Daniel Miller
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To the uninitiated, attending a UCLA football or basketball game
is all about watching the Bruins and their opponents battle it out.
Nonetheless, there is another thing fans in the student section are
watching: the fashion.
Where else than in Los Angeles does a school’s populace
emphasize appearance so much? Don’t worry sports fans,
several UCLA traditions indicate that all this fashion
consciousness actually relates to the school’s storied
rivalry with USC.
A tip for incoming freshmen ““ do not wear anything red to
any football or basketball game, unless you want to remove it to
vicious chants of, “Take off that RED shirt.” Yes, your
fellow Bruin fans will spot you wearing a red sweatshirt that has
nothing to do with USC (whose colors are red and gold) and point as
they chant.
This can quickly become quite an embarrassing and humiliating
situation. I sadly recall one basketball game when a male student
who seemed quite eager to remove his red shirt and expose himself
received additional heckling.
Students also get very creative in their USC-dissing fashion. It
would be in poor taste to cite some of the expletive-laden shirts
that use words to refer to USC that, had I used them as a child,
would have obliged my mother to wash my mouth out with soap.
To some it might seem silly to remind students to wear
blue-and-gold clothing to UCLA sporting events, yet Bruin fans are
rather deficient in coordinating their blue-and-gold wardrobes come
game day. The sight of the student section at the Rose Bowl ““
a swaying mass of blue and gold ““ could be quite
breathtaking, if fans got their act together. I always marvel at
the fans of football schools like Nebraska and Michigan; when their
fans travel to the Rose Bowl to play the Bruins, their sections in
the stadium are a virtual sea of red and blue clothing,
respectively.
During the hot months of September and October when the football
team plays in scorching heat, some students get creative in their
keeping-cool apparel. A word of advice to men ““ keep your
shirts on ““ it’s never that hot.
As far as the ladies’ creatively cut shirts and skirts, I
am not educated enough to pass judgment. However, while attending
some football games with some female friends of mine, I often hear
them remark about others’ poor taste ““ again, it would
not be prudent to quote my friends’ exact words.
Obviously, the outcome of the game on the field or the court is
all that matters, but it is clear that many students amuse
themselves with their critiques of others’ choice in apparel,
while many simply try to blend in.
Either way, I pray that no UCLA team falls so far behind that
the only exciting thing to keep track of is a sweatshirt.