Rose Bowl 2006

Rose Bowl 2006, originally uploaded by drtaxsacto.

Last night Pete and I went to the Rose Bowl. Needless to say, this is not the way the game ended. There were a couple of strange calls - especially an interception by SC late in the game that was called an incomplete pass. The Texas receiver looked, to me from the game and in the replays I saw, to have control of the football and thus was eligible to fumble.
I was struck however with two things. First, a good deal of the game was spent standing up. It was truly an exciting contest. I would have liked SC to win. But in addition to a couple of calls that I would have questioned there were a number of missed opportunities. It looked to me that the fourth down that we failed to convert should have been an opportunity for a short pass. But who knows whether that would have worked.

The second thing was the Texas fans. Last year at the Orange Bowl, the Sooners were insufferable. We got a lot of "you guys don't belong here" the night before in the bar. But this crowd was different. At halftime I was waiting to go to the head and a Texas fan was in front of me. We struck up a conversation and both of us ended with - this is a hell of a game and we hope our team wins - but it is a hell of a game. As we walked out, several Texas fans said something like nice game.

Who knows where SC will be next year? LenDale White certainly showed he is going to be a good force. So did a couple of other players. So, we wait until next fall to see. But it was a hell of a game.