Saturday, October 17, 2026
Thanks to the most generous offer from long-time friend and blog follower, Michael D'Antuono, we were off to the Rose Bowl today for what would be my 25th American football game of 2026.
Michael owns four UCLA football season tickets in the Rose Bowl's posh Club Level. He could not attend today's BIG-10 Conference game and originally offered them to us and the Sabolićs.
As it turned out, Paul and Joanne could not attend so Laurie, our Michael and Jacob joined me for the day's extravaganza in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco.
Kickoff was set for
4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Wisconsin Badgers
4 Wins - 1 Loss Overall
2 Wins - 0 Losses in BIG-10 play
at
#12 ranked UCLA Bruins
5 Wins - 0 Losses Overall
3 Wins - 0 Losses in BIG-10 play
Bruin Turnaround
UCLA was coming off of a disastrous 2025 campaign that saw their head coach fired after an 0-3 start and finish the season 3-9 overall and 3-6 in BIG-10 action.
In the off-season, UCLA hired Bob Chesney as their new Head Football Coach after a highly successful stint at James Madison University in Virginia.
With wins over California, San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland and Oregon to start an undefeated year, Chesney is deservedly the darling of the Westwood sports scene these days.
We arrived at the Rose Bowl at about 1:30 p.m. with the thought of fulling enjoying every aspect of the college football gameday experience.
After parking on the Brookside Golf Club that surrounds the Rose Bowl . . .
. . . a game of catch . . .
. . . quickly broke out
Laurie could not sit still
She quickly bonded with our new
Wisconsin friends who offered her a beer
She happily accepted.
After a while, we moseyed towards the UCLA Fan Zone to see what activities would be at our disposal.
That Wisconsin Football Equipment
Truck caught my attention
Closer inspection of the truck informed
us of the Badgers' rich football history
We passed lots of tailgate parties
We made it!
You get four throws to pass a
football through a small target
If you get two throws to successfully navigate the route, you win a $10 gift card to the nearby Bruin Store tent.
Jacob was a winner!
Michael, not so much
His final attempt, a dashing behind-the-back toss, certainly won him style points from the assembled judges/spectators.
Joe Bruin entered the Fan Zone
with his date for the game . . .
. . . and a bevy of beauties entourage
Posing for the traditional Rose Bowl
pre-game photo
It was time to enter the Rose Bowl
As you enter the Club seating area,
you begin to see wonderful memorabilia
from the Rose Bowl's storied past
I love these old Rose Bowl Game ticket stub reproductions on the bottoms of the escalators as you work your way up to the Club Level.
GREAT Face Mask!
Everyone in black high-top cleats is way cool as well.
1946 was the signing of the pact
between the Western Conference and
the Pacific Coast Conference to send
their champions to the Rose Bowl
each January 1st
The Western Conference would eventually rebrand as the BIG-10 Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference would evolve into the PAC-12 Conference over the years.
1963 Rose Bowl
#1 USC (11-0) - 42
#2 Wisconsin (8-2) - 37
John Walsh and I attended this tremendous game together. It was my first Rose Bowl game.
My mother dropped us off the the game in the morning and we then walked all the way home in the dark after the game.
A glorious time indeed for two 15 year old boys.
The Greatest Hoax in Rose Bowl History
Those wacky students from Pasadena's revered California Institute of Technology were able to infiltrate the University of Washington's not so highly secure card stunts and program Cal Tech for Washington to the delight of people watching the 1961 Rose Bowl Game between the Huskies and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Sixth ranked Washington (10-1) had the last laugh, a 17-7 win over #1 ranked Minnesota (8-2).
The Club Levels dining area was a
BIG HIT with all of us
All of the fare in this level, save adult beverages, were included with the ticket.
Question #1: "How many gummy bears can a growing 14 year old boy eat in one afternoon?
Answer #1: No such number exists in modern mathematics.
Question #2: "How many crab wrap halves can a growing 79 year old boy eat in one afternoon?
Answer: Two.
Mostly sated, we headed to . . .
. . . our seats for the game
Four happy campers
Did we say, "Thank you, Michael!" yet?
Blue seat tarps found on both ends
of the Rose Bowl for Bruins games
The Badgers entering hallowed ground
Here come . . .
. . . the BRUINS!
UCLA's Opening Kickoff was
a Touchback
Wisconsin taking to the air
UCLA started with a run
The sky was Bruin Blue
Football Ballet in the Secondary
A nice game photo taken from Facebook.
Wondrous sky as the Sun set behind us
A QB Pressure for
UCLA OLB Scott Taylor
Yes, it is another purloined Facebook photo.
Nature in its glory all around us
on this warm, muggy night
Wisconsin sniffing the End Zone
A boy and the wonder of
college football
Did we say, "Thank you, Michael!" yet?
Bruins still slinging it
Wisconsin collapsing the UCLA pocket
It was a case of too little, too late for Wisconsin.
With this win, the Bruins are now
one of only six undefeated teams
left in the NCAA's FBS Division
At 6-0, the Bruins are joined by
BYU, Miami, Texas Tech and Utah
The sixth and final undefeated FBS school is UCLA Head Coach Bob Chesney's old school, James Madison at 7-0.
While we were having a great time at the Rose Bowl, the world of college football was knocked for a loop today.
OH MY GOODNESS!
Losses on the same day by #1 Georgia, #2 Notre Dame, #5 Indiana, #6 Alabama and #7 Texas, has something close to that ever happened before?
Nothing like it jumps to my mind.
College football can still be magical despite NIL and The Portal.
We really do need the say, "THANK YOU!" to Michael D'Antuono for what was a truly fun day in Pasadena.
