Looking at The Year Michigan Last Won a National Championship
The University of Michigan Wolverines have won their 12th College Football National Championship in the school’s long and storied history, beating the Washington Huskies 34-13. The last time Michigan were National Champions was in 1997, close to 30-years ago. They beat Washington State 21-16 at the Rose Bowl game on January 1, 1998. They’re victory secured them the National title which was shared with Nebraska (this was in the era before the college football playoffs).
The 1997 Wolverines went 12-0 on the season and were led by College Football Hall of Fame Coach Lloyd Carr and featured Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson and quarterback Brian Griese. Griese’s backup was a then-unknown QB you may have heard of named Tom Brady.
Head coach Lloyd Carr of the University of Michigan Wolverines. Carr was head coach of the team from 1995-2007.
1997 was a unprecedented year in history as well. Here are some moments you may have forgotten that happened that year.
In the year 1997…
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, starring Sarah Michelle Geller, premiered on the WB Television Network.
Kenny, Cartman, Kyle, and Stan, the characters in the hit series “South Park.”
The first episode of “South Park” was broadcast on Comedy Central.
“The Lion King” musical made its debut on Broadway.
The very first book in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling was published. It went on to sell over 120-million copies worldwide.
Netlfix began as something totally different in 1997 than the streaming service we know today.
Netflix was founded by Marc Randolph and Reece Hastings in California. It started out as an online DVD rental service.
“google.com” was first registered as a domain name.
Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland announced that they had successfully cloned a sheep.
O.J. Simpson was found liable in the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in a civil court action.
Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris, France. She was 36-years old.
87-year old missionary and nun Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India.
The crown worn by Notorious B.I.G. when photographed by Barron Claiborne as the King of New York. Biggie passed away far too soon but he remains a legend in hip-hop.
Christopher Wallace, The Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was only 24-years old.
The Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers for their first Stanley Cup in 42-years.
Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson lock heads during their heavyweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden.
Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear during their match in Las Vegas and was suspended from boxing and fined $3-million.
At 21-years old, Tiger Woods became the youngest ever golfer to win the Masters.
Movies released in 1997 included “Titanic” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, “Men in Black” starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, “Boogie Nights” starring Mark Wahlberg and Heather Graham, “Good Will Hunting” starring Robin Williams and Matt Damon, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” starring Mike Meyers, “As Good As It Gets” starring Jack Nicholson, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” starring Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, “Selena” starring Jennifer Lopez and “Spice World” starring the Spice Girls.
Albums that dropped that year included Janet Jackson’s “The Velvet Rope”, Mariah Carey’s “Butterfly”, Usher’s “My Way”, Mary J. Blige’s “Share My World”, Missy Elliot’s debut album “Supa Dupa Fly”, Erykah Badu’s debut solo album “Baduizm”, Mase’s debut album “Harlem Wolrd”, Wu-Tang Clan’s second album “Wu-Tang Forever”, Jay-Z’s second album “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1”, and Notorious B.I.G.’s second studio album “Life After Death” which was released just 16 days after his murder.
Netflix Shares 2023's Most-Hours Spent on Films and TV Shows
