Rose Parade Musings

To quote Professor Higgins towards the end of My Fair Lady, "Damn, damn, damn, damn!" One of my favorite movie lines.

For the past few weeks I have been dreaming, fantasizing, obsessing over the fact that the Iowa Hawkeyes were on their way to the Rose Bowl.



But much to my horror, Iowa appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. Actually about 75% of the country saw an SI cover featuring the World Series but here in the Midwest the cover showed Iowa -- but a cover is a cover.



According to folklore, if a team is featured on the cover, it will lose it's next game. Yesterday Iowa lost for the first time in 10 games. More than that, the quarterback was injured. That means Iowa will most likely not have a chance against Ohio State next week. If they lose to Ohio State, all chances of going to the Rose Bowl are gone.

What really ticks me off is not so much that Iowa will not play in Pasadena as much as the fact I won't have an excuse to do something I have always wanted to do -- see the Rose Parade. To hell with football, give me the parade!



As a child I remember sitting in front of a console color TV watching the Rose Parade. There was something quite magical about it all. The fact that every float is covered with fresh cut flowers has always amazed me.



I had been playing with the idea of if, if, if, if just maybe Iowa could get to the Rose Bowl then maybe, maybe, maybe I might travel out to California -- to see the parade. To smell the flowers. To experience what, to me, is the eptimae of New Year's Day - the Rose Parade.



I know that Disney World in Florida is beyond incredible. But Disney Land in California is the original. And there is only one California and only one Rose Parade. Everything else is imitation.



I have talked with people who have been to the Rose Parade and I have heard mixed reviews. But for someone who has never been there, well, there is something very special about the Rose Parade. It is more than floats and bands and horses.



Maybe it is because in days gone by the idea of going to California in January was beyond special. Maybe watching the Rose Parade is like looking into the past. Maybe the Rose Parade is just something you can't put into words. It just is.



I don't know. What I do know is that even though a lot of people think watching a bunch of 18 to 21 year old kids play football is as good as it gets, they are wrong. The football game is only an excuse for the parade.

Thanks for stopping by. And just for the record, if Iowa can't be in the Rose Bowl this year, then let it be Boise State!