PASADENA, Calif. — Before the No. 1 Wolverines head to the field to play No. 4 Alabama, the University of Michigan Marching Band took to a stage of their own in California.
The band, made of 379 students, performed in the 110th Rose Bowl Parade Monday morning.
Michigan made an appearance at the first-ever Rose Bowl in 1902, beating Stanford 49-0 and going on to win the National Championship. They've appeared in 20 Rose Bowls since.
Though it's the first time Michigan will take on Alabama in this setting, one Rockford mom was seeing double.
Kathleen Archer-Sullivan watched as her oldest daughter, Jansen, performed in the parade with the band with the University of Michigan. Last year, her youngest daughter, Macy, performed there with Rockford High School.
"It's pretty incredible, actually," she said, "The fact that both of them had the opportunity to have that experience."
When Rockford announced their marching band was heading to the Rose Bowl Parade in 2021, Jansen was a senior. She would graduate before she got the chance to perform there — until Monday.
"It's hard to realize that you're not going to get the chance to go," said Archer-Sullivan. "And so the fact that Jansen now gets to be at the Rose Bowl and in the Tournament of Roses Parade, a year after her sister got that experience last year is really pretty phenomenal."
"I know there's a little rivalry too," she laughed. "Macy being the younger one loves to rub it in that she got to go first."
Archer-Sullivan says she was in marching band herself, making it a family affair. It seems the Rose Bowl is simply part of their new tradition.
"They'll definitely be able to share stories for years to come," she said.
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