The full Rose Bowl experience awaits Utah football and its fans this time around

The University of Utah may be playing in the Rose Bowl on Monday for the second time, but this week will mark the first time the Utes are getting the full Rose Bowl experience.

A year ago at this time, the Omicron COVID-19 variant had made its way to the United States and was spreading rapidly across the country. Los Angeles County had some of the strictest COVID-19 protocols in the country at the time, which impacted traditional festivities leading up to the game.

This time around, no such problems are expected.

“This year, knock on wood, we have full systems go,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan told The Salt Lake Tribune last week. “I talked to Rose Bowl leadership at the end of last week and they really made a point that they’re really excited that we’re back, and that our team and student-athletes will get the full Rose Bowl experience. That’s exciting because there were a lot of behind-the-scenes things that limited, in some respects, the experience for everybody. We’re thrilled to get to play the game, and we’re not thinking that’s going to be an issue this year.”

What’s on the table for the Utes and their fans?

Disneyland parade

This week’s Rose Bowl festivities will begin just as last year’s did, with both teams taking part in a cavalcade down Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham will ride down Main Street in his own 1920s-style buggy, with Cam Rising, R.J. Hubert, Devin Kafusi, and Devaughn Vele behind him in a second buggy.

For Rising, this will be his second Disneyland parade, while Hubert, Kaufusi and Vele are participating for the first time.

The Disney parade will take place Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT.

Lawry’s Beef Bowl

Taking place each Rose Bowl week since 1956 at iconic Beverly Hills chophouse Lawry’s Prime Rib, the Lawry’s Beef Bowl invites both participating teams on separate nights to indulge in the restaurant’s “signature” chilled spinning salad, thick-cut prime rib, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and apple pie á la mode.

The Beef Bowl was canceled, with Lawry’s instead bringing a catered feast to both team hotels during the week. Additionally, Rose Bowl media day at the historic 92,000-seat stadium was also canceled.

The Utes are scheduled to take part in the Beef Bowl late Thursday afternoon, with offensive lineman Falcon Kaumutule conducting the “salad spin” and quarterback Bryson Barnes taking part in the “first cut.”

This event is not open to fans.

Utah pep rally

Harlan, Utah President Taylor Randall, and the Utah Marching Band and Spirit Team will be part of a free pep rally on New Year’s Day. The event is being held at The Bloc (700 W. 7th St. in Los Angeles) and admission is free.

Rose Bowl tailgate

The University of Utah Alumni Association will host a tailgate on the day of the game from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT at Brookside Golf Club, which is located adjacent to the Rose Bowl.

Unlimited food and drinks, including alcohol and Pepsi products are included in the price of a ticket ($175 for adults, $150 for University of Utah students, $100 for ages 3-11, and kids two and under are free). Utah expects this tailgate to sellout and is advising people to not wait on buying tickets.

Rose Parade

With the exception of three years during World War II and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rose Parade, aka The Tournament of Roses, has gone off every Jan. 1 (or Jan. 2 if Jan. 1 is a Sunday), usually at 8 a.m. PT.

The two-hour parade goes down a 5.5-mile route that begins at the corner of Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena. It will go north on Orange Grove at a 2.5-mile pace, eventually turning east on Colorado Boulevard, which is generally where much of the crowd viewing takes place. Towards the end of the route, the parade turns north on Sierra Madre Boulevard and concludes at Villa Street.

If you are choosing to attend the parade as well as the game, there should be plenty of time to navigate road closures as there is a four-hour gap between the end of the parade and the 2:10 p.m. PT kickoff between Utah and Penn State.

The difference a year makes

In relation to ‘behind the scenes things,’ Harlan admits he wasn’t very candid a year ago. At least some of that had to do with what was happening in the days leading up to the game 120 miles away down Interstate 5.

On Dec. 28, the Holiday Bowl in San Diego between UCLA and North Carolina State was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Bruins’ program. Not only was the game canceled, but it was called off less than five hours before the 5 p.m. PT kickoff at Petco Park.

The Holiday Bowl was one of five bowl games canceled last season due to COVID-19, joining the Hawaii, Military, Fenway and Arizona Bowls due to virus outbreaks leaving teams without enough available players.

Utah’s first Rose Bowl did get played, resulting in a 48-45 loss to Ohio State in what has since been hailed as an epic, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few nervous days for Harlan.

For what it’s worth, in addition to alterations to Rose Bowl week, other New Year’s Six contests made similar changes in an effort to keep players safe and to simply get the games played.

“There was a lot of stress leading into our departure and while we were there,” Harlan said. “There was a nightly conversation with my counterpart at Ohio State (Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith) about how his team was doing, about how our team was doing in terms of COVID. We were playing in a county that had restrictions and we both had to deal with what happened in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl.

“There was concern, you just don’t know when a breakout can happen. Obviously, the Pac-12 had kept athletic directors informed and when we got the text that UCLA had a breakout the day of the game or what have you, it was certainly alarming. We’ve all been through it, but our measures that we took to keep everyone safe obviously paid off as it did for Ohio State and we were able to play the game.”

This time around, they’ll be able to do that and more.