After a financially devastating year that saw marquee game transplanted to Texas, Rose Bowl stadium was deep in the red on Saturday – and loved it.
When Ohio State played Utah and first appeared in the Rose Bowl game, the famous venue was as red as the Pasadena sky blue.
“When the game was canceled, it was so painful that I cried,” said Miguel Yepez, who was promoted to lawn manger as top assistant after nearly two decades this season. “Then I started watching the game today and it happened again. I started to cry. It’s very emotional. “
He wasn’t alone, not even around. Even in this dystopian pandemic, the storied game felt like a step back towards normal for many.
“Playing the Rose Bowl was the greatest sporting moment of my life,” said Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, the most valuable player in the game in 1978, as he led the University of Washington to victory over Michigan.
“I’ve played in [NFL conference] Championship games, I’ve played in playoff games. Just being able to play in this game as a kid who grew up in Los Angeles and always saw USC, UCLA, a little bit of Stanford. That was my goal when I went to Washington to bring a team from the Pacific Northwest over to play here.
“Finally got the chance to play in the game, then win the game against a great Michigan team as a 17-point underdog, and then get named MVP of the game? You couldn’t have wished for a bigger sporting moment. “
Steve Smith, who grew up in LA and rose to NFL star as an all-pro receiver of relative obscurity, enjoyed seeing his alma mater, Utah, make his Rose Bowl debut, though the Utes stayed tight at 48:45 . The NFL Network analyst watched the first quarter from the sidelines before moving into a suite. Everywhere he turned he was greeted by fans and old friends.
Ohio State fans Todd Barhart (left) and Mike Cochran face the Rose Bowl ahead of Saturday’s game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Football fans from Utah and Ohio snap photos before the Rose Bowl Saturday game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
“Man, that’s great,” said Smith as Utah took the lead with two touchdowns in the second quarter before Ohio State made their dramatic comeback in the final 18 minutes. “For us, the University of Utah, we are not there yet. But we get there. Coming here and having our fans show up for our players is a great experience.
“When I came out 20 years ago, they said I didn’t come from a big school. To see what we are looking at now says something, both for athletics and for training. “
The Buckeyes were in 15 rose bowls. Judging by the sweatshirts, jerseys, hats and the noise, the crowd strongly favored the Utes.
“This is definitely a home game,” said Smith.
Former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, now Fox college football and draft analyst, spent the day with his wife and three young sons immersed in “the epitome of college football.”
“The fact it’s back is vital,” he said, referring to last year’s game being moved to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas amid COVID-19 concerns. “I think it has to play a crucial role in the future. It should be an anchor point for the expanded playoff moving forward.
“First of all, it’s the most beautiful stadium in the country and it reveals itself to you when you walk through the neighborhood and then suddenly it’s there. It is almost as if a ray of light is shining on it.
“I remember the first time I came here. We played UCLA in a non-league game. I’ve felt this way every time I’ve come here, be it to broadcast a game or come here as a fan. “
A Utah fan takes a selfie in a covered section of the end zone at the Rose Bowl before Saturday’s game.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
As fans of this storied event, few can match Reynolds Crutchfield, who has attended 78 consecutive Rose Bowl games, even last year’s supplanted version.
“It was a really nice place, but it wasn’t the Rose Bowl,” said Crutchfield, 91, who was born in Pasadena and raised in Altadena but now lives in Santa Rosa.
“It’s not just the game, it’s the setting, it’s the San Gabriel Mountains. … The first Rose Bowl game I attended in 1945, my parents took me with a friend and in the second half I said, ‘I’ll go 50 in a row.’ I don’t know why I said that, but I did. “
It turned out that Crutchfield had promised too little and, like the Rose Bowl itself, had delivered too much.
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