It all started in 1984 with the short-lived Cherry Bowl, which marked the first bowl game to be played in chilly Detroit. Following the lackluster response to that game, the Motor City Bowl — which features a Mid-American Conference Champion against a bowl-eligible Big Ten team — eventually took over in 1997, first sponsored by Ford, then the Big Three automakers and in 2008, by Chrysler. But there’s nothing like a failing automobile industry to cause a sponsorship shakeup for the game that’s now held at Ford Field. In 2009, Little Caesars Pizza announced that it would become the game’s latest sponsor, and would also get to rename it. Little Caesars co-founder Michael Ilitch praised the new partnership saying at the time of the announcement, “What food goes better with football than Little Caesars pizza?”