Fans debate: Is the bloom off the Rose Bowl?

I have to give it to Bill Plaschke when he's right.

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UCLA has long called the Rose Bowl home, but not all readers dislike the idea of a move to SoFi Stadium.

Ethan Swope Associated Press

UCLA moving to SoFi Stadium is about as smart as a typical UCLA coaching hire. This month I was able to attend the Steelers-Chargers game at SoFi on a Sunday, followed the next Saturday by the USC-Iowa game at the Coliseum. Everything about those two places is different and only one of them feels like the college experience.

SoFi crams tailgaters in like sardines. There is no room to enjoy the experience.

The fresh air and scenery at the Rose Bowl are the best maybe in the country. People don’t show up at the Rose Bowl for a very simple reason: The program stinks. Not the venue. This proves the old adage, “the fish stinks from the head down.” Thousands of fans sat in the rain last weekend for a Trojans game because the product on the field was worth it. Simple.

JEFF HEISTER

Chatsworth

Who can blame UCLA for wanting to play at SoFi Stadium, the ultramodern sports palace, not to mention great recruiting tool, a mere 15 minutes from campus?

As Bill Plaschke waxes nostalgic, the rest of us slog down the 10 Freeway from Westwood, through downtown, up into the far northeast corner of L.A., to the antiquated monument that is the Rose Bowl.