Wednesday, December 27, 2023
If idle hands are indeed the devil's workshop, then he was out of work today as we enjoyed a busy, wondrous day in "America's Finest City."
Before attending this fun parade,
we needed to stroll back into
Little Italy for morning sustenance
for, what else, breakfast, located at
1502 India Street
My smoked bacon omelet was other-worldly good!
Now our loins were girded for all that this eventful day has in store for us.
We headed to the waterfront for the big Holiday Bowl parade via . . .
. . . San Diego's Cortez District
and its interesting architecture,
both old and new
A old halfway house amid newer,
more savory buildings
Reflections
Colorful
We finally reached the parade's
staging area as these ladies in
bright dresses attested
A nice headdress on this Brazilian
samba dancer but about her choice
in parade walking shoes, YIKES!
I want one.
We opted to cross the street
for as better view of the parade
that started at 10:00 a.m.
Here they come!
Free Willy?
Roller Skating Dancers are a
MUST in any self-respecting
parade in my opinion
Mary would have loved seeing
this pink haired troll
Former San Diego State Aztecs
Basketball Coach was the Parade's
Grand Marshall
Who in the world were these
two legionnaires representing?
Ah, they were part of San Diego's
SD Legion Rugby Club
A pink octopus would also
have been much to Mary's liking
We were standing right in front of a Holiday Bowl souvenir stand with no patrons and there was a lull on the parade route. It was a perfect time to buy a pennant, but which one?
We prefer to buy one with both school's logos and/or helmets on it but that style was not offered for sale this year. We would need to pick between a USC helmet or a Louisville helmet.
Never a huge Trojans fan and, quite honestly, enamored with Louie the Cardinal and his beak with teeth after seeing him yesterday aboard the U.S.S. Midway, we opted for a Louisville pennant.
Could it get any better than this?
Why yes, when you see that Louie
is also chomping on a CIGAR!
This was AWESOME!
Upon closer inspection, it was not a cigar, it was a new fangled chin strap securing clamp.
I liked my cigar story better.
A Madagascar Penguin
comes to San Diego?
I think it's Rico.
We enjoyed seeing our old
shipboard mates again today
Louie the Cardinal and his dentures
make for great drum heads
A football bowl parade just has
to have cheerleaders on a float
Mary loves mermaids. If she loved
football she would have been with us.
Several spectators were injured
when this jellyfish's tentacles
touched them as the wind shifted
The Holiday Bowl game was now
just hours away . . .
. . . so long as neither team forfeited in the next few hours due to an unexpected COVID outbreak as happened with UCLA in this same bowl game two years ago.
The USC Cheerleaders
were on the march
These fit lasses eschewed riding on a float in favor of getting in their daily 10,000+ steps.
Tubas are the cornerstone of any
great collegiate marching band
Clarinets are OK too
Louie the Cardinal may have his
hands full with an obviously
steroid using Tommy Trojan
These USC Cheerleaders are not as
fitness conscious as that first group
it would appear
That headdress looks spectacular
and she was still walking easily
Dancers are indeed skilled, well conditioned athletes.
She has to be to still be wearing those shoes that we saw her in earlier.
A modern looking Shriner's
clown car is another parade MUST!
It looked bigger during
yesterday's visit
How can I be marching in the parade
and waving to myself on the sidewalk
at the same time?
Time travel may be a real thing methinks.
Now we are getting into the
fun groups
Mexican traditional dresses
are MUY BONITO!
Classic Cars still in the staging area
We had been watching all of the action for about an hour at this point and opted to move on to other things to see and do before the Holiday Bowl's 5:00 p.m. kickoff.
Beautiful statue overlooking
the parade from the San Diego
City/County Administration Building
We took a closer look at this
artwork entitled "Pacific Soul"
Lots of Pacific Rim languages
were highlighted . . .
. . . as were we standing inside of
"Pacific Soul"
The IQHQ may be a good spot
for Jacob to check out someday
More of San Diego's dynamic
new, ever growing skyline . . .
. . . and some of its old
Interesting fountain
It pays to advertise, but we
did not patronize this spot
As a youth, I knew that we were in
San Diego when we saw the El Cortez
towering above the city from the
Pacific Coast Highway
With the addition of all of the new skyscrapers, it is hard to find this now relatively stubby edifice.
We stumbled upon
St. Joseph Cathedral
Since it was Roman Catholic . . .
. . . we just had to enter for
a quick peek
After getting back to our hotel and adding a few layers to our wardrobes, we boarded the Green Line Tram for the short ride to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and Petco Park, the site of Holiday Bowl XLIV.
The Gaslamp was alive with USC,
Louisville and more than a
few unaffiliated football fans
More artwork as we
approached Petco Park
We opted to eat at the Happy Does Bar
before entering Petco Park
Located at 340 Fifth Ave., this spot is in the same building that once housed that rousing, memorable establishment, Dick's Last Resort.
It is no where near as crazy now but they served good food in a fun setting. Jacob devouring three HUGE corndogs should have surprised me but it didn't.
