This post is the Grandaddy of them all

I make very few appearances on the blog these days.  But rarely do I do things that are this blog worthy.  So here goes:

So as soon as it was looking like the Frogs were on a collision course with the Grandaddy of them all (bowl-wise) my dad and I started discussing the idea of getting out there to cheer them on and check the Rose Bowl off the proverbial bucket list.

We made it out there on Friday morning and played 16 holes of golf in about 7 hours.  We started late and it was painfully slow.  I didn’t get any pictures, but it was a pretty nice little course.

That Friday night we took in a Lakers game.  This was the other ‘check it off the list’ event of the weekend.  They played the 76ers, which was a bit meh, but due to it being a Lakers home game it was still pretty legit.  It was as big an event as I thought it would be.  We were on the very top row, but even way up there every seat was filled on New Year’s Eve.  Those people love them some Lakers.

Here we are outside of the Staples Center in the LA Live area.

Here is the Lakers game ‘miniature’ style.

Here is the view from out seat.

And now to the main event:

This is a view of the Rose Bowl from our parking spot.  I had no idea that the bowl was about half underground.  So from ground level it looks pretty small considering 95,000 fit in her.

We made our way over to the parade.  This is a shot of one of the grandstands.  Honestly, we had a great view of the parade, not sure why you would pay for one of these.

Hightlight of the parade?  Glad you asked.  It had to be Paula Deen giving the Go Frogs sign to the group across the street from us.

Here is said group.  I had several friends up there, but we opted to stay on the move.  But it was fun to watch these guys try and get every float to give the Go Frogs sign (and of course they were successful with Miss Paula Deen).

The TCU float was pretty cool.

Other than the TCU float, this was my favorite float.  (it’s a Ronald Regan float).

This is the view on the walk from the parade to the game.  I have a theory about the amount of red we saw at the parade.  So it turned out to be pretty cold and if you want to wear red to most Wisconsin football games your red would have to be on a coat/jacket, but for TCU it is a dri-fit polo shirt.  So while the Wisconsin fans had red coats/jackets, very few TCU fans had purple coats/jackets.  At least that is my theory.

As we got back from the parade, the tailgating was going full force.

Here is a view of the golf course on the North side of the stadium.  Really cool how they let people park in the fairways.

Here is the official TCU tailgate.

Here is the money shot.  What a great day.

View as we walked into our tunnel.

The field, once again ‘miniature’ style.

So up North they wear ‘cheeseheads’.  However this young lady is wearing a cheesehead that is a cowboy hat.  love it.

View from out seats.

Pandemonium.

After the game.

Love it.

On Sunday we played golf down in Palos Verdes and then did a little touring.  Here is the Coliseum on the USC campus.

Unfortunately, this is as close as we got to Dodger Stadium.

Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.  Just think about the basketball that has been played in that booger.

In summary it was everything I had hoped it would be.  The Rose Bowl is truly unlike anything else.