Sun, statues and a shirtless moment ... UCLA should stay

Here are 15 unsolicited, heavily nostalgia-based reasons why the UCLA Bruins should not leave the Rose Bowl for the glitz and glitter of SoFi Stadium:

- BILL DWYRE CONTRIBUTOR

BRANDI CHASTAIN created a seminal image for women's sports in the '99 Women's World Cup.

(ANACLETO RAPPING Los Angeles Times)

■Because the late Keith Jackson, legendary broadcaster, called the Rose Bowl “The Grandaddy of Them All.”

And it is.

■Because there is a statue there of Terry Donahue, the late, legendary Bruins coach, who was there either as a player, assistant coach or head coach in six of the Bruins’ 12 Rose Bowl appearances. Donahue remains the winningest coach in Pac-10 Conference history with 151 victories. (Note: The Pac-10, which became the Pac-12, no longer exists. From the leather helmet days, right up to 2024, the Pac-10 was a conference of major West Coast universities, featuring players who went to class sometimes because they didn’t have to fulfill marketing obligations for the advertisers and alums who pay them handsomely to do so. That was also before the people who ran the conference saw gold in “them “thar hills” — meaning Chicago, where there are no hills but there is the Big Ten central office. Money speaks and the Pac-12 at the time was all ears.)

■Because the Rose Bowl was built in 1922 for $272,000, or about the cost of remodeling your kitchen in San Dimas now. The first Rose Bowl game at the venue was played in 1923 and it remains the 20th largest stadium in the world and the 11th largest in the country.

■Because when the 1993 Super Bowl was played in the Rose Bowl, Michael Jackson took the stage at halftime and, joined by thousands of children — and to a country captivated by the emotion — sang: “We Are the World ... We Are the Children...” Also, “Heal the World.” It was a stunning performance by an international superstar and it remains the most tuned-in halftime show (133.4 million viewers). After that, the Super Bowl halftime show became a huge deal, as we all know now. Next up: Bad Bunny.