January 29, 2006
"SENATE RESOLUTION 352 -- COMMENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN LONGHORNS FOOTBALL TEAM FOR WINNING THE 2005 BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP."
I have not counted the number of Wheras's in this resolution yet. Unless you are a Longhorn fan, I doubt you will read it all. So here are my favorites:
Whereas Ahmard Hall, the male 2005 Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year, served his country as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps for four years--serving tours in Kosovo and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan--prior to joining the team as a walk-on in 2003 and ultimately rising to the position of starting fullback and team captain;Whereas the entire Longhorns team should be commended for its inspirational work, determination, and success;
Whereas the University of Texas at Austin has a long tradition of athletic and academic excellence; and
Whereas the Longhorns have brought great honor to themselves, their university, and the great State of Texas...
I also picked up one of these today. My box won't be opened.
I really want some of these cans of Coke, but they were only distributed in Austin for a limited time. I called an Austin friend to see if she could snag me some, but I am sure it is to late.
Offical story about this merchandise here.
January 10, 2006
After the Rose Bowl
Despite being on our feet since 8 am that morning, the walk back to the train station, then our car, did not seem so bad. Despite sore feet, legs and backs, no one wanted to complain.
When we got back to our car, we stopped to visit with CalTechGirl. I figured it would be crazy to come that far to borrow part of her street and not meet. Luckily she agreed. We visited with her and her husband. Made friends with her dog. Talked about the highlights of the game and they answered some questions about things we could not see from our seat.
We were starving, so we followed them to an IHOP that was closed. WHAT?!?!?! A IHOP not open 24 hours?!?!!? Luckily there was another place and it is a good thing we were with locals. We probably would not have found it on our own.
The company was great and we got to learn more about their USC tradions and history. And a little more about Mr. and Mrs. CalTechGirl.
We found out way to drop our friends off and back to our hotel by 2:30 am. With a 6:45am flight, my husband did not even try to get any sleep. I dozed for about an hour or so. Nothing spectacular about our flight home, except there were lots of other Longhorns on the same flights. And they were happy like us.
January 08, 2006
The Rose Bowl Game
I won't talk about the technical aspects of the game. There are plenty of others who do it much better than me. So this will be a chic's point of view of the game....
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric. Everyone was smiling, happy, and pleasant. It seemed like a huge get together of friends. I am sure that the pre-game drinking did not hurt!
Our seats were OK. A little low to see what we needed and way to low to take pictures. We had a little conversation with some ladies two rows in front of us about their sign blocking our view. They tried to use the excuse that no plays were going on, but stuff goes on in between the plays. No problem with timeouts or half time, but not when there is action on the field. I told them I did not want to miss anything since this was a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Once my husband told them they could hold the sign in front of themselves, the conversation ended and all was well.
The pre-game show was good, with fireworks, parachuters with flags for the Rose Bowl, USC, Texas, United States, and one other I could not see, and a jet fighter letting his afterburners go. Leeann Rimes sang the National Anthem. Since she was twanging it all up, you could hear everyone in the stands singing. Very cool.
The game itself was a rollercoaster ride. The last 8 minutes were amazing. Things went our way and we were able to come from behind. With 8 seconds left on the clock, USC had the ball and could have scored. But with two plays the clock ran out and we were now the National Champions.
And the Texas fans went crazy!!! People were high-fiving, hugging, and kissing anyone and everyone. I was standing still, but since everyone else was going crazy it felt like I was moving. Grown men cried. People ran down to get closer to the field.
I put together a little graph showing the scores of Texas, USC and "My Emotions". Should help give you an idea of how the game went. If you notice that I never went negative on the scale with my emotions. The game was close and since it never looked like a blowout, I would be OK with it. I would not like it, but USC was ranked number one. Here is the graph.
One thing I noticed last year when Texas won the Rose Bowl, they shot orange and white confetti into the air. I wondered what they did with Michigan's colored confetti and how much that cost them. (We played Michigan last year.) This year they just shot multicolored confetti. No color coordination or wasted confetti!!!
We stayed to watch the presentation of the trophy and sing the "Eyes of Texas". We visited with our friends who sat close to us and let the crowd die down.
Here are some links on the technical/sport aspect of the game:
Stats from Texas Football Site (BORING!!)
ESPN.com
Fox Sports
Up tomorrow: Getting home and a blogmeet with CalTechGirl!
January 07, 2006
Before the Rose Bowl
Since my husband is very into Texas football, everything that potentially could or actually did go wrong on our way to the game were intensified by 100%. (Note to hubby: I am not trying to downplay my mistake, just pointing out you were really on edge.) Much more than a normal game. But we made it.
Since the rain reduced the amount of parking around the Rose Bowl (something about messing up a golf course), we drove into Pasadena and parked in front of CalTecGirl's house. Walked to the train station and took it to the stop closest to the Rose Bowl. We had to walk more since the shuttles were not running at 8:30am. But that gave us a chance to stop at a grocery store and pick up some breakfast. Deli sandwiches and chips. Yum!
