PASADENA - The BCS Championship game has returned to Southern California where the challenge for the coaches is how to keep their players focused. It’s not uncommon to see athletes taking in the sunset at Balboa Peninsula.
“I can see where they could lose focus,” says Robbie Smith from Alabama. “It’s awesome around here.”
“The air smells clear here and there are beautiful girls, so it’s easy to be a distraction,” says Texas Safety Earl Thomas. “But it’s also a business trip and we know what we’re here for.”
Both Texas and Alabama got their first look inside the Rose Bowl on Wednesday which was a new experience for all but seven of the Texas players. After a brief walk though, both teams stopped to have a team photo taken with the giant Rose Bowl sign in the background.
As fans moved in, business picked up, especially in downtown Pasadena. “Downtown Austin is probably empty right now, “says John Warner, a Texas Longhorn fan. I think they’re all today.”
Downtown Disney is also a popular spot for those who don’t want to spend all day at Disneyland.
“There is really not a cooler place, in my opinion,” says Will Harris who has attended every game the Longhorns have played this year.
“There is not a better setting in college football than the Rose Bowl,” says Brent Kegans also a Texas fan.
But at night, the place to be the Hollywood Walk of Fame where you’ll find names like Jamie Foxx, Steven Spielberg, Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman to mention only a few.
But this week, the question is simply, who will be the star Thursday night at the BCS Championship game? The overwhelming choices were Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy and Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
When the college football season began four months ago, 120 division one football programs, all wanted to win a National Championship. That includes around 12,000 players. On Thursday, only one team will be left standing.
