Instead of another appearance in Orlando, the Wolverines are back at the Rose Bowl.
Knight Ridder Newspapers

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Friday afternoon, as the sun shone on the self-proclaimed “Happiest Place on Earth,” Chris Perry danced with Donald Duck in a way that would make Daisy jealous.

“The music hit me,” said Perry, Michigan’s star running back. “I just had to let it loose.”

Perry’s dance was part of the “Rose Bowl Salute” at Disneyland, an unintended farce that featured the introduction of Mickey Mouse as “an enormous football fan.” Perry was one of the lucky Wolverines. The unlucky ones got stuck on a faulty roller coaster, “California Screamin’,” which literally stopped in its tracks. The players had to walk back down a tight ramp to the entrance.

“I wish I could have seen Leo try to walk down,” tackle Tony Pape said of fellow lineman Leo Henige, who is conservatively listed at 328 pounds.

There are worse places to be in late December than Disneyland. Like for example, Disney World. That’s in Orlando, home of the lesser Citrus Bowl, where Michigan has played three times since its last Rose Bowl visit.

Eleven weeks ago, the Wolverines looked like they were headed to Orlando again – if they were lucky. U-M was 4-2 and trailed Minnesota, 28-7, in the fourth quarter. Michigan rallied to win that game, 38-35, then won its last five games by healthier margins to earn a Rose Bowl bid.

“It was a high-stress situation,” defensive tackle Grant Bowman said. “You have trouble sleeping, you’re worried about it all the time. You try to think about what you can do better, and you don’t know what you can do better. It’s a really tough deal when you’re older and you feel like a team’s on your shoulders.”

Bowman, a senior captain with limited NFL aspirations, saw his dreams crumbling around him. He and the other Wolverines say they never questioned the character of the team. But they admit they had other questions.

“I was obviously worried at halftime at Minnesota what was going on, but we were able to pull it together,” Bowman said. “It’s tough not to have worries creep into your head, but we were able to do it.”

What happened at halftime? Did somebody stand up and give the kind of cheesy emotional speech that Disney would love?

“Not really,” Bowman said. “I think the whole motivational, yell-in-your-face thing is overrated. It’s basically just trying to come back and figure out the things you’re doing wrong as a football player and fixing them.”

Whatever was wrong, the Wolverines fixed it in time to enjoy Christmas in Southern California. Pape celebrated with an overpriced seafood dinner with center Dave Pearson. Courtney Morgan, a Los Angeles native, celebrated by bringing a bunch of teammates home for dinner. Occasionally, they must think about what might not have been.

“It was very difficult,” Bowman said of the season’s low point. “As a captain and fifth-year senior, whatever this team did was going to be my mark and my legacy. I was worried about it. I thought I wasn’t doing a good job, because a lot of people say that the leadership is going to change how we’re going to win, what our record’s going to be.

“It’s a tough thing to do when you’re trying to keep 100 guys focused on one thing. But we were able to do it. Once you start winning and get the momentum going, it’s a lot easier to do.”