This passion for the sport is nowhere more evident than the annual bowl games, the post-season match-ups of top-rated teams that take place in late December and early January. These contests culminate in the four Bowl Championship Series games that decide the title of national champion and are generally held in the first week of January each year. Collectively the games draw more than one million fans in 25 different cities to cheer on their favorite team in 28 separate bowl games. While visiting a bowl game city, visitors often use the opportunity to ring in the New Year with parades, parties and events leading up to the big game.

HISTORY

American football began to develop in the 1870s as an outgrowth of concession matches between McGill University, which played rugby-style football, and Harvard University, which favored a more soccer-like game. Organizing bodies such as the Intercollegiate Football Association, Intercollegiate Rules Committee and Intercollegiate Athletic Association spearheaded the series of rule changes that eventually developed the game as it is played today. In 1910, the organizing bodies consolidated under the name The National Collegiate Athletic Association (The NCAA). College football was thus at the forefront of the game in the early 20th century and managed to maintain its popularity even after the founding of the National Football League in 1920. The college game's long history, heated rivalries and entertainment value have secured its success down to the present day.

James Wagner unwittingly started the New Year's bowl phenomenon when he suggested a football game to draw more people to the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California. Originally a small festival, the tournament began in 1890 as a way to promote Pasadena as a winter tourist destination. At its inception, the tournament featured marching bands, motorized floats and attractions like ostrich racing and bronco busting. The football game, it was hoped, would draw record crowds and help promote Pasadena throughout the country. By 1916 the game became an annual feature of the festivities and steadily gained in popularity, selling out tickets every year from 1947 onward.

The incredible success of the Rose Bowl Game, as it came to be called, prompted other cities to follow suit. Miami, Florida, made a post-season contest between the University of Miami and Manhattan College a feature attraction of its 1933 Palm Festival, which was christened the Orange Bowl in 1935 to cash in on the Rose Bowl's popularity. New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the first Sugar Bowl in 1935, El Paso, Texas, introduced the Sun Bowl in 1936 and the Cotton Bowl was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1937. Still, the public's appetite for post-season college football grew unabated.

Literally dozens of bowl games have arisen since the initial bowl craze. Due to the complicated relationships between bowl games and collegiate divisions, many bowl games could not attract contestants of sufficient caliber and quickly became defunct. Other newcomers, like the Fiesta Bowl, which was founded in 1971, have gone on to become New Year's fixtures among football fans nationwide.

All these post-season match-ups did not necessarily lead to a clear-cut national champion, however. Exclusive relationships between bowl games and specific Division-IA conferences meant that the winners of certain conferences would always meet each other in the post-season, regardless of whether there might be a worthy opponent from a different conference. Ensuing debates about a system that would match the two top teams in the whole of college football led to the creation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1998. In the BCS system, four bowl games—-the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl—see the top eight ranked teams from the elite Division I-A pitted against each other in games of national importance. These four bowl games take turns hosting the National Championship Game, each city hosting the game once every four years. The battle for national bragging rights has made these four bowls four of the biggest single-day sporting events in the United States.

THE ROSE BOWL

By far the most famous of the bowl games, the Rose Bowl is commonly referred to as 'The Granddaddy of Them All' in reference to its status as the first and longest-running bowl game in all of college football. The game is played each year in Pasadena at Rose Bowl Stadium, which was built in 1921 and named by reporter Harlan W. Hall, who had the Yale Bowl's distinctive shape in mind. As many as 101,000 fans have packed the stadium to cheer on their favorite team.

More than just a football contest, the Rose Bowl is the culmination of a week of activities and events called the Tournament of Roses. Another, equally popular tournament event is The Rose Parade, held on New Year's Day unless January 1 is a Sunday, in which case it is held on the Monday. Parading down Colorado Boulevard are floral floats, marching bands, equestrian units and special guests including the Grand Marshal, the Mayor of Pasadena, the Rose Queen and more. As curbside camping starts at noon of the day prior to the parade, quality spaces along the route are snapped up early and would-be spectators are advised to get there well in advance of the 8am start time.

Other tournament events center on the stadium's south parking area and include the Tournament of Roses Family Festival, which provides a variety of activities, displays and entertainment for all ages. The FanFest Expo Village, also on the stadium's south side, offers souvenir stalls, booths, displays and a festive atmosphere as a build-up to the big game. Those who just can't get enough of that marching band swing should check out Bandfest at Robinson Stadium on the Pasadena City College campus, where visitors can get a sneak peek of the prizewinning bands.

THE SUGAR BOWL

Sports Editor Fred Digby had a name for the game before there was any money—-or indeed public interest—to support it: the Sugar Bowl. Named for the famed Louisiana sugar cane crop, it didn't take long for the contest to fire the public's imagination. Excitement surrounded the first game, which was played in front of more than 22,000 fans and featured a match-up between two undefeated teams, the Tulane University Green Wave from the South and the Temple University Owls from the North. The game lived up to expectations with home favorites Tulane staging a late-game comeback to make up a 14 point deficit and win the contest 20-14.

In 1975, the Sugar Bowl moved from Tulane Stadium to the Louisiana Superdome. Crowds at the bowl consistently top 70,000 people and its annual economic impact is estimated to be over $200 million. In 2005, the game was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina and moved from the Superdome to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Events for fans and tourists on the big day include the Sugar Bowl Fan Jam, a tailgate party that features games, contests, food, drink and live entertainment.

THE FIESTA BOWL

Despite being a relative newcomer to the bowl circuit, the Fiesta Bowl has become an important annual match-up. In 1970, a group of Phoenix-area businessmen and visionaries petitioned the NCAA for an Arizona-based bowl. Only one new bowl had been awarded in the 1960s, as the NCAA became increasingly wary of over saturating the market with bowls that fans would not be passionate about. Phoenix managed to secure the award, however, by promising significant contributions to local charities to fight drug abuse. The first Fiesta Bowl took place at Sun Devils Stadium in Tempe on December 27, 1971, with host Arizona State University defeating Florida State University 45-38 in front of 51,098 spectators.

Since then, the Fiesta Bowl has become a New Year's classic, attracting as many as 90,000 tailgate tourists per year to the Greater Phoenix area. Similar to the Tournament of Roses, the Fiesta Bowl presents a number of events to entertain visitors throughout the weeks leading up to the big game. The Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade draws over 400,000 people to Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix, making it the largest spectator event in Arizona. Each parade is the combined effort of more than 10,000 people, featuring marching bands, floats, equestrian units, honored guests and celebrities.

Fans can ring in the New Year at one of the bowl's New Year's Eve events. A family-friendly party taking place in downtown Tempe, the Tempe Fiesta Bowl Block Party includes live musical acts, a pep rally, performances by the visiting teams' marching bands, street karaoke, laser tag, beer gardens and more. For a more upscale event, visitors can head to The Phoenician in Scottsdale where they can hobnob with Phoenix's elite at the Fiesta Bowl Ball. Attended by honored guests from the visiting teams, prominent businessmen and community leaders, this black-tie social includes live entertainment and a silent auction.