1990 Colorado

I was looking for a team that wore black today, and, well, that kind of made for slim pickings. But more about that in a moment.

Here, linebacker Alfred Williams celebrates at the 1991 Orange Bowl after winning the dramatic rematch with Notre Dame, 10-9. The year before, Colorado was No. 1 heading into the Orange Bowl, where it lost to the Fighting Irish, 21-6.

On a personal note, I’m deeply saddened by the loss of tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who died Thursday at his home in Italy. He was 71. Hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, Pavarotti died during the night at his villa near the northern city of Modena after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Some people grew up with the Beach Boys, others with the Rolling Stones. More than anyone else musically, I grew up with Pavarotti, whose music almost always filled our house, in part because my mother was an opera singer. I never got a chance to enjoy his singing live, but I’m glad she did.

I also liked the comment Bono of U2 gave about Pavarotti, hailing him as “a great volcano of a man who sang fire.” Bravo.