Sports: 4 days to go until U$C vs. UCLA

How do people become fans?

In some cases, multiple generations of their family went to one school or the other.

One of my USC friends went there as did his father and grandfather!

In my family, my brother and I were the first ones to go to a four-year college. My brother being older went first and indeed, he went to UCLA. So I suppose my being a fan of UCLA started then.

At that time, UCLA was the basketball school and USC the football school in the handful of years after John Wooden. Alas, in these 30 years since Wooden's retirement, UCLA has only made it to the NCAA finals twice winning it all in 1995. So in that regard the glory days of UCLA basketball are now a faded memory. The championship banners hanging in Pauley no longer haunt UCLA coaches like they used to.

By the time, I got to college, I went to UCLA as well, the school's football team was garnering the good press and the basketball team was described with the headline, "Bruins in Ruins."

Terry Donahue was the coach of the team at the time I was at UCLA and I think he eventually became the coach with the most wins ever at UCLA and for that matter in the Pacific-10. But his job was never really secure until he finally beat USC.

Donahue's first team, the 1976 Bruins, went into the game 9-0-1 and lost. UCLA lost in 1977, 1978 and 1979. There were often calls for Donahue's firing because he couldn't win the big game!

Well, he and the Bruins finally broke through and won in 1980 in the "probation bowl" as both teams were under penalty for prior NCAA violations.

I attended UCLA from 1981 to 1986 and the Bruins won 4 of the 6 meetings against USC!

I was present at the Rose Bowl for the dramatic 20-19 win over USC in 1982. UCLA was leading 20-13 when USC got the ball at the other end of the field (I had endzone seats in the student section). For so many years, USC would win the game at the last moment either by scoring or blocking a UCLA field goal or something would simply "happen" to earn them the win.

We dreaded them marching down the field to win the game. And indeed, they drove down the field and got the TD as time ran out. With the score 20-19, they opted for the 2-point conversion. I don't know if in the history of the rivelry has either side played for the tie at the end?

Anyway, both sides called a time out to add to the drama. And finally, the moment came and everyone was standing and screaming like crazy when the snap occurred and a UCLA player knifed through sacking the USC quarterback preserving the victory!

More memories of the rivelry to come as I flog and blog the hype for the game.

I'm hunting for a web page that has the history of the rivelry. So far, I found this page but it stops at 1999. Unfortunately, for Bruin fans, 1998 was the last time they defeated the Trojans.

UPDATE: USA Today lists the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

2004 USC 29 UCLA 24
2003 USC 47 UCLA 22
2002 USC 52 UCLA 21
2001 USC 27 UCLA 0
2000 USC 38 UCLA 35
1999 USC 17 UCLA 7
1998 UCLA 34 USC 17
1997 UCLA 31 USC 24
1996 UCLA 48 USC 41
1995 UCLA 24 USC 20

Here's hoping that the Bruins pull off what would probably be the biggest upset (UCLA is a 3 touchdown underdog) in the history of the storied rivelry.