The bellhop at my hotel in Santa Monica described it as the “calm before the storm.”
Another person compared the excitement to the Superbowl.
They were talking about the wave of football fans steadily taking over the greater Los Angeles area ahead of the BCS National Championship game between The University of Texas Longhorns and The University of Alabama Crimson Tide.
You don’t have to search long to find some football fans from Houston. I was walking near the Santa Monica Pier when I met members of the Hanusch and Contreras families.
They plan to attend the game and hope to provide a dose of good luck to the Longhorns. They were here in 2006 when the Horns defeated USC for the National Title.
The game is on Thursday, but more than 1,200 reporters and photographers have descended on the official media hotel to start reporting on the team practices leading up to the big game.
Channel 2’s Sports Director Randy McIlvoy and sports photographer Daryl George are here to cover the game. They’ll provide extensive TV coverage.
2 On The Beat will update several times a day to capture the excitement of Alabama and Texas fans from Houston.
Mary Benton Media 
how exciting to see my daughter, son, niece and her family on click 2. they are avid UT fans and had flights and hotels booked long before Texas finished their season, just on the chance that they might get tickets.
HOOK’EM