117th Tournament of Roses

I just got back from the 117th Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California where Bayer Advanced’s Jack and The Rose Stalk was lead float and winner of the Queen’s Trophy for outstanding use of roses. As I hope everyone knows by now, the Tournament of Roses uses Bayer Advanced rose- care products exclusively. It was my job to talk to radio, TV and newspaper reporters about the float, roses and our role as sponsors of the tournament. Although I did all the yakking, the PR team at Luckie and Co. set everything up and they did a magnificent job. I haven’t seen any numbers, but my guess is that more people heard about Bayer Advanced than ever before.

This was my sixth rose parade for Bayer Advanced and even though it got me up early (I was often at the float by 5 a.m. for East Coast TV and radio) and very busy, it was also a lot of fun. I got to watch all the wonderful volunteers who put the flowers (750,000 on ours alone) on the floats and experience the unique excitement that can only be found at the Tournament of Roses. Hats off to everyone at Phoenix Decorating who designed and built our float and so many others. What a great team.

This year we introduced the 2006 All America Rose Selections on the float and that made my job a lot easier. These are the best of the new roses, and I’ve tested them in my own garden. For me, nothing is more natural than talking about roses I’ve grown myself.

As you probably saw on TV, the parade itself was windy and wet. Although the floats stood up well, my heart really went out to the kids riding on the floats and in the bands. My daughters, Ashley and Teale, rode on the first Bayer float six years ago. Even in sunny weather, five miles of marching and/or waving makes for a long morning. In driving rain, and often dressed in shorts and short sleeves, it must have been miserable for this year’s participants. But they made it, and they deserve a lot of credit.

And then there was the game. I’ve been a football fan for a long time, and I can easily say I’ve never enjoyed a game as much as I did the national championship between USC and Texas. As a Cal grad, I rooted for USC and the Pac 10. But by the end of the game, it was hard not to feel good about Texas winning. Texas fans are real fans. The way they cheered and sang as one is what college football is supposed to be all about.