The Best of....Six Saturdays and a Sunday!

                       


Prettiest stadium inside....Nebraska.

 



Prettiest area surrounding stadium....Rose Bowl.





Prettiest drive to the stadium....Penn State.




Best stadium atmosphere....LSU.





Best all-round facilities....Nebraska.







Best student section....Penn State.




Best uniforms....Penn State and....





.....Alabama. Can't beat tradition.





Best band on the field....USC.





Best band playing in the stands....LSU.





Loudest moment...100 yard Gator kickoff return at The Swamp. Sounded like a jet plane taking off.





Best tailgating....Harvard.




Loudest boo....the moment Bret Favre stepped on the field at Green Bay.





Loudest cheer....the moment Joe Paterno ran on the field before the Penn State kickoff.




Most anticipated moment of all....getting the opportunity to walk out of the Green Bay Packer's tunnel to watch pregame warm ups on the sidelines at Lambeau Field.



Loudest crowd....LSU. Geaux Tigers!



Best mascot....Mike the Tiger....LSU.





Best cheerleaders.....USC.




Best tradition.... Release of balloons by students and children after Nebraska scores their first points of the game. Great moment.





Best field entrance.... Alabama....team walks through the tunnel right after hearing "Sweet Home Alabama." They run onto the field with ACDC playing "Thunderstruck."





Best fans / sportsmanship....Nebraska.





Prettiest campus....UCLA

Next week....my favorite photos of Six Saturdays and a Sunday!



UCLA vs USC at the Rose Bowl



  The Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl in sunny Pasadena, California is the last stop on my eight game sabbatical journey. All good things must come to an end, so why not end in Pasadea! This setting for college football is absolutely beautiful. So buckle up for the last time as I take you along for an enjoyable experience in California.


What a great backdrop for a football stadium. The San Gabriel Mountains surround the Rose Bowl for senic views.

 



Pasadena's biggest day of the year is January 1. The Rose Parade is held every year in Pasadena. Preparation for the parade is almost complete as bleachers are a common sight throughout town.




Thousands of people will gather to see this beautiful parade!




While in California, my wife and I spent the day in Los Angeles. We stopped by Dodger stadium to see this historic stadium. Pretty nice stadium, but it needs some work...it's old and starting to show its age. It's nowhere as nice as beautiful Turner Field.




.....made a quick visit to Hollywood!



......Hollywood Blvd. Lots going on in town...on the lookout for movie stars!



More views of Hollywood Blvd.


        Downtown Los Angeles offers huge buildings and lots of....TRAFFIC.  Everywhere you go there is traffic in L.A.




It's game day as the UCLA Bruins play cross-town rival USC Trojans.





The USC Trojan marching band entertains the crowd before kick off. This band is amazing and can really perform.




This band can really bring it. Man they are good. When they play the Trojan fight song, it really puts chills on your neck. Many people across the country will say that the USC fight song is the best fight song in college football. I just might have to agree...it's classic. Hearing the band perform their fight song was the highlight of the evening...it was impressive. Love the Oakley sun glasses!! "Fight On USC."





The USC Song Girls and the Trojan marching are the most recognized groups on the Trojan campus.




The USC Song Girls are always dancing, cheering, and providing spirit for the Trojans.




UCLA takes the field.....




.....USC takes the field....




Early action in the first half as UCLA drives down the field.




USC controlled most of the game with long TD runs plus accurate passing from Matt Barkley to lead the Trojans to victory by a score of 28 - 14.



These huge USC offensive linemen paved the way for another victory over the Bruins.



Head coach Lane Kiffin praises the team for their efforts on the field.




Thank you Pasadena and the Rose Bowl for making this another trip to remember. For many, many, many, years - I have always wondered what it would be like to see a football game at the historic Rose Bowl. I have watched lots of games on TV that were played at the Rose Bowl, and I was always intrigued by it's beauty and reputation. Now that I have had the opportunity to experience the Rose Bowl, I must say that it was an absolute thrill being there. It's a "must" for college football fans.

My eight week journey around the country watching football games has come to an end. I loved every minute of it. It was an experience of a lifetime and a dream come true. I was able to experience "my dream." If given the chance, I'd do it all over again!  It was fantastic.


Most of all, thank you to my family for your support throughout my travels. I am thankful that you were able to join me on the journey.

Thank you Westminster students for allowing me to share this experience with you. I enjoyed my communications with you and appreciate your interest in my journey.

Thank you Westminster for allowing me the opportunity to chase my dream.

Next week it's the..."Best of "... my experience. I will list the.. "best of "...experiences that I had. So check in next week...until next time...keep your eye on the ball...
- Coach McGuire



Harvard vs Yale - "The Game"

         "The Game"

This blog is dedicated to Margaux, Jim, and Marilyn Black...three wonderful people that allowed for this unique experience to happen. They are the reason that I was able to attend, "The Game." Thank you Black's for your sponsorship and allowing me to experience this unique football opportunity. I will never forget it.

