And then they were astonished when he made his entrance.
Looking even taller than his 6’9” height, he barely cleared the top of the curtains leading from the historic Tournament House and onto the stage facing the front lawn. All smiles as he happily accepted the announcement from Tournament of Roses President Mark Leavens, he admittedly had one thing on his mind—the Dodgers, who are currently locked in a battle with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League division series.
“I am so happy for this,” he laughed, “but, you know, the Dodgers…” and the crowd laughed and applauded. “I gotta go and get into the Dodgers mindset. I gotta think about Yamamoto, and will we score enough runs?”
As a co-owner of the Dodgers, it was a subject he returned to often during the morning, along with tennis legend/former Grand Marshall Billie Jean King, whom he also mentioned more than once. And wouldn’t you know it, she is also a co-owner of the Dodgers.
It was Dodger-intensive, to be sure.
“I’m honestly a little distracted for the game tonight,” he chuckled. As a person who has accomplished countless once-in-a-lifetime experiences, he was quick to emphasize that the selection was “right up there,” and was perhaps only eclipsed by the Medal of Freedom he was awarded by President Joe Biden last year.
Now, if the Dodgers could win just one more game…
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