This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Keith Jackson should narrate the first two paragraphs of this column. Let's listen in …

Slung low in the breadbasket of the Arroyo Seco, rising majestically at the feet of the San Gabriel hills since 1922, the house that Myron Hunt built, a house of history, a National Historic Landmark, a landmark of laterals, a history of huddles, remains college football's iconic cathedral. It's not the way the place looks, really … whooaa, nooooo, Nelly … or even the way it functions that crowns the Rose Bowl as the king of America's great sports venues. It's what has happened here, what still happens here, what will yet happen here.

The Granddaddy of Them All.

… Keith can now go play the back nine at Brookside No. 2, one of the two golf courses that surround the cathedral, and that double as parking lots on game days. And Utah fans can ponder the possibilities of the Utes actually playing in the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day.

Think about that for a second: Jordan Wynn tossing touchdown passes on the same field where Jim Plunkett and Pat Haden and Warren Moon did likewise, and Kyle Whittingham coaching on the same sideline where Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and John McKay once coached.

It's enough to shake the thorns off the stems of Ute fans everywhere. When Utah held its initial press conference at Rice-Eccles Stadium in June 2010, announcing its invitation and acceptance into what would become the Pac-12, the moment that truly captivated the hundreds on hand was when a Tournament of Roses official gave a bouquet of crimson blossoms to school officials. That single gesture triggered the historical college football perspective of what the Utes were on to, and the realization of vast new opportunities.

And none of that included the other cool stuff that has taken place at the Rose Bowl: USC-UCLA games, five Super Bowls, Olympic events in 1932 and 1984, FIFA World Cup finals, men's and women's (it was, indeed, where Brandi Chastain infamously popped her top in victory in 1999), an Army-Navy game, concerts ranging from Guns N' Roses and Metallica to Pink Floyd to U2, and, of course, most significantly, my wife's high school graduation ceremony.

Yeah, there's a personal connection to the Rose Bowl for me. Not only did my wife, Lisa, graduate from Pasadena High School, we later lived in the Crown City for a decade. I love the place. Utah fans will, too … on football visits against UCLA every other year and, certainly, if and when the Utes ever qualify for the big game. Pull my man card, if you must, but I believe the Tournament of Roses parade, which annually draws a million spectators, is an absolute can't-miss.

Utah's most recent memory of playing at the Rose Bowl wasn't a great one, getting rolled by the Bruins in 2006. On that hot September day, the Utes were 0-for-11 on third-down conversions, and they turned the ball over three times.

My memories are better, having covered and attended many games at the old stadium, sometimes with my dad, who is now gone. Those were good, good times. Most of them, anyway. I once tried to buy scalped tickets to a Super Bowl in the parking lot there and laughed my head off — we saw a brawl break out between prospective buyers at one point and a police officer arrest a little businessman in a Raiders cap at another — in the failed attempt. I finally drove home and watched the game on TV.

Just being around the Rose Bowl, you could feel the history, not that you always completely respected it. I used to hit golf balls into the bowl off the 17th tee on course No. 1 at Brookside, launching bombs from a spot right next to a sign that read: "Do not hit golf balls into the Rose Bowl."

I generally don't like bowl games, and I hate the BCS, but the Rose Bowl, the place and the game, is something else, something extraordinary. The Granddaddy. The Utes and their fans have a lot to look forward to — if and when they get there.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Gordon Monson Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 AM The Zone.