Welcome to Cambridge, Massachusetts and Harvard University! I can't believe that I am here to experience my first ever Ivy League football game! I get to witness the rivalry game between Harvard and Yale. "The Game" is the second oldest continuing rivalry in college football history. This is the 127th consecutive time that the Harvard Crimson and the Yale Bulldogs have played. This all got started way back in 1875. These two schools are located just a couple hours drive from each other, and because they are two of America's most prestigious universities, the rivalry is very intense! So buckle up once again as I take you through the Harvard journey.







My wife Caroline and I were hosted this weekend by former Westminster student Margaux Black. I had the fortunate opportunity to serve as Margaux's softball coach for four years at Westminster. She is the best softball pitcher that our school has ever produced. She was an amazing high school pitcher and was a dream to coach. After graduating from Westminster, Margaux continued her playing career at Harvard. She was one of their top pitchers throughout her collegiate career and was named captain of her team during her senior year. She is currently doing medical research at Massachusetts General Hospital and plans to enroll in med school next year. She is going to be a doctor one day! Thank you Margaux for being an outstanding host! Caroline and I loved being with you!!



An absolute beautiful and historical campus. If you ever get a chance to visit the campus...do it! It really is a special and impressive university.



Two of Harvard's elite student / athletes are Margaux Black and Tommy Gray. Tommy is from Houston, Texas and was the captain of the 2010 Harvard swim team. He led his team to numerous victories in the water throughout his career. Thank you Margaux and Tommy for taking us to the football game and making our weekend eventful...Go Crimson!





With Margaux before the big game. Behind us is the softball field where she captained her team to the Ivy League Softball Championship Game last year.




Tailgaiting before the Harvard - Yale football game was huge! There were tailgaiting activities going on all over campus. Keep in mind that this is the biggest game of the year, therefore tailgaiting along with other alumni activities were in full force all weekend. It was a very festive atmosphere as Caroline and I got to tailgate with the Harvard softball team prior to the game. I had the opportunity to see the softball team in action last spring. These girls can play some serious softball and it was a pleasure tailgaiting with them. Best of luck to the Lady Crimson softball team this year..."BELIEVE".





This is as good as it gets! Margaux and I are with former Westminster student Ellen Macadam. Ellen is currently a senior at Harvard and is now the captain of the 2010-2011 softball team. Just like Margaux, Ellen was also a star softball player at Westminster. These two legendary Westminster softball players have gone on to stardom at Harvard. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of these two young ladies. Having the opportunity to coach both of these players in high school, and to be able to watch them perform in college is so rewarding. Margaux and Ellen, thank you for the memories...I am extremely proud of you.




It's game time at Harvard! There are more than 32,000 spectators packed into Soldiers Field. You can feel the excitement in the air as "The Game" begins.




This beautiful horseshoe shape stadium was built in 1903 and has hosted many Ivy League football games throughout the years.



Back in the day, Harvard was a national football powerhouse that won seven national championships. By today's standards, Harvard's national championship game or bowl game is always played against Yale. It's for bragging rights 365 days a year!





I was impressed by the way these players played. These are non scholarship athletes that play for the love of the game and for their school. The level of play was outstanding - just like you would see at any stadium across the country on a Saturday afternoon. Football is football...and when these two teams lined up toe to toe, they got after it. Hard hitting, solid fundamentals, teamwork, and desire were all evident during this heated contest. It was entertaining football from the two Ivy League teams.




Harvard's offense kept Yale's defense off balance with well designed misdirection plays throughout the game.



At halftime, we were entertained by the Harvard marching band...well sort of. Harvard's band really doesn't march like traditional bands...they just kind of walk out randomly on the field and play some songs. They only practice once a week so precision and accuracy are not real important. They have a good time out there and actually sounded pretty good!



The Harvard band entertains the crowd at halftime at Soldiers Field. I like the crooked lines!




Late game action in the 4th quarter as Harvard gets ready to score the winning touchdown. Harvard won the game by a score of 28-21 over Yale! It was a hard fought game from start to finish.  Harvard earns bragging rights this year! Go Harvard!!!!!





Harvard fans celebrate the victory!





My sabbatical football experience has taken me to some fabulous places across the country thus far. I cherish each journey that I have taken. This journey was unexpected. Actually, the Harvard experience was not one of the original, "Six Saturday's and a Sunday" until the Black's found out about my sabbatical plans. Last spring I was in Cambridge to see Margaux and Ellen play softball against Dartmouth. After watching the Crimson sweep the Green on the diamond, we celebrated the victories at an Italian restaurant in Boston. That evening, I shared my upcoming sabbatical plans with the Black's and Macadam's. It was then that Mr. Black extended the invitation for me to add and to experience the Harvard-Yale weekend. What a wonderful weekend and what a wonderful journey we took to Cambridge. It was a weekend with Caroline, Margaux, Ellen, and Tommy that I will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you Black's for the opportunity, and thank you Margaux for everything you did for Caroline and me. It was simply amazing!

Next stop, The Rose Bowl in sunny Pasadena, California to see UCLA vs USC.

Thank you Westminster PE students for viewing this week's blog.
Until next time....keep your eye on the ball....
- Coach McGuire