Michigan fans in Ann Arbor celebrate Rose Bowl victory
By Brett Kast
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ANN ARBOR, Michigan (WXYZ) — Although Ann Arbor isn’t filled with students this New Year’s, fans still came to campus to take in the game. Hours of anxiety erupting in cheers at a watch party inside the Michigan Theater, as a nail biting overtime finish resulted in a Rose Bowl victory.
“What do you think of that? Listen to this, look at it,” said Michigan fan David Fiedrich as fans cheered moments after the win. “This is awesome, this is great.”
Hundreds of people like Fiedrich filled up the historic Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor for a wolverine watch party, witnessing Michigan’s first ever win in the college football playoffs.
“In the years you’ve watched Michigan football, where do you rank this game?” asked 7 Action News reporter Brett Kast.
“Number one, easily number one,” said Fiedrich.
Michigan graduates like Leah Mills- Chapman wanted to be out in Ann Arbor to watch the instant classic with other fans.
“It’s just so exciting,” said Mills- Chapman. “It just felt so good to have that energy to hype us up and to keep us going, and we felt like we were doing it through the screen so that was awesome.”
The game was an emotional roller coaster as fans reacted to the ups and downs. The theater worked with the University and ESPN to host the party.
“There was definitely high drama in the theater, and we love that dynamic,” said the theater’s Executive Director Russ Collins.
Although students were on break, college bars like Scorekeepers still had a crowd of people coming to campus just to watch the game.
“This is the spot to come to to see Michigan win,” said Damario Hightower who lives near the Detroit/Dearborn border. “The crowd is going to go crazy still, no matter how many people is in there, this is the spot to be.”
Whether at the Big House, or the big screen, Michigan fans have been singing “Hail to the Victors” loudly all season long, all the way to the national championship.
“This is top tier, we came and pulled it out,” Mills- Chapman said. “I’m too exited right now to really center in with the thought, but we were clutch, we pulled it, pulled it out. It was awesome.”
The Michigan Theater says they plan to host another watch party on Monday for the National Championship.
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