the most in the AP Poll era, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. In his 13th season as an FBS head coach, Jim Harbaugh becomes the first person to win his first national title this late into a head-coaching career since the Texas Longhorns‘ Mack Brown in 2005.
Michigan is now the sixth school to finish a season 15-0 or better. Three of the previous times have occurred in the past decade: the Georgia Bulldogs (2022), LSU Tigers (2019) and Clemson Tigers (2018). The Wolverines’ 15 wins is also the most in a single season in Big Ten history.
The national championship win marks Michigan football’s first national title since defeating the Washington State Cougars 21-16 in the 1998 Rose Bowl.
Here’s a look back at what the world was like the last time the Wolverines were national champions.
‘Titanic’ in the midst of epic run
“Titanic” began to etch itself in movie lore by the time New Year’s Day 1998 came around.
Released in the U.S. on Dec. 19, the blockbuster film reached $124 million at the box office by the end of New Year’s Day. Overall, “Titanic” has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, becoming one of the top-selling movies ever.
The GOAT rode the bench
Prior to winning a record seven Super Bowls, Tom Brady was just a backup quarterback at Michigan.
The future three-time NFL MVP appeared in four games and had just 12 completions for 103 yards during the national title season. Brady didn’t play in the Rose Bowl as Brian Griese led the Wolverines to the win.
Griese declared for the draft after the Rose Bowl and Brady became the starter for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, throwing for 30 touchdowns and 4,644 yards.
Elton John’s Princess Diana tribute leads charts
Elton John rewrote “Candle in the Wind,” originally released in 1973, as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.
John performed it at her funeral before the song was officially released in September 1997. It stayed at No. 1 of the Billboard Hot 100 entering the New Year. The track earned John a Grammy Award for Male Pop Vocal Performance.
“Candle in the Wind” sold more than 33 million copies worldwide, a record for the best-selling single of the pop-rock era.
Jordan and Chicago Bulls nearing end of ‘Last Dance’
Coming off their fifth NBA championship of the decade, Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson deemed the 1997-98 season “The Last Dance.” The moniker came after general manager Jerry Krause made it clear Jackson would not return as coach of the Bulls.
Chicago entered the New Year with a 20-10 record, good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference. They lost only 10 more games the rest of the regular season and won their sixth title, Jordan’s last.
Steve Jobs comes back to Apple
Steve Jobs’ return to Apple became a reality in early 1997. Jobs left the company in 1985, but came back after the acquisition of his computer platform company NeXT.
Apple named him as its interim CEO in September 1997 and Jobs helped introduce technology such as the iPod and iPhone. He hadn’t been back at Apple for more than a year when Michigan won its national title.
