There will be no spectators allowed at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day because of coronavirus according to the Associated Press on Thursday. The state of California increased its coronavirus restrictions this past week due to the high rate of infections. There are currently 673, 176 active cases of coronavirus in California, and 19,588 deaths.
In all, there have been 1,291,214 total cases of coronavirus in the state of California. That is the second most cases among states in the United States. The only state with more cases is Texas, with 1, 317, 457 cases overall. However, one must also realize that California currently has the most active cases of coronavirus by a wide margin. They presently have 314, 639 more cases than Illinois, which is second on the list with 358, 537 active cases.
Now, there is a distinct possibility that the Rose Bowl will not be played in the state of California at all. On Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers announced they will play their last two remaining home games at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ because of new rules in Santa Clara County that ban contact sports for three weeks. Meanwhile, California’s other two NFL franchises, the Los Angeles Chargers, and Los Angeles Rams, are looking at other options just in case Los Angeles County imposes similar restrictions, in addition to the stay-at-home orders they have already implemented.
The Rose Bowl in Pasedena first took place in 1902 when Michigan blanked Stanford 49-0 in front of 8000 spectators. From 1965 to 1992, a minimum of 100,000 spectators attended the Rose Bowl, with a record number of 106, 869 in 1973. That year, USC defeated Ohio State 42-17. Last year, 90, 462 fans watched Oregon beat Wisconsin 28-27.
The 2021 Rose Bowl is tentatively being used as a College Football Playoff semifinal. At this time the four teams in the mix to play in the playoff are Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Clemson. The University of Clemson Tigers are questionably in contention for a spot even though they lost 47-40 to the Fighting Irish on November 7.
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