The memories are all joyous now, 15 years later.

The former Michigan football players can laugh even at the tense moments, about how important it all seemed at the time.

With perspective comes appreciation -- and that's how most of the 1997 Wolverines remember their national championship.

This weekend three of the team's most prominent figures -- Charles Woodson, Brian Griese and Steve Hutchinson -- returned to Ann Arbor to host events benefiting Mott Children's Hospital. They and those associated with the team shared their memories in interviews on WTKA-AM (1050) during its Friday radio-a-thon and in interviews with the Free Press:

Coach Lloyd Carr: "The first meeting in the fall, we had a tradition at Michigan as far as the seniors sat down in front and normally the juniors sat down behind them and the freshmen were in the back of the room. As each class advanced, they moved forward. It was a great day to walk in there as a senior and be able to sit in the front of the meeting room. We had one seat left and we had two guys that wanted the seat so we had a little altercation there before we started the first meeting. But I've always thought about that because the truth is we had a lot of strong personalities on that team, guys that were strong-minded and competitive and tough. A lot of people talk about the Iowa game, but there were a number of times that season that this team proved again and again and again, they had the championship mentality."

Carr: "I would say the time where I really knew that was a great football team was down (in the 34-8 win over then-No. 2) at Penn State. I can remember Beano Cook in the run-up to the game, somebody had sent me a clip of a statement he had made on radio where he said Michigan's going down to Penn State and they'd be a lot better off if the football team stayed home and they sent their band because Michigan's got a great band. I'll tell you what, when those guys heard that. ... That was the game (with) one of the great performances I've seen."

Linebacker Dhani Jones: "The day in the meeting room when everybody started singing. I don't think many people knew about that. Seen the movie 'Glory?' We just started singing ... 'Lord, Lord, Lord ... mmm ... it's going to be a good day ... we going to go out there and fight and we gonna do it right ... Touchdown ... we got the score I want some more.' That's what happened. You see the change and everybody came together and it came out of nowhere."

(Teammates Charles Woodson and Steve Hutchinson had no memory of the scene when asked later in the broadcast.)

Jones: "I think about the national championship a lot but obviously these are a part of history that remains within your memory banks ... I don't wear any of my championship rings or keep many trophies in my house. My mom has those. ... It's the championship game, the last couples seconds, the last couple moments when everything came down. You remember your heartbeat, you remember the anxiety and the ball in the air. ... (Ryan Leaf's spike with no time left) was the last play of the game, I was dropping out and you see everything happening and unfold and you see this beautiful picture that's designed in the way you always want it to be."

Quarterback Scott Dreisbach: "It was a great season and a great time for all of us. Coach Carr had a good plan for all of us going into the season. I think it was a group of guys who are very close to this day. So you think back on the whole season and to be able to win all those games is a great experience. ... You hear about the Rose Bowl for years and to be able to finally get to the top of that mountain was a great experience."

Tight end/fullback Aaron Shea: "I would definitely say it's (discussed) weekly. Now with my job with the (Cleveland) Browns, I'm in charge of these rookies and getting their mind right and I think getting a class and team together on the field means so much. The '97 team was by far the closest team I've been a part of. ... I don't think you ever appreciate it as much as you should. I was talking to Coach Carr about this and I remember the losses (other years) more than the wins. ... You remember the Iowa game being a close game, of course the Ohio State game and you can't forget the Rose Bowl. I think about 100 guys with one goal. As Charles Woodson said, 'Just win.' That was our thing."

Cornerback Charles Woodson, 1997 Heisman Trophy winner: "At different times, you think about it differently. This weekend, you'll be around the guys you played with and it will bring back those memories, those times when we were all fighting for that common goal and that was get to the Rose Bowl and the championship. In other times in my own season or when I'm at home, it seems distant."

Committed recruit Drew Henson, who would enroll in 1998: "Being down there as much as I was (watching), the expectation of that team being ranked in the mid-teens, it was great to see the way they came together, getting to 3-0, to the point where heading to the Ohio State game and Rose Bowl game, it didn't resemble the team coming into the fall. It reflects on the type of guys that they had. ... It's not surprising looking back that those guys were able to have that type of a season."

Mike Hart (U-M running back 2004-07): "Going through that 11-0 start in 2006, you realized how hard it is to win the national championship. You've got a perfect year but all it takes is one play, one call, one something and you don't get that national championship. So you have a respect for what they did."

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