We are not all work and no play chez Freberg, and last weekend was no exception. Mr. F and I headed south to LA to see the USC–UCLA football game. This is always a special event for us, as the 1969 version was our first date (we were seniors in high school). Surely this rivalry ranks up there, although I still think the #1 rivalry is always going to be Army–Navy. Okay, so Army didn’t do so well, but they did manage to kidnap the goat (Navy’s mascot) once again! Check out the youtube video of the goatnapping here.
Due to the amazing level of traffic on game day, we drove down Friday night and had fun watching the pre-game festivities, including the guarding of the Tommy Trojan statue by round the clock groups of Trojan Knights (I took a picture of Mr. F and the Knights below). Yes, Tommy dons duct tape for a week in order to prevent any untoward applications of blue and gold paint. I suspect similar efforts go towards protecting the UCLA bear statue outside the student union. A special bonus was the chance to catch an NCAA Regional volleyball match at Galen Center between USC and Pepperdine (USC won). We just happened to walk by and see activity, and when we found out what was going on, we bought tickets and really enjoyed our evening.
We were joined at the game by Mr. F’s college roommate and our dear friend, Bruce Lorman, who was a very good sport for coming to see his beloved Bruins predictably lose. This loss apparently was the end of Karl Dorrell’s coaching at UCLA, which I personally think is sad. The PAC 10 is not an easy place to win, and Dorrell won a lot. Yes, he lost some he shouldn’t have, but so do most coaches. Expecting to win all the time seems unrealistic given the apparent parity among this year’s teams.
So it’s off to the Rose Bowl once again for the Trojans. We’re in the lottery for tickets, and should know the outcome in a day or two. Personally, I think that if the Trojans played like they did at ASU, neither OSU nor LSU could stay in a game with them, but the gods of the BCS follow their own rules.
