BCS Championships

We (& as in "we" - I mean Paul) were invited to the BCS Championships, January 6th, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  Yeah, sometimes I just shake my head at what we get invited to...but since State Farm sponsors events like this, they get complimentary tickets & use them as promotions, blah, blah, blah...Paul made the VIP list & "we" were invited!

What is the BCS Championships? you ask (I know I had to ask)...Bowl Champion Series in college football.  Basically, they invite the top 2 ranked teams in college football & they play for the National Title...that's pretty cool, huh?

So we left the Horners at our house & headed to Pasedena.  We got there & checked in after the long drive & crashed early.  The next morning we decided to find a church to attend & since our nephew was serving his mission close by, we found his ward & attended Sacrament Meeting with him.  Elder Riley Garner was pretty surprised to see us, we had fun visiting with him & he looks terrific!

 The BCS Championship is quite a production!  They have a welcoming party with celebrities, entertainment, food, games, silent auction, it was incredible!  Our pass had a bar code on it & each photography station would scan it, take our picture & email them to us immediately!  Here's some of the fun...

Red Carpet photo

State Farm's logo on the sponsor's board & us with the BCS Championship trophy 

All kinds of sports memorabilia for the silent auction

The ESPN Desk

The Heisman Trophy

The Millinery Girls helped everyone make a game day hat in their favorite team's colors...

These are the only celebrities we posed with...there were actually tons of pro football players there to take pictures with but I've never been much of a football groupie...

On game day, I was pretty impressed with the set up & super excited to be at the historic Rose Bowl.  The parking lots were full of tail-gaters & sponsor's tents hosting parties of every kind.  We were invited to the Alumni's tent - Alumnus from Auburn & Florida State all over the place.  In this tent alone there were four different food stations (& yes, we sampled all of it!), activities,  games, music, drinks, etc.  We never realized that there was so much drinking involved in college sports!

Outside the Alumni Tent...

The fans are pretty crazy, sporting their team colors!  I stole a few of these shots, but these aren't even the ridiculous ones!

Towards game time, the parking lot was a sea of people working their way to the Rose Bowl...

I decided to throw my support behind Auburn - I would have preferred Alabama, but they didn't make it so Auburn was the next best thing.  I was conservative with the hat I chose...

The stadium seemed to have way more Auburn Fans in attendance than Florida did...look at all that orange!

These full length, orange tiger-striped coats were everywhere but I couldn't get close enough to get a good photo so I stole this from Google...

Google Image 

The Seminole's mascot was impressive as he came onto the field charging out on his horse with his flaming spear.  When he got to the 50 yard line the horse rears on his hind legs, he throws the spear & it stuck in the field as if to claim their territory!  Very dramatic!

Why helloooooo Tebow & your ESPN pre-game show on the sidelines!

John Legend sang the National Anthem...

Pre-game excitement...fireworks went off after every score - it was crazy!

The upper image is a Google image - I didn't have my camera set correctly to capture the fireworks.
The smoke is still clearing at the kick-off.

Got a great look at Jameis Winston, #5 of Florida State, the 2013 Heisman Trophy Winner.

The most "annoying" thing about the evening was this Seminole War Chant.  Throughout the evening the band would play & the fans would chant along with them - a repetitive war cry as they do this chopping motion with their arm to represent a tomahawk...

Google Image

This is perhaps my favorite thing - coed cheerleading at its finest!  Love a good college squad...

I also love a great marching band & both schools performed - they were fabulous!

Unfortunately, the game was pretty one sided - Auburn led the entire game so we decided to leave as the 4th quarter began so we could beat the crowds.  Auburn was leading 21-13 but by the time we reached the front gate, the stadium erupted in cheers & shouts & the fireworks went off - not once but about four different times as we walked back to our hotel.  When we got to our room & turned on the channel to see the highlights of the game, Florida came back & ended up winning 34-31!  Yes, we missed one of the biggest come backs of BCS history!

Regardless, it was a great experience - so fun & exciting to witness the glory of college football!

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The next morning, before we headed home, I met my NCA/USA Cheer friends who live in the area for breakfast.  Evelyn & Vivian were in rare form & we laughed until my cheeks & abs hurt.  I love these girls so much!

We also stopped to visit & spend the night with Gina & family...

Gina & I took Luke & Alana to see Frozen & got our picture taken with Olaf...he likes warm hugs!

Paul dropped me off to visit with my mom for a few days.  While I was there, Aunt Shirley came to visit so I went to Sylvia's so she could stay with Mom...

I ended up getting sick & stayed in bed at Sylvia's for 2 whole days, then came home & went to bed for the rest of the week!  I guess all the excitement of the BCS Championship was too much for me to handle...it really was a fun experience & I'm surprised how much I enjoyed the atmosphere of a college championship game.