Once we got to the Rose Bowl, we found our tailgaters. Chatted football and the game. The general consensus was Texas would win. Overall the atmosphere was pleasant. USC fans were good and no one got out of hand.
We walked towards the stadium to find ticket holders to wear around our necks. The tickets were to big to fit in any pocket. We took some pictures in front of the stadium since we knew it would be crazy later. Bought the ticket holders and headed back for more tailgating.
The team comes in about 2 hours before game time, so we went to greet them. Along with a bunch of other fans. Probably 4 times as many who greeted the team last year at the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl was ready and had plenty of staff and barriers to keep us back. Back again for more tailgating.
During all the tailgating we were able to see our traveling friends. These are people we had gotten to know over the last seven years going to the games and meeting up at HornFans.com events. It was great to see them all and know that our dedication to traveling to the games may have influenced our team getting to this point. It was also hard seeing some of them without tickets knowing that not so dedicated fans were going.
We also saw some interesting things. One guy was dressed as Bush and selling USC signs. He had a boom box playing hoe down music. It didn't want a picture of that.
But I did get a picture of the Tower replica. The real tower is on campus and they light it up when Texas wins. If they win a Championship then they turn on the office lights to make the shape of a #1, like this.
Then there was the marketing for the TV show "Beauty and the Geek 2". They were handing out Nerds candy, geek glasses, tshirts and tiaras. My friend and I got some things and she even took a picture with the geeks. I kept my tiara but sat on it during the game. My friend gave hers to my husband and he wore it the rest of the time. (LOL) We ate our nerds and I gave my nerd glasses away.
Then we have the super bong made by some Mechanical Engineers. With 8 valves it held 32 beers. They stopped by our tailgate and coaxed some UT and USC fans to do it. The guys who had it did it every time they ran it and I am positive they were not in any shape to watch the game. Here they are pouring in beer and here it is in action.
I was not suprised at the number of Texas fans there. We travel well.
FINALLY it was time to go to the game. We headed on about 2.5 hours before the game and the stadium was already a mad house. We started at one gate, but it was very slow going. We decided to walk around to another gate and had better luck, but still had to wait to go through our tunnel to get our seats.
Stay tuned tomorrow for THE game.
Update: I forgot about the Gnome!!!! More about him here.
January 06, 2006
UNBELIEVABLE
We WON!!!!! If you check the sports sites you can read the details of the BEST College football game ever! Still catching up with sleep, work, and other duties, but I will be writing more later. Lots to share, lots to share!!!!!
Hook'em Horns
January 02, 2006
Getting tickets to the Rose Bowl....
The lowest price I could find for a ticket is $1200. (I looked here and here.) Face value is $175. That is a hell of a return. We were able to get ours at face since we are Season ticket holders and donate enough above the cutoff. Whew! Cause if we didn't, we would have paid $1,200 a ticket. Whew!
And we have good karma on our side since we are selling our two extra tickets to some friends at face value. Gotta love good karma!!!
I wish I could say it all in one breath
Tomorrow we fly out of DFW at 8:30pm, fly to John Wayne in California, get a rental car, find our hotel 1 mile from the airport, go to sleep, toss and turn, get up, pick up our friends staying in Downtown LA, find parking at one of the train stations that will take us to Pasadena (we may get to meet CalTechGirl or at least park in front of her house), take the train to Pasadena, pass some time before the shuttles to the Rose Bowl start at 11 am, tailgate before the game, go to the game at 7pmish, enjoy watch the game, about 4 hours later walk back to the train station since the bus stuttles will be packed, take the train back to wherever we parked, drop our friends back at LA, drive back to the hotel, sleep, get up in time to catch our 6 am flight back to DFW, which has a layover (bleh), pick up the girls at my anti-In-laws, go home, fix dinner, put the girls to bed, go to bed.
Did you get that?
December 29, 2005
PreGame Summary - University of Southern California
updated on 12/31/2006 with more info.
January 4th, Texas plays USC at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. On the line is the National Championship with USC ranked #1 and Texas #2. This is very exciting, but it has to be much more so for my hubby and other Texas fans who know more about this whole football thing than I do. So lets begin a PreGame Summary of USC.
Nickname/Mascot: USC are called the Trojans:
USC's nickname, "Trojans," originated in 1912.
Up to that time, teams from USC were called the Methodists or Wesleyans and neither nickname was looked upon with favor by university officials. Athletic Director Warren Bovard, son of university president Dr. George Bovard, asked Los Angeles Times sports editor Owen Bird to select an appropriate nickname.
"At this time, the athletes and coaches of the university were under terrific handicaps," Bird recalled. "They were facing teams that were bigger and better-equipped, yet they had splendid fighting spirit. The name 'Trojans' fitted them.
