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This year's Rose Bowl was memorable for a variety reasons, not the least of which was the win by TCU, at least for this year a representative of non-automatic BCS qualifying schools.  Of course, TCU is joining the Big East, so its representation of the non AQ will be short-lived.

The game was also memorable for the still inexplicable call made by Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema on the potential game tying two point conversion attempt by the Badgers with less than two minutes remaining.  Disregarding the Badgers superior size and the results of the just concluded touchdown drive in which the Badgers ran nine out of ten plays, Bielema calls for a pass play out of the shotgun.  Wisconsin is not known for its passing game and perhaps Bielema was attempting to surprise TCU, but why he would decide to try something with the game on the line which the Badgers have not shown would work all game, when the team had shown its massive offensive line was capable of moving TCU's defense off the line enough to gain two yards will forever be a mystery.  Nevertheless, congratulations to TCU on the win and the undefeated season; they certainly demonstrated that they earned their top five ranking.

For 122 years, Pasadena has sponsored a spectacular tribute to flowers and Southern California in the early morning Rose Parade which annually precedes the Rose Bowl.  I can tell you that if you have never had the chance to see the parade in person, go the first chance you get.  Television doesn't do it justice, even in high definition. 

The Rose Parade also has another economic distinction that I bet you haven't heard: it is used as an economic indicator, just like unemployment figures, housing sales and who wins the Super Bowl.  The indicator this year points toward a continuation of the recovery as more companies participated in the parade.  There were 47 floats this year, up from 41 last year, which at anywhere from $100,000 to $450,000 a float is not an insignificant increase.  The Tournament of Roses Committee, the sponsor of the parade and the Rose Bowl has found that companies are investing in floats as alternatives to higher priced television ads for events like the Super Bowl.  The cost per impression is more favorable for the parade and companies are better able to tell their stories through the float.  The parade was seen this year in 127 countries versus 106 for the Super Bowl, and the parade is often seen on multiple networks at the same time, and repeated at various times throughout the next month.

The surest indication of the continuing effects of the Great Recession is that it has even affected the golden league, the NFL.  Up until the Recession first hit in 2008, it was unheard of for the NFL to suffer league-wide drop in ticket sales.  Then came the Recession and ticket sales have dropped in each of the last three years.

The drop-off this year has been so bad that as many as 11 teams may be subject to blackout when their home season opens. To be fair, the economy is no  solely to blame.  The quality of HD broadcasts and home theater AV systems has made the home viewing experience the equal of the stadium experience in many ways - especially for those fans whose seats would have been in the upper reaches of the stadium where they would have been watching the game on the stadium's big screens anyway.  In addition, the troubles of some of the 11 teams on the field surely has contributed to the drop in ticket sales.  Nevertheless, the major reason would still seem to be the economy and unless teams decide to buy up the unsold tickets for distribution to servicemen and women or underprivileged kids, the league will be seeing (or not seeing, to be more accurate) more blackouts in quite some time.