TOMORROW’S A BIG DAY IN COLLEGE football all across the country. It’s called “Rivalry Weekend.” Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., before a sellout crowd at the L.A. Coliseum, the eighth-ranked Trojans — a 20-point favorite — plays host to UCLA, which does-n’t exactly sound like much of a host to me. Adding insult, SC is at the top of their game, while UCLA, with a 6-5 record, seems destined for the Emerald Bowl. (Tingling with excitement, he says sarcastically.) Trying to remain optimistic, I note that last year the Bruins were also heavy underdogs and won 13-9. And in so doing, they cost SC a chance at a national championship! (How sweet it was.) I doubt lighting could strike twice, especially with this year’s UCLA squad. Hopefully, I can get away with saying that because I’m an alumnus.
Whatever the outcome, there’s a lot at stake. SC is seeking an unprecedented sixth consecutive Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl bid for the 32nd time. (Big deal, he says jealously.) Remarkably, after such a disappointing season, a UCLA victory (coupled with an Arizona State loss to Arizona) would actually send the Bruins to the Rose Bowl. (And perhaps save Coach Karl Dorell’s job, which, as a die-hard Bruin, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.) During this past week, the rivalry at both campuses has been building. At UCLA, the game is known as “Beat ’SC Week” whereas at USC, it’s called “Conquest.” Both schools host parades, bonfires and rallies. They also take steps to prevent vandalism — i.e. one school painting the other school’s statue in their colors. (The intercollegiate version of the Bloods and Crips?) In preparation, USC covers its Tommy Trojan statue in plastic, while UCLA hides its Bruin statue with a large sign “The Bruin Bear is Hibernating, beat SC! (I don’t think that’d scare away either the Bloods or the Crips, but hopefully, it would some trust fund baby Trojans.) The competition even extends to the ROTC at both schools in the annual “Blood Bowl.” (What a charming title?) Staff of the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan also compete in flag football and, until the mid-1990s, the marching bands played each other. But following a fight, and theft of instruments, the series was suspended. One never thinks of marching bands as dangerous characters, and yet, the victory trophy remains missing to this day.
Clearly, the most painful defeat for me as a UCLA fan (and there have been many) was the 1967 contest, which some refer to as “Game of the Century,”but which I refer to it as something else, but this is a family newspaper. UCLA was ranked No. 1 in both polls, while USC was ranked No. 2. With the game tied 14-14, an injured Gary Beban gamely threw a touchdown pass, but the extra point attempt was blocked. Then, in the final minutes, O.J. Simpson ran 64 yards for a touchdown. USC kicked the extra point, and held on to win 21-20. (And O.J. went on to murder a few people, but who’s counting?) One of my readers, Mary Olivier, is also a long-suffering Bruin fan. Mary was a teacher in Santa Monica for 38 years and among her students were Robert Downey Jr. and Charlie Sheen, who was on the baseball team with her son, Mike. Mary was at the ’67 game. She was so upset at the outcome she couldn’t eat or sleep. To take her mind off it, her husband Hank bought her a big house they had been considering buying. (The one they’ve been in for 40 years.) The plan worked because worrying about the new mortgage completely drove the game out of Mary’s mind. She says she owes the house to O.J. (Be grateful, I’m not making another tasteless O.J. joke, though it’s tempting.) After last year’s UCLA victory, a friend of Mary’s had a windbreaker made for her which reads, “13-9.” Far braver than I, Mary will be wearing the jacket at tomorrow’s game. Fearing the outcome, I will be setting the VCR. (If only they’d had them in ’67.) As game time approaches, I’m comforted by two thoughts: 1) As poorly as UCLA has fared against SC in football during the last 10 years — won 3, lost 7 — it wasn’t as bad as when they first joined the conference back in 1929. You could say UCLA crashed worse than the stock market, because the combined scores of the ’29 and ’30 games against USC were 76-0 and 52-0. (As Brando would say, “The horror of it all.”) As a result, the two schools didn’t play again for five years. Things don’t look very promising for tomorrow’s game, but clearly UCLA won’t lose 52-0. Will they? 2) The other thing I take comfort from is … thank God for basketball season.
JACK NEWORTH also writes “Channel Surfing,” a TV review column that appears in the Current section. He
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.