BCS game already drawing a crowd
It's just past noon and already the Rose Bowl parking lots are filling up. Texas brown and Alabama crimson are everywhere as fans get ready for tonight's Bowl Championship Series title game between the top-ranked Crimson Tide and the No. 2 Longhorns. Both teams are unbeaten.
Traffic on the 210 westbound is backed up more than a mile at the Rose Bowl exit, which the Pasadena police anticipated. Earlier this week, Christopher O. Vicino, the city's interim police chief, sent out a news release asking fans to show up at least five hours before the 5:38 p.m. kickoff to alleviate the traffic crush.
To entertain the early arrivals, the Rose Bowl and ESPN played host to a tailgate party featuring the Goo Goo Dolls and Switchfoot.
Weather conditions are great, with temperatures around 75, a slight wind blowing toward the north and brilliant-blue, cloudless skies.
-- Kevin Baxter
Photo: Rose Bowl entrance. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press
