What was the world like the last time Michigan was champion?
The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines beat the No. 2 Washington Huskies 34-13 to win their first College Football Playoff championship and first outright national title since 1948 (the Wolverines split the championship with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1997).
Michigan is now the sixth university to finish a season 15-0 or better. Three of the previous occasions occurred in the last decade: the Georgia Bulldogs (2022), LSU Tigers (2019) and Clemson Tigers (2018). The Wolverines’ 15 wins are also the most in a single season in Big Ten history.
The CFP Championship Game victory marks Michigan’s first national title since defeating the Washington State Cougars 21-16 in the 1998 Rose Bowl.
Let’s take a look at what the world was like the last time the Wolverines were national champions.
‘Titanic’ swept the box office
‘Titanic’ began to become a hit when New Year’s Day 1998 arrived.
Released in the United States on December 19, the film reached $124 million at the box office by the end of New Year’s Day. In total, ‘Titanic’ grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing films in history.
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Before winning an NFL-record seven Super Bowls, Tom Brady was just a backup quarterback at Michigan.
The future three-time NFL MVP appeared in four games and hauled in just 12 passes for 103 yards during the national title season. Brady did not play in the Rose Bowl in which Brian Griese led the Wolverines to victory.
Griese declared for the draft after the Rose Bowl and Brady became a starter for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, throwing for 30 touchdowns and 4,644 yards.
Elton John’s tribute to Princess Diana was the most listened to
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 remained at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 until the New Year. The song earned John a Grammy Award for Male Pop Vocal Performance.
“Candle in the Wind” sold more than 33 million copies worldwide, a sales record for a single in the pop-rock era.
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were approaching the ‘Last Dance’
After winning his fifth NBA championship of the decade, Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson considered the 1997-1998 season “The Last Dance.” The slogan arose after general manager Jerry Krause made it clear that 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 games the rest of the regular season and won their sixth championship, Michael Jordan’s last.
Steve Jobs returned to Apple
Steve Jobs’ return to Apple became a reality in early 1997. Jobs left the company in 1985, but returned after the acquisition of his computing platform company NeXT.
Apple named him interim CEO in September 1997, and Jobs helped introduce technologies such as the iPod and iPhone. He had not been back at Apple for more than a year when Michigan won its national title.
