The Rose Bowl, Jan. 2, 2017
Well, I can't say that I was real happy with the final score, but it was a great game and a great experience!
It was a cold and rainy morning in Encinitas but we were hoping for clearing and warmer weather in Pasadena
We rode up on a charter bus from Solana Beach with a mixture of USC and PSU fans.
It was a fun ride and a great alternative to driving. The bus had a bathroom and the Alumni Clubs provided snacks, cookies, mixers, water and soda.
A view of the back of the bus with Lorri on the far left. The Mimosa were flowing!
If you look closely at the above 100-square pool from the bus ride, you'll see the world-famous SuperStork logo with the initials "J.H." on three squares. I didn't win.
This is in the parking lot at the stadium
I don't know how this photo will work. I copied and pasted from Face Book. There were many more Penn Staters on the busses but only these few got in the photo. Lorri got blocked out a little.
Heading into the game we saw the Penn State equipment truck. That's a long drive from Happy Valley!
Here we are! There were lot's of corporate tents, private parties and tailgates that we couldn't get into.
Lorri and my new hat
The players arrived in 3 or 4 busses like this with lot's of security
CHP was everywhere
A guy standing next to me knew Joe Moorhead, PSU's offensive coordinator, so Joe came over to say hello.
We got stuck on the opposite side from where the players got off the bus but a few came around to greet the fans.
Lot's of game day souvenirs were available at very reasonable prices. Yeah, right!
We entered at Gate G and headed to our seats in Section 16, Row 47
We were early enough to see some of the warm-ups and pre-game festivities.
A selfie from our seat location
Warm-ups
A bunch of Nittany Lions. Would that be a "Pride" of Lions?
This is Lorri and me with Debbie's "cousin-in-law" John Knox and his son, Jack (good name). Jack is a freshman at Penn State. We tried to meet up with them prior to the game but finally found them at their seats just before game time. Great to meet them!
The Penn State Marching Blue Band warming up the crowd.
The crowd needed warming too! We froze the whole game!
My former boss and business partner, and still friend, Tom McGannon, found us at half-time for a brief visit. Good to see Tom has not changed a bit!
An extra point for Penn State! Our seats were decent.
This was our view
OK, I'm not going to say too much about the game because I'm still trying to get over how it ended, but I will say that it was one of the best games I have ever attended, despite Penn State's loss. The atmosphere was electric, as the say, for all the four long hours of it.
