Last time I was in the Rose Bowl before Saturday was the 1995 Rose Bowl between my beloved Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Fidd’s alma mater) and the Oregon Ducks.  That day, the undefeated Nits beat the Ducks, 38-20, as Kerry Collins, Bobby Ingram, and Kajana Carter did all they could for a National Championship.  But the night before, the Nebraska Cornhuskers won their bowl game, and were named Natty Champs.  Going into the ’95 Rose Bowl, no matter how bad they beat the Ducks, it was a no win situation for the Nittany Lions.

On Saturday, for me, it was a no lose situation.  The annual USC/UCLA tilt meant two things.  Either USC does what everyone thought they would, setting up a Penn State/USC Rose Bowl (aww yup!), or I get to see maybe the biggest upset in USC/UCLA history, considering the line is 33.

1. Arriving early at Brookside Golf Course, we start the walk to the UCLA Southbay Alumni tailgate.  The parking lot on the front 9 is a really cool tradition that often gets overlooked.  We parked next to the seventh fairway bunker, where USC and UCLA fans were competing in a bunker shot contest.  On the first hole tee box, a massive game of Bocce Ball had broken out.  I almost asked if anyone had next.

2. An omelet and mimosa get the day started right, and then it’s right to the keg.  The verbal barbs between Trojan and Bruin fans are hilarious.  The best shit saying of the day had to be “My maid got her PHD at USC.”  Only in L.A.

3. And the women.  Oh, the women.  I love L.A.

4. The Bruin squad walks through the tailgate, lead by coach Rick Neuheisel and AM 570 radio personality Vic “The Brick” Jacobs.  Dressed in his classic poncho, mink hat, and wielding a large bamboo stick, VTB was eager to slap hands with the fans.  The guy next to me keeps yelling, “feelin’ you Vic” and the lady in front of him looks confused.  She must not be a Loose Cannons fan… on a side note, remember when VTB was on KISS FM with Rick Dees? 

5. Now that I think about it, VTB was on KISS FM when OJ Simpson was on trial the first time.  Now today, Vic is leading the Bruins into the Bowl, having strangers tell him they feel him, and OJ just got a 5-15 sentence slapped on his back.  What were the odds that now Vic would be sitting pretty, and The Juice… not so much?

6. Former Laker John Salley is walking around, and I say hello.  I ask him if the Lakers are going to win 70 games.  He shrugs.  I get the feeling he doesn’t get asked decent, intelligent sports questions very often.  Guess that’s what he gets for working on Best Damn Sports Show Period.  Oh, zing!

7. I also say hello to former UCLA quarterback Wayne Cook.  Now the UCLA sideline reporter, Cook was my quarterback coach at Chaparral High School in Temecula.  His family looked well, and his face really lit up when I called him Coach Cook.  I guess it’s been awhile.

8. Top 5 throwback jersey spottings: USC #43 Palumalu / Michigan State #33 Johnson / UCLA #87 Farmer / Kansas City Chief #13 Bono / USC #32 Simpson.  I’m still not sure if rocking the Juice on the day he goes away for awhile is classy or not?

9. In the stadium, the colors are brighter than normal, on the field and in the stands (see picture above).  I’m sure you heard that the road team USC sacrificed a timeout to wear their home cardinal red in the Rose Bowl for the first time since before I was born.  When UCLA also took a timeout to even the score and promote the rivalry, there was a nice applause from the capacity crowd.  It’s a rare occasion for L.A. fans to recognize something that doesn’t make it onto the scoreboard, but it was a cool moment.

10.  UCLA runs a double pass for the first points of the day after a USC turnover.  Big Fidd texts me “final score usc 41, ucla 7.”

11. Running into the kicker and a late hit calls help USC tack on a late touchdown before the half.  Two things: one, the amount of late hit and roughing the passer calls in the NFL and college football this year have me thinking that the Moore League is the most physical football I’ve seen this season.  And two, I forgot how much I like replays.  They don’t do them at UCLA games, but it’s the end of the first half and I’m still catching myself looking at the Jumbotron after almost every play.

12. I run into Wilson football coach Diego Segura at halftime.  I almost didn’t recognize him out of the Wilson Bruin maroon and in UCLA Bruin blue.

13. After halftime as the teams waited on their sideline, they played that song Kernkraft by Zombie Nation that makes student sections go crazy and jump to the beat.  The Trojans started jumping with their fans, as did the Bruins.  The two teams noticed each other, and they slowly jumped their way to the middle of the field.  Soon enough, with the song still bumping, L.A.’s two teams were feet away from each other, jumping up and down in the middle of the Rose Bowl with 90,000 rooting them on.  Now, people who call themselves “purists” wouldn’t like this.  But here we are in a 21-7 game, and the pregame energy is back in the building.  I love it.  And I’m still not sure what a “purist” is.

14. The Den, or UCLA student section, is littered with The Dirt From The Den, the weekly newsletter about the team and their opponent.  As you might imagine, it is full of “U$C” hating and jokes.  My favorite was the new lyrics to the two songs the Trojan band plays…

Conquest
This is the only song we know,
it’s boring and it’s slow…

Fight On
We learned
another song.
It’s not as good,
but twice as long. 
We buy,
each victory. 
This week we bought,
the referee. 
No need to enroll. 
Education’s not our goal.

15. Big Fidd was almost right on the dot, with the final score 28-7.  I’m just going to let everyone know that I am available for anything, anywhere, anytime for tickets to this year’s Rose Bowl game between Penn State and USC.  Seriously, anything.

16. It takes us almost three hours to get back to Long Beach.  I love L.A.