It was January 1998. Mark McSoley had just finished a several-weeks-long training in Denver as a Boeing 737 first officer. When his final test flight was completed, he packed up his green Ford Escort and began his 16-hour drive from Colorado to his home in Michigan.



The Western Michigan University grad, who had been raised in the state, was getting a little tired upon his approach to Lincoln, Neb. But he sat up in his seat when he heard a name he recognized while scanning the AM radio.



Griese. Brian Griese. The Michigan quarterback? And he was playing … Nebraska? In the national championship game? Could this be true?



“I’d had my head underground for weeks while I was studying,” McSoley said. “I was out of the loop, and we didn’t have smartphones back then. Occasionally, I’d look at a newspaper but not too much. I was in my own little flight world.”



But even with his head underground, McSoley knew what...