Happy Does Bar's interesting
fortune telling game as you head
to the restroom area
I want one for Casa Contreras.
Fully satiated one more time, we were off to enter Petco Park just a few blocks away.
More art spotted near our
Home Plate Entry Gate
We arrived a bit early to watch some of the pre-game festivities.
#15 Louisville Cardinals (10-3)
Atlantic Coast Conference
Second Place
vs.
Southern California Trojans (7-5)
PAC-12 Conference
Fifth Place
In my opinion, Louisville should win the game based on USC losing its Heisman Trophy QB, Caleb Williams, and still dealing with a woeful defense.
The Trojans averaged 41.8 points/game on offense this season with Williams at the helm.
Defensively, USC gave up an average of 34.9 points/game overall but more importantly the deservedly much maligned defense was mauled in the last eight games of the season in giving up an eye popping 42.4 points/game.
It was so bad that USC Defensive Coordinator, Alex Grinch, was fired after the tenth game of the season.
After starting the 2023 season 6-0, USC struggled badly down the stretch going only 1-5 including losses to #2 Washington (52-42) and their two arch-rivals Notre Dame (48-20) and UCLA (38-20).
So I figured that with USC starting a backup Sophomore Redhirt QB, Miller Moss, who had only thrown 32 passes this year good for a lone TD and that still questionable Trojan defense facing a Cardinals team that averaged scoring 30.9 points/game, that Louisville should be my pick. The Cardinals were installed as a 7 1/2 point favorites by the oddsmakers.
Made sense, no?
Steve Garvey's #6 at the
Home of the San Diego Padres
Our initial view of the Petco Park
field from our seats in
Section 305, Row 16, Seats 1-2-3
Look, up in the sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!
Well, yes and no, it's a plane alright but it is actually a flaming U.S. Navy skydiver!
There would be more to follow.
He did indeed . . .
. . . STICK THE LANDING!
What are those two rascals
doing on the left?
Every skydiver landed safe and sound thank goodness.
How many of these HUGE American
flags are there in the USA?
Louisville, in white, kicking off
to start the game
The Cardinals ran the ball at will all
night, good for 220 yards on 45 carries
At the end of the First Quarter, it was Louisville 7 - USC 7.
The Trojans were surprisingly
pass heavy with their new QB
With Camarillo's own Matt Klinger
who now lives in San Diego
An announced crowd of 35,317 football fans were at Petco Park. What were the odds that Matt and his two nephews would be sitting about four rows in front of us?
This was my 47th and final
football game of the 2023 season,
the vast majority of them with these
two rapscallions
At the Halftime break, USC had shocked me with their 28-14 lead.
The Cardinals picked off an errant
Trojans pass at the one yard line
Louisville running an Option
play near the Goal Line
At the end of the Third Quarter, USC led 35-21.
Goodness Gracious, USC are
the 2023 Holiday Bowl XLIV Champions
Final Score
USC (8-5) 42 - Louisville (10-4) 28
So, how did that happen?
It was a combination of the USC Defense playing much better, the combined Transfer Portal/NFL opt-outs effect and great USC QB play is what happened.
The Trojans QB Miller Moss was the game's Offensive MVP after having an amazing day. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 372 yards, with 6 TDs and 1 Interception. The 6 TDs is an all-time USC bowl game record.
The game may have been over but the festivities certainly were not.
Let the post-game Sky Show
fireworks show BEGIN!
It would last for over 20 minutes
The pyrotechnics were timed to
coincide with great rock music
SPECTACULAR!
Petco Park was ablaze
Colorful fireworks come with
lots of smoke too
Fireworks to the sounds of
two versions of
"All Along the Watchtower"
Too bad that the fireworks' haze wasn't purple.
One final curtain of golden fireworks
just beyond the center field wall
So Jacob, did you like the Sky Show?
"BASICALLY, YES!"
On our way out of the park, we were surprised one more time to find that the Breitbard Foundation's San Diego Sports Hall of Fame was now housed on the ground floor of Petco Park's signature Western Metal Supply Co. building.
Bambi
The first Black player in the NHL
He played minor league hockey for the San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
In the 1960s, I saw him play at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for the WHL's Los Angeles Blades.
Picture Perfect Pass Blocker
and Pulling Guard
Yet another Color Barrier Breaker
Johnny Ritchey played baseball at San Diego H.S., San Diego State University and for the Negro League's Chicago American Giants.
In 1948, he became the first Black player in the AAA Pacific Coast League when he signed with the San Diego Padres. The old PCL was considered by many as the third major league at a time when there were no Major League teams west of St. Louis.
Ritchey, a Catcher, batted .323
in that historic 1948 season
This guy from could hit pretty well
too when he played for San Diego's
Hoover H.S. back in the 1930s
His son, Chris, was a good friend
and teammate at St. Francis H.S.
late night walk through Little Italy
Fortunately, we didn't see one of these fierce creatures in route to our hotel.
It was another hectic, tiring
day to be sure but we had FUN!
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