As the Hoosiers head to the Rose Bowl, fans are continuing a long-standing tradition. Andrew Franklin, who has family ties to IU football, will attend this year’s game wearing a gold watch from the 1968 matchup. “I was two weeks, three weeks old when they went out there last time,” Franklin told FOX59.
IU alumnus Clay Patton will continue a family tradition started by his grandparents, Gerald and Mary Rainford. “Even though IU lost that Rose Bowl game to USC, how excited they were, just to be a part of it and to the pomp and circumstance,” Patton told WTHR. During the pandemic, Patton created cardboard cutouts of his late grandparents to sit in the stands, honoring their legacy.
Retired sports writer Andy Graham traveled to the Rose Bowl after IU secured its spot in the game. “Oh, yeah, you know you're going,” Graham’s wife insisted, he told Hoosier Huddle. Graham has long been involved in Bloomington football and has combined his passion for the sport with his coverage of IU football over the decades.
