Its been a while since our last post, but I was one of those fortunate enough to have made it out to Pasadena and now I’m in the midst of a cross country relocation out to California. So busy is an extremely lax way of putting it. But I am still compelled to chronicle my first ever Rose Bowl trip to watch the Nittany Lions take on the USC Trojans. This won’t be a recap of the game but I’m positive you’ve read plenty of those by now at this point. I know I have.

So if fate was trying to send a message, the hotel I ended up picking for our group during our stay for the Rose Bowl was the very same hotel officially chosen for the mighty Trojans themselves. The Intercontinental Hotel Century City was the absolute definition of luxury. Though it wasn’t my first time staying at the hotel, it was certainly an unique experience watching the entire Trojan starting offensive line performing cannonballs at the pool and getting drunk off what must had smelled like whiskey at the hot tub. To top it off, the most memorable image of the trip wasn’t from the Rose Bowl, instead it was of a few starting linemen for the Trojans leaping out of the hot tub flat onto their bellies, spraying water everywhere in a scene I can only describe as orcas performing at Sea World.

Fortunately, the Penn State football team was staying at the hotel directly adjacent to the Intecontinental. What was disturbing were the hours Penn State football players were able to stay out until. 2 nights before the Rose Bowl, we hung out at the “X” Bar, the bar located in the official Penn State Rose Bowl hotel, and on our way out we saw a few players still outside mingling with a few girls. The USC team however was already deep into their curfew (how did I know? The players we talked to at the pool were talking about their team schedules thinking we were USC fans staying at their official hotel and when we got back to the hotel, not a Trojan was in sight). I understand that competing in the Rose Bowl is a reward for a great season, but it still is a football game, not a full blown unchaperoned vacation.

That however, wasn’t even the oddest part of the night. While we were hanging out around the firepits in the “X” bar, two men affiliated with Penn State football came bursting out of the inside section of the bar to the patio area arguing about the craziest thing… succession plans for Joe Paterno. Both were clearly closely attached to the coaching staff and one had apparently brought up the possibility of Jay taking over once Joe was done inside our very bar which clearly pissed off the other man. And there we were, a group of Penn State fans sitting earshot away from two grown men, screaming at each other about the possibility of Jay Paterno succeeding Joe. (Yeah, I almost started laughing myself at the idea, until I realized two grown men were seriously arguing about it)

While I do not usually condone eavesdropping, these two men were standing a full rooms length away from where we were, but were screaming at the top of their lungs. Both had obviously been drinking that night, and one was yelling at the other about not putting “crazy ideas into Jay’s head”. He even went as far as to bring up how the nation was sick of President Bush and that being the reason why Bush’s brother Jeb will never get a shot at the presidency as some sort of analogy as to why discussing the possibility of Jay taking over are “crazy ideas”.

Although we were not inside of the initial part of the argument before they were forced outside to where we could hear them, it was obvious by the time they were asked to simmer down by a waitress what they were arguing about. By the end of the conversation, one of the men even went as far as to leave the argument asking the other never to talk to him again. Sitting with my back turned to the argument going on, I was not able to identify either men. One was a tall, African American man, the other a more heavy set white guy who (from the conversation), seemed attached to the Paterno family.

So with team players effectively out past 2 am, and members of the coaching staff brawling in public just 2 days prior to the big game, I really can’t say I was entirely surprised by the crippling performance by Penn State on New Years day.

Nothing quite compares to the pagentry of the Rose Bowl. The history and importance behind the game itself invites the hatred of all those who weren’t and can’t be invited to take part. As much as the Big 12 and SEC ridicule the Rose Bowl and its attachment to the Big Ten and Pac 10, I grew up in Los Angeles, and I have seen first hand the hordes of Texan fans that streamed into LA to attend the Rose Bowl when the BCS effectively forced it to invite the Longhorns a few years ago. As much as they call it insignificant, teams of any conference other than the Big Ten and Pac 10 would die to see their team play in the Granddaddy of Them All.

The stealth bomber flyover following the national anthem over the Rose Bowl was spectacular. Penn State has also seemingly perfected the White Out having successfully pulled it off at the Orange Bowl in 05 and the Rose Bowl this year.

The USC fans definately outnumbered Penn States’ but the noise of the Nittany Lion faithful must have stunned the Trojans, at one point in the fourth quarter when it seemed like anything could have been possible after Penn State had cut the lead to 2 touchdowns and was marching for another, Penn State belted out a “We Are… Penn State” so loud, it started to rock the stadium. But it just wasn’t meant to be as Penn State’s horrendous 2nd quarter performance dug a hole so deep it was a miracle they even had a good shot to tie the game in the final minutes of the game.

So thus that ended my first Rose Bowl game experience and I sure hope it won’t be my last. Theres nothing more thrilling than having your favorite team play in your hometown bowl. That in addition to having the opportunity to show my college buddies around Los Angeles was a chance of a lifetime.

Programming Note: I’ll be back here on a full time basis once I complete my cross country journey. Currently I’m in Memphis visiting the southern part of our nation. Should be a few days before I am up and running again.

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