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Nothing beats the competition seen in college football. The games are hot and the sport is alive throughout the season with the best teams going on to play in the college bowl games.

The big bowl game at Pasadena is the annual Rose Bowl played at Rose Bowl Stadium - the "granddaddy" of all them all, with more than 90 Rose Bowl gridiron battles having delighted fans since 1916.

Today, the annual Tournament of Roses Parade is a much-loved tradition that kicks off the New Year and a new Rose Bowl battle. This year, the Rose parade theme is "Just Imagine..." featuring spirited marching bands, floral floats, and high-stepping horses marching down Colorado Boulevard for thousands of appreciative fans.

Rose Bowl tickets

2012 Rose Bowl tickets go on sale in early December 2011 at the official website and at Ticketmaster at face value - or about $175 per ticket. Word to the wise: keep your eye on the announcement, and be ready to pounce as tickets are sold out almost instantly. Otherwise, tickets from trusted ticket brokers will be available at a much higher markup, with prices ranging anywhere from $600 to well over $2,000 for single Rose Bowl tickets.

Rose Bowl TV schedule

The Rose Bowl tournament's "never on Sunday" policy moves this year's big parade and game from its usual New Year's Day time slot to Monday, January 2, and airs live from Pasadena on ESPN Television beginning at 5PM ET.

The 2012 Rose Bowl game is the first of a college bowl double-header on January 2 with the Fiesta Bowl immediately following at 8:30PM ET on ESPN.

Rose Bowl trivia & fun facts

• In 1902, the Tournament of Roses Association decided to enhance the day's festivities by adding a football game. Stanford University accepted the invitation to take on the powerhouse University of Michigan, but the west coast team was flattened 49-0 and gave up in the third quarter. The lopsided score prompted the Tournament to give up football in favor of Roman-style chariot races. Thankfully they changed back to football in 1916 and the rest is football history.
  

• The Great Rose Bowl Hoax was one of the most elaborate and successful football pranks ever pulled off. Cal Tech may not have been playing on the field, but they managed to get the cheerleaders to give a great tribute to their ingenuity.
  
  
• Jim Plunkett with Stanford in 1971 and the Oakland Raiders in 1981 is the only player to win a Rose Bowl most-valuable-player award and a Super Bowl MVP.
  

More about the Rose Bowl around the Web

Rose Bowl Game - Tournament of Roses - The official site with team profiles, TV schedule, ticket information and travel packages, maps & seating diagrams & directions to Rose Bowl stadium, plus check out a complete wrap-up of last year's Rose Bowl action in feature stories & photo galleries.

Welcome to Rose Bowl Stadium - Pics, virtual tour, seating guide, ticket purchase.

Rose Bowl Game - Wikipedia entry on the game with history, stats, winners, pictures and related resources.

also see -> 2012 Orange Bowl | 2012 BCS Championship Game