Frog Fans Welcome Champs Back Home

The cheering hasn't stopped for the TCU Horned Frogs since the undefeated football team beat the Wisconson Badgers 21-19 in Saturday's Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California.

On Sunday, thousands of fans lined a street on the TCU campus affectionately known as "Frog Alley" to welcome the Rose Bowl champs back home.

The team arrived to a throng of fans, loud cheers and chants, hugs and high-fives.

"This is the most awesome thing to happen to TCU in a long time. It's so incredible!" said Janette Hahn, a TCU alum.

Both for the team and for the fans, the game was not just about winning the Rose Bowl, but about winning respect.

"I feel like we've accomplished a lot. It's a great time to be a Horned Frog right now. We feel like it was a big win yesterday and we made a big statement," said the man who led the Frogs to the lead, quarterback Andy Dalton.

Head Coach Gary Patterson joined the team through the makeshift parade, shaking hands and giving adoring fans high-fives. The man at the helm said he's very proud of his team.

"This is awesome. They deserve it. They are giving me too much credit, they are the ones that did all the work," Patterson said.

Players stopped to sign dozens of autographs on hands, paper, TCU jerseys, t-shirts, hats and footballs. But MVP Andy Dalton was by the far the fan favorite. He was surrounded by fans for close to an hour after everyone else had gone home, asking him to take pictures and sign autographs.

Dalton said he wanted to make sure this year's bowl game wasn't a repeat of last year's loss at the Fiesta Bowl.

"I think there was a lot more focus going into this game. As a senior class, and leadership, we wanted that to be our main goal, to go out and give our team the best opportunity to win the game," Dalton said.

The Texas-sized welcome back home was a perfect end to a perfect 13-0 season.

The Rose Bowl trophy traveled on a separate plane than the team but fans may be able to get a glimpse of it during a parade that school officials say will planned on Monday.

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See our complete coverage of TCU's Rose Bowl victory in our special Rose Bowl section. Click here for videos, photos, and articles from our crews in North Texas and in Pasadena.

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