Socceroos take on Mexico at the Rose Bowl

G’day from glorious Pasadena, California. And I mean glorious: it’s been a perfect day, 24 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. I’m in position at the Rose Bowl, a very special sporting venue, and as I type this, the Socceroos are walking out onto the pitch for a bit of a look around. There will soon be more than 75,000 people here, and the overwhelming majority of them will be Mexican.

I walked here from my hotel, which took about 30-odd minutes … it was a beautiful stroll, and let me tell you, this part of Pasadena drips with that classic American old money vibe. There are some absolutely sprawling properties and mansions around here, with huge fences and gates and dedicated security booths out the front. There’s even Gamble House, better known as the home of ‘Doc’ Brown from the Back to the Future movies. Once I actually got to the Rose Bowl, I did a bit of exploring through all the tailgate parties outside the stadium, stopping off to enjoy some of the greatest tacos I’ve ever had from a street vendor – and I did not spot a single other Australian, aside from my colleagues in the media. As a preparation exercise, this will be fantastic for the Socceroos, with the atmosphere set to be as intimidating – if not, probably moreso – than what they’ll experience in Seattle when they face the United States in a couple of weeks.

The Rose Bowl bills itself as ‘America’s Stadium’. Think of it as analogous to what the MCG is to Australian sport, or Lord’s to English cricket. It’s a huge, pretty uncomplicated concrete bowl, which has seen some huge moments in its lifespan – from countless games of college football to five Super Bowls (including Michael Jackson’s halftime show in 1999, the one that established it as a pop culture phenomenon), the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, plus concerts from Depeche Mode, U2, The Cure, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift … believe me, I could go on. What sort of imprint can the Socceroos leave on the Rose Bowl this evening? Will Nestory Irankunda score a banger? Will Cristian Volpato make his debut? Will Tony Popovic’s men make a big pre-World Cup statement?