Big 10 Football Tour

So as I began this college football pursuit, I knew there was only 1 meaningful way to end the whole pursuit.   That would be to attend the Rose Bowl, and luckily the Big 10 champion gets awarded a berth in the Rose Bowl, so it was a perfect fit.

But let's dig in more: why this bowl?

Let us start by taking a look at some of the other bowl games.  With the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowls, tickets can easily be had for under $50.00.  I even understand that there are tickets selling for less than $10.00 for the Orange and Sugar Bowls.  The face value of a Rose Bowl ticket is $145.00 and current web prices are selling for far beyond $250.00.  Not to be overlooked is the fact that the Rose Bowl has more of a supply than any other bowl game with greater seating capacity.  So the simple fact that Rose Bowl tickets are selling for 5 times as much as any other bowl game can make anyone understand it's importance.

But let's forget about just spending a few dollars for a ticket and focus on why the ROSE BOWL is the best bowl game you'll ever attend:

1)  It is known as "The Granddaddy of Them All."  With a nickname like that, you can't go wrong.  It was the first ever bowl game.  It was first played in 1902. Source

2)  It holds the record for highest attendance at a bowl game.  In 1973, a record 106,869 saw USC and Ohio State play.  Source

3)  It was the first college football game broadcast in color in 1962. Source

4)  Playing in the Rose Bowl, there have been 18 Heisman Trophy winners, 28 National Championship Teams, & 197 Consensus All-Americans. Source

5)  The parade prior to the game is seen by approximately 40 million Americans on television every year. Source

6)  Since 1947, every Rose Bowl game has been a sellout. Source

7)  It holds the record for a NFL Superbowl at 103,985.  This game was played in 1980 and featured the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Los Angeles Rams (Superbowl XIV).  It has hosted 5 NFL Superbowl games.   Source

Why am I personally so drawn to the Rose Bowl?

Let's start with weather.  Ford Field is a beautiful facility to see the Little Cesaer's Pizza Bowl, but come on, I'm exposed to miserable Midwest weather for 9 months a year.  I wanted to go somewhere warm where I could get away from the cold and the snow.  I'm looking for warm weather, sunshine, and a lack of rainfall and humidity.

Next I wanted a place with some good smoking bans.  I wanted to go somewhere that would allow me to have a drink and I wouldn't have to stink of cigarette smoke.   While many places have moved forward and rid themselves of smoking in public places, Texas and Louisana have not.

What's more important than company?  Prior to the season, I stated that Oregon was the Pac-10 team that I most wanted to see in the Rose Bowl as one of my friends attends the school in Eugene, OR.  He will now be attending the game with me.  Some of my best friends reside in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, so this presents a great opportunity to visit them.

Entertainment.  Florida has hoards of tourists, fan-boat rides, a bunch of beachs, and a bunch of clubs.  Arizona has some sand, and New Orleans has Bourbon street, but California is loaded with scenery and attractions that you won't see anywhere else in this great country.

Growing up, I had not heard  and today

The first day was definitely be the most nerve-racking one as I had to travel from Milwaukee to Los Angeles.  Anytime you leave the Milwaukee airport, you have to be a bit nervous as the weather could cancel/delay/irritate your flight capabilities.  Sure enough, the snow was falling as I arrived at the airport.   I guess Milwaukee has dealt with snow before as we took off on time.  See some more of the very limited Day 1 HERE!

It was New Year's Eve!  This year, I wasn't watching the festivities on tv, but rather participating in the fun.  For this year's "New Year/No Limits," Travis Pastrana will be jumping a rally car off of a pier in Long Beach, sailing over the ocean 200 feet onto a barge!  While there was complete anarchy on Long Beach, I managed to snap some photos as well as recap my stops at the Universal City Walk and Hollywood Boulevard.  Warning, lots of photos ahead - see them HERE!

Yeah, this is what it's all about.  The "Granddaddy of 'em all."  It was a rather big day, starting off with the Rose Bowl parade at 8 AM.  Most parades are pretty lame - not this one, so check it out HERE! 

That was just the start as a few short miles away the music was playing, the tailgating had begun, and the Big 10 Football Tour was about to reach its grand conclusion.  To read all about the best experience of the tour, read HERE!

It was right down the street after all.  A short drive down to Carlsbad and then to San Diego.  Our first day here took us to Legoland (yes, Legoland), the San Diego waterfront, and a harbor cruise to Coronado Island.  To find out what Legoland is and see the rest of the day, click HERE!

Having been to San Diego a few times before, I had not seen the most advertised attraction - the San Diego Zoo.  Sunday probably being a good day to avoid field trips and crying children, it was the perfect fit.  Balboa Park and Old Town were also on the itinerary.  So to see some hippo dropping as well as other San Diego sites, click HERE!

Los Angeles is a fairly sizable area, so I needed a couple more days to check it out.   I also wanted to check out the surronding hype leading up to the BCS National Championship Game between Texas and Alabama.  During this day, we checked out some tar pits, a concert hall, and the Santa Monica Pier.  The extinct animals are more are right HERE!

Before heading up the coast, I had to get one more day in of great weather and sunshine.  To do this I went as close to the sun as I could possibly get in LA (Griffith Park) and then checked out one of the most famous beaches (Venice).  A beautiful day to conclude the stay in Los Angeles.  Read about it all right HERE!

Time to see the beauty of the Pacific Ocean.  A long roadtrip seems like 15 minutes when you have scenery like this.  The trip from LA to SF had loads of sights and even a stop at the famous Hearst Castle.  To see photos of this enormous home and some of the best views of the Pacific coastline, click HERE!

We arrived in northern California to find the weather had turned a bit colder and the fog had invaded the Bay Area.  Unfortunately we could not see scenic views of the most photographed bridge in the world such as the one to the side, but we still saw quite a bit.  Lombard Street, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Trolley rides and more all found HERE!

So our final day had come.  Simply put, it was the trip of a lifetime.  To see so much and have our friends help us out so much to make it relatively inexpensive.  During this day, we checked out the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco's version of Central Park, the Cliff House, and Haight-Ashbury.  See it all HERE!

Throughout the hundreds of photos contained in this Rose Bowl recap, I couldn't find a place for many and others found themselves belonging on a page that already had far too many photos.  So I've compiled some "other" photos here.  This includes our stop in Beverly Hills.  Some of the photos are rather funny, others just small references to all things California.  Check them out HERE!

I saw tons of college football related shirts throughout the week, but this one really resonated with me.  I loved it because I clearly remember Halloween night when Oregon stomped USC, ending the Trojan reign over the Pac-10.   I also realized that my longshot prediction and hope that Oregon would win the Pac-10 and meet the Big-10 champion in the Rose Bowl would now happen.  This game, this shirt set the stage for one of the best days of my life.

Without question, my fans of the game are Jerrie and Joe O'Connell.  I certainly hope that I don't cost them any job interviews or reflect negatively upon them by appearing on this site!  The two of them really got me into the Buckeye spirit prior to the game and their passion for Ohio State was as big as anyone's in the stadium.  I am so glad that they got to be there to witness Ohio State win the Rose Bowl!  Jerrie even provided me with the pin shown below that fit perfectly onto my Big 10 Tour tshirt...almost as if it were meant to be!

Hall, Rusty & Liz - hosting us in Carlsbad, CA for 3 nights
Lawrence, Dan - ride to the airport
McCormick, Josh - for continued friendship and helping to make this experience happen
Smith, Craig & Erin - hosting us in the Bay Area for 3 nights