I found out that we can run faster, throw further, and jump
higher than USC.
So what if the Bruins I was watching don’t play at the
Rose Bowl or Pauley Pavilion.
On Saturday, I ventured to Drake Stadium for the annual UCLA vs.
USC track and field meet, believing it to be the surest bet to be
on the happy side of the rivalry for once this year.
I kept a running diary of the proceedings. I don’t know
much about the sport, so pardon me if my comments are a little off
track”¦
11:28 a.m. ““ So, I just figured out what 3000 people
apparently already knew: You don’t show up until 12:30.
Javelin is cool, but nothing else is really happening for another
hour. Basically, I’m just cranky.
12:36 p.m. ““ The women’s 5000 meters just started.
Another writer and I debate for 10 minutes about how long it is in
miles. Nothing depresses me more than trying to multiply in my
head.
12:51 p.m. ““ UCLA’s Melissa McBain just came out of
nowhere to win. It was like McBain had just begun the race with
four laps to go. She absolutely burned the rest of the field.
1:02 p.m. ““ The 3000-meter steeplechase begins. It looks
pretty typical until off in the distance I see a splash and the
runners’ legs disappear for a split second. Apparently they
leap into a pit of water during the race. Unfortunately, the
obstacles stop there. What some fire wouldn’t do for this
event.
1:15 p.m. ““ I’m spinning in circles simultaneously
watching hurdles, javelin and women’s and men’s high
jump. Never thought I’d say this, but too many sports.
1:22 p.m. ““ A quick musing on the high jump. How the hell
do you jump over something taller than you? Think about it. That
shouldn’t be humanly possible.
1:31 p.m. ““ The woman singing the national anthem botches
a line. Most people don’t recover. She comes back even
stronger.
1:37 p.m. ““ In the 4×100-meter women’s relays,
Monique Henderson takes an apparent sure loss and blazes from
several meters behind for the win. I’m getting chills.
1:55 p.m. ““ In the men’s 1500 meters, two Bruins
form a wall so that the Trojan a few feet back cannot pass. A
metaphor for the day.
2:14 p.m. ““ About halfway through, the UCLA men are
beating USC 43-16. Hmmm, this sounds better ““ at halftime,
it’s UCLA 43, USC 16.
2:20 p.m. ““ They just announced that Henderson ran the
fastest 400-meter time in the world this year. And we go to school
with her. Is that cool or what?
2:53 p.m. ““ As if the pummeling couldn’t go any
better, UCLA just won a good old-fashioned David and Goliath match
as 5-foot-8, 130-pound Nick Thornton sprinted ahead of a guy
seemingly twice his size in the 800 meters. Score five more points
for good.
2:54 p.m. ““ “Incoming!” A discus lands about
10 yards away, but it might as well be 10 feet. This is like Duck
Hunt reversed. A fellow writer spends the rest of the day leaping
and looking to the sky upon hearing any loud noise.
3:22 p.m. ““ Craig Everhart just ran 200 meters in the time
it took me to write this sentence.
3:27 p.m. ““ It has become very obvious where I forgot to
put sunscreen.
3:48 p.m. ““ We’re talking to men’s team
captain Dan Ames, who has just completed a great day winning both
the shot put and discus.
“Each year you come to understand how important this meet
is to so many people,” he says.
4:10 p.m. ““ The meet is officially over. The men win
111-52 and the women win 93-70. Yes, those are the real scores.
4:17 p.m. ““ “It never feels any less than great (to
beat ‘SC),” says Henderson, the star of the day.
4:27 p.m. ““Â I approach all-world star Allyson Felix,
who turned pro at 17 after committing to USC. She would be a
freshman this year.
“It was definitely exciting to watch. You do feel the
“˜what ifs’ watching it,” she says of what would
be her first USC-UCLA rivalry meet.
I smile and point out that she made a good decision, as she
would have been on the losing team. She laughs uncomfortably.
4:32 p.m. ““ We’re leaving the stadium and run into
men’s coach Art Venegas.
We congratulate him. He shakes our hands and walks away summing
everything up,
“What a beautiful day.”
Peters will field your questions at
bpeters@media.ucla.edu