"I came out with an article prior to a showdown between USC and Stanford in which I called attention to the fighting spirit of USC athletes and named them 'Trojan' all the time, and it stuck.
"The term 'Trojan' as applied to USC means to me that no matter what the situation, what the odds or what the conditions, the competition must be carried on to the end and those who strive must give all they have and never be weary in doing so."
USC's mascot is a white horse named Traveler:
Traveler first made an appearance at USC football games in 1961 (in the home opener versus Georgia Tech). Bob Jani, then USC's director of special events, and Eddie Tannenbaum, then a junior at USC, had spotted Richard Saukko riding his white horse, Traveler I, in the 1961 Rose Parade. They persuaded Saukko to ride his white horse around the Coliseum during USC games, serving as a mascot. Ever since, whenever USC scores, the band plays "Conquest" and Traveler gallops around the Coliseum.
Side note: The Rose Bowl will be the current riders last game.
Colors: Cardinal and gold. Could not find any history on this. Before 1895, USC's official color was gold. At that time the College of Liberal Arts had its own color—cardinal. In 1895, both colors were adopted as USC's official colors. (Thanks for the info, CalTechGirl!!!)
Location: USC's two primary campuses are located Los Angeles, CA.
Main Rival: UCLA. They have a Victory Bell for the winner of the game.
Unique Tradions/Misc: USC has quite a few tradtions. You can check them all out here, but below are a few I thought worth mentioning. Update: Here is a link from CalTechGirl with more info.
Another famous USC song is the regal processional march, "Conquest," by Alfred Newman. It is usually played after every USC score and victory. This stirring battle cry, from Newman's score to the 1947 motion picture classic "Captain from Castile," has become synonymous with the championship tradition of USC since the Trojans adopted it in 1954 during a basketball game against Oregon State. Newman, a legendary composer of film music, was the musical director of Twentieth Century-Fox Studios.
Here is a great story about USC's Super Fan. He even has a super quote:
"I don't think I'm a nut. It's all been fun. I could've spent a lot more money on other hobbies. A guy can spend as much money playing golf or poker. Some people think I'm crazy for spending as much money as I have traveling to see these games. They don't understand that I do more than just watch a game when I visit these cities. I've met a lot of nice and interesting people on these trips.
Famous Players: Reggie Bush, who won the Heisman this year. (Related post here.) Matt Leinhart is their quarterback who won the Heisman last year and was in the running this year. If you want to know more about them visit here.
Spread: +8 (If you bet with a spread on Texas, USC has to beat Texas by 8 points for you to win.)
How they have been playing: Uh, well.. they are ranked #1. So I guess you could say good. (hehe)
What we have to watch for: Quoted from hubby, "Pretty much their whole offense." This is a huge game that will not be easy. If we play like we can and avoid turnovers, then we could win.
My comments: OMG! We are going to the Rose Bowl to play in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! This is as good as Texas football has been since I have been a fan and I will be there. WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!
Update on Tradions: CalTechGirl mentioned Tusk in the comments.
...you forgot Tusk. The Trojan Marching Band played on the album, and ever since then it's USC's unofficial anthem (U-C-L-A SUCKS!)
I had no clue what Tusk was. Looks like the Docherty Family are big USC fans.
Written and recorded as the title song for the Fleetwood Mac album of the same name in 1989, The Trojan Marching Band is featured prominently on the song Tusk. The album earned Fleetwood Mac and USC a platinum album for the effort. The song was reprised in the live album, The Dance in 1997. That album earned the Trojans a second platinum album (certified 5x), a first for any university.
December 12, 2005
Plans have begun
Over the last week we have consulted with our traveling buddies. We are planning to going to the game together since there is such a thing as safety in numbers. Or maybe safety with a 6'9" guy (my hubby). Or maybe they like our company. Who know, but we are going....
Last year we parked a train station and rode into Pasadena. My hubby is concerned that we will have the same problem as we did last year and barely find parking. I say it was like that since the Rose Bowl Parade was going on. By the time we got to Pasadena the parade was in full force. This year the parade is on a different day. Any clues on who is right from ya'll Californians out there?
Update: Game day is on Wednesday, January 4th.
December 03, 2005
Rose Bowl, here we come
Texas beat Colorado, 70 to 3, earning a place in this year's Rose Bowl. Wooo hoooo!!!! But wait, you say! Didn't you go last year? Yes, we did, but the Rose Bowl was not hosting the National Championship, the Orange Bowl was. But this year it is! And since Texas is number 2, we get to play!!! (I will post more on the Bowl System later.)
What a fun game to watch. We were in the in zone upper deck with a decent view. I had my some of my favorite men with me, Hubby on the left, my Dad on the right. Got some good pictures.
And now heading for Mexican food. Could it be better than this?
Update: Gotta update my header graphic when I get home!!!
