Rose Parade 2017: Allyson Felix, Greg Louganis and Janet Evans serving as Grand Marshals

Today, ABC and NBC are airing the annual Rose Parade, which is a tradition these days really used to mark the beginning of a new year. This is one of the first times in several years that the show has been held on Monday, January 2 rather than the 1st, as this only happens when the holiday falls on the Sunday.

There is also one other notable thing about the Parade this year: It’s the first time since 2003 that the show has honored more than one person as Grand Marshal. The Parade went with an Olympics theme this year coming out of the summer games, with Allyson Felix, Greg Louganis and Janet Evans serving as honorees for this year. They get a special place in the Parade, and to be immortalized forever in its lore. What’s better than starting off the new year with a ton of roses? In between this and “The Bachelor,” you’ve got yourself plenty of them!

Who were the Grand Marshals the last time the show went in this direction? Bill Cosby, Art Linkletter, Fred Rogers … let’s pretend that one of those didn’t happen.

There have been some extremely famous Marshals in the last 100+ years that the Parade has existed, including such legends as Bob Hope, Walt Disney, George Lucas, Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Temple, and several former U.S. Presidents. It’s a gig that you really do want to get, and it’s often reserved for the legendary.

Ironically, Felix in particular is appearing on the other show with roses in “The Bachelor” a little bit later in that season, so she’s seemingly doing everything this year that there is to do involving the flower.

Do you think these are the right choices for the Parade this year? Let us know in the comments!