As the regular 2009-2010 NFL season draws to a close, we are gearing up for the play-off games, which will decide this year’s opponents in “the big game.” And, ff viewership remains consistent, more than 50 million women will watch the 2010 Superbowl!
For college football, the bowl games are the biggies and many are already complete or underway. Within those games is the highly-anticipated Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS is a a five-game arrangement in postseason college football that matches the two top-rated teams in a national championship game and creates exciting, competitive matchups among eight other widely recognized teams in four other games.
The five bowl games are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, and the final BCS National Championship Game.
The Rose Bowl
The first of these – the Rose Bowl – starts at 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 1 at The Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA.
This game is particularly appealing due to its pre-game ritual. As it has for the last 120 years, the game will start off with The Tournament of Roses (Rose Parade). Originally run by Pasadena’s Valley Hunt Club to showcase their new home’s mild weather and blooming flowers, the parade has evolved into a sell-out attraction with floats, equestrians and marching bands.
In 1916 (after a failed attempt in 1902, when the football game was replaced with Roman-style chariot races!), the Tournament of Roses added to the day’s festivities a football game – the first post season college football game ever held. Nowadays, the parade features high-tech computerized animation and exotic natural materials from around the world. And floats can take up to a year to construct! Now, THAT’s a football game in my book!
For more about the history of the Rose Parade, visit http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/.
And for the full 2009-2010 bowl game schedule, visit http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/schedule. There’s lots to watch on New Year’s Day – perfect for your post-party couch plans!
