Rose Bowl experience

Following the Hawks to the Rose Bowl was something Sheila and I had talked about for years. We were firm that if the Hawks ever went we would go as well. We got that opportunity this year and it was an incredible experience.

Sheila went early for work events and activities, I stayed behind to play "Flower Daddy" for the girls who were in a wedding at 3pm on NYE.

It went off without a hitch and I caught my flights to arrive by 9pm WST on NYE. Game day would be a long one (in more ways than we hoped) so after a couple drinks with friends we crashed.

We had a 4am wake up call on game day, checking in and getting on a transport bus at 4:30am. Bus departure shortly before 5am, we arrived at the Rose Bowl parade at 5:30am. We had been given a boxed breakfast for the bus and when we arrived they showed a movie (Draft Day) while we waited for the grandstands to open. We had left so early to get the bus close to our seats and we were less than one block away. At 7:15 we departed the bus and made our way through the crowds to our seats. To our surprise we were sitting in the front row!

The parade was all we hoped and even included a flyover of a B2 Stealth bomber. This would be one of two sightings. The floats were over the top, the bands from all over the world fantastic, and it was a great experience. The parade was 2 solid hours long, it could have finished 30 minutes earlier!

From the parade we loaded the bus shortly after 10am and were transported to the Rose Bowl. We made a quick stop at Nathan Hall's tailgate group to say hi and unexpectedly had a faux celebrity sighting. This guy was funny, totally in character and initiated Nathan and I into the wolfpack (if you have seen Hangover this all makes sense).

From there we went to the official alumni tailgate and connected with more friends, ate, drank, and enjoyed the Hawkeye marching band. It was a sea of black and gold. From there we went to the Grandaddy of them all!

The stadium was cool and the fans were crazy with energy. We enjoyed another B2 bomber flyover which was also incredible.

Well, then the game happened. Not how we drew it up and it was difficult to watch. But the fan base stayed true and loyal and the stadium remained solid black and gold through the entire game. It was a proud moment to see the incredible loyalty of the fan base, something all of us and others could appreciate and learn from.

It was a somber ride back to the hotel. Overall, I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this season and the Rose Bowl with the Hawkeye football team. Hopefully we will be back very soon and with a different result!