DES MOINES, Iowa — The year is 1999. The U.S. Women's National Team wins the FIFA Women's World Cup over China.
Tiger Woods wins his first PGA Championship at 23-years-old.
The New York Yankees win their 25th World Series.
What else happened that year? That was the last time the Des Moines North football team won four games in a season.
That all changed last week with their win over Lincoln. This success may seem like it came out of nowhere, but it didn't. It's actually been years in the making.
"This season we're all together, honestly," said Ty Taylor, senior defensive lineman. "We all take the time to know one another. We're all really good friends. We're all brothers, basically."
Building up a program is like putting together a puzzle. You start putting pieces together and see what fits. Eventually, you get enough pieces put together over time to where you can finally complete the puzzle and reveal the image you knew it would turn out to be.
"We've built this thing together along with leaders that have come before them," said head coach Eric Addy. "Guys like Deavin Hilson at Iowa, that class that unfortunately got two games because of COVID. That was a really strong class for us from a leadership standpoint, an athleticism standpoint. So they took it to the next step. This class last year was smaller in numbers but they got our first win in however many games so that was a big turning point. That was a lot of momentum for our culture."
The same could be said for how this team got to where it is today. Their success is the culmination of the work put in by the teams that came before them.
"We represent all of those classes that didn't have the type of success that we're having right now and those guys got broad shoulders and they're okay carrying that on their shoulders," Addy said.
The Polar Bears are looking to make history. Last week's win over Lincoln earned North its fourth win of the season, something they haven't had for 23 years.
"It's a feeling you can't describe," said Nick Crispin, senior quarterback and defensive back. "Seeing your best friends and your teammates smiling and seeing your coaches be proud of you and your family be proud of you. It's like...nothing beats it."
A win against Roosevelt would put them at five wins. The last time that happened was back in 1977.
But each win is so much more than just a number for this team. It represents how far they've come and how much further they can continue to go.
"I don't think we're trying to prove anybody wrong," Taylor said. "We're just trying to prove ourselves right."