So the Rose Bowl was an incredibly busy time. The first hour of getting to the stadium was one of the most frustrating (embarrassing) of my life.
- My brother, who is 74, had his flight canceled by Spirit the day before the game. He and his wife spent several hours trying to find an alternative but couldn't land LAX until 10 am on game day.
- I pick him up at 10 am, take the shuttle to the hotel, and we get an Uber at about 10:45 am for about $40, which was an amazing price since most of the few days it looked like it was going to be over $100 because it was about 45 minutes in the car
- So I rushed my brother into the car since the car was waiting, after his 5-hour flight
- We get near the rose bowl, in a residential area, and are at a dead stop about a 15-minute walk from the parking area. I tell the Uber to just let us off and we'll walk the rest of the way so he can go and get another fare.
- I was worried about my brother, the logistics, where the stadium was, how far of a walk it was, if the car can turn around, and more. So I get out of the car and run around the car to help my brother get out without getting hit by a car coming the other direction.
- We then have to crawl over police barriers to get to this sidewalk. We walk about 100 yards and I realize I had forgotten my new iPhone 14 in the Uber. Worse, my eTickets are on the phone. My son says, no problem, just sign onto the site and download it. We walk around the parking and stadium area without getting a signal. At this point, I am swearing like a sailor....thinking I got my ass, my son, and my brother to Pasadena and won't be able to get into the game!!!
- We walk to the will-call window to see if there is anything we can do...maybe they have wifi? Just before we get there, my son says "Dad, I got a signal!" After three failed passcode attempts, I finally get into the site and we manage to download the three tickets on my son's phone. And it works at the ticket gate. we are in!!!
- I convince myself to settle down and enjoy the game. Maybe I can call Uber, maybe the driver will realize it is mine and drop it off. Maybe I can call my phone, he'll pick up and make arrangements. Worst case, I'll just get a new phone and bite the cost. We do the usual; get a bacon-wrapped hotdog, walk around, take some photos (with my son's phone) and walk into the game.
- At one point, it starts to get a bit cold and I cross my arms over my chest. I feel a hard bump over my heart. I reach into my vest jacket and there it is MY PHONE!
- I then remembered that I was cramped in the front seat of the smallish car, couldn't get my phone in and out of my front pants pocket, and put it in my vest pocket. But it stuck out because the pocket wasn't very deep and I didn't want to zip up the pocket as I was getting it to check the route and how far we were from the stadium. So I slipped it into my inside vest pocket for easy access. I completely forgot I did that and thought my phone fell out of my pocket in the Uber car.
This was one of the most frustrating and embarrassing moments of my life. I just couldn't believe that I'd let down my son and brother and we weren't going to make it into the game after spending a LOT of money to go.
