News update:A fan from 1997 an ex-Wolverine and a cheerleader are headed to the Rose Bowl

One was there the last time Michigan won it all. Another has never been, but she’s been cheering on the Wolverines since it became an official activity. Another played in this game and, 40 years later, still bleeds blue.

Michigan is appearing in a College Football Playoff semifinal for the third straight season. No disrespect to the Orange or Fiesta Bowls, but this time it’s The Grandaddy of Them All. The Rose Bowl just hits different.

When the Wolverines take the field on Jan. 1 against Alabama, they’ll be celebrated by countless fans who feel an emotional connection to their school, their team, and this game.

As a junior at Michigan, Mary Delzer and five of her classmates decided they’d attend every Michigan football game the next season, home and away. They put a check in the mail to the athletic department. They wanted to see other Big Ten campuses and do something special for their senior year. The 1997 Wolverines made it extra special.

Later this month, Delzer will return to Pasadena for the first time since witnessing Michigan win its most recent national championship at the 1998 Rose Bowl. She and her husband will take their four teenage boys to Q’s Billiard Club on Colorado Boulevard, where the couple met for the first time on New Year’s Eve 1997. They’ve got tickets for the game.

Delzer fondly recalls road trips to Bloomington, East Lansing, State College, and Madison as the 1997 Wolverines ran through the Big Ten. Once Charles Woodson, Brian Griese, and company beat Ohio State, there was no question the girls would be heading west with them.