Alan Geisler thinks he has the greatest job imaginable, but
you’ll never believe him. He started off at USC and
you’ll wonder how he can claim an undivided allegiance to
UCLA. He’s been along for the ride for every Bruin National
Championship over the past 35 years, yet you won’t be able to
spot his contribution to any of them.
Geisler will probably never earn the salary or recognition that
often comes with 35 years on the job. When he finally steps away,
the people he has served the most won’t even know he’s
gone.
Yet none of this dissuades him. As part of the Game Staff crew,
Geisler has a relatively simple job that does not seem to offer
much fulfillment. He collects game tickets, guides fans to their
seats, and occasionally tells them to pipe down after tailgating a
bit too long. It’s not the most glamorous job and can be
pretty boring during sparsely attended events. However, it’s
the atmosphere in which he works, rather than the work itself, that
makes Geisler and many of his colleagues feel so fortunate.
“I’m gonna work till I drop,” Geisler said
during a Bruin softball game last year. “If it weren’t
for this university, it’d be the depression years for
me.”
Geisler speaks fondly of UCLA as though it has given him a
kidney transplant, the winning lottery ticket, or at the very least
a college education. However, his love affair with UCLA stems
solely from the part-time job it provides and the athletic teams it
fields.
Geisler is far from the only member on the Game Staff crew who
finds so much satisfaction in a job students don’t think
twice about. Every member I spoke with appreciated the
opportunities the job offered. From a junior-college student
needing a paycheck to a general contractor who enjoys the
camaraderie to a retired elderly couple that’s happy to drive
in the carpool lane and do something together, the reasons the Game
Staff crew cites for working are as diverse as the crew members
themselves.
“Most people don’t do it for the money,” said
Dan Yee, a fellow Game Staff crew member. “They normally just
love sports or UCLA sports in particular.”
Geisler, the most colorful of the group, works because the job
is a dream of his. He reflects back to when he worked USC football
games with his dad and proudly recalls when they were both first
asked to work at the Rose Bowl for a UCLA game as though it was the
best promotion possible. He has never grown tired of standing under
the scorching sun or sitting through countless blowouts and his
only regret is that the job is part-time.
“There’s never been an event I haven’t
enjoyed,” said Geisler, who also works as a gardener.
“Growing up, I would watch (UCLA) on television, and said to
myself “˜I want to see all of this.'”
His attitude is a stark contrast from those of most students,
myself included. Instead of wanting to get closer to the action
when watching the Bruins on television these past few years, I
wanted to change the channel. Geisler’s eyes twinkle when he
mentions the banners hanging in Pauley Pavilion, but I just wish
there were more. I start to grumble when any game eclipses the
three-hour mark, yet Geisler would just as soon it never ended.
Sporting a giant Bruin belt buckle, Geisler shows it to little
girls walking by at a softball game, telling them UCLA is the
greatest university out there. He promotes and cheerleads for UCLA
as though he were part of its spirit squad. He talks about its
athletic history like any Bruin sports fan, but beams at the fact
that he has been a first-hand witness to it.
Geisler, along with the rest of his colleagues, gets a
tremendous satisfaction from something we students can do just
about any day. The games and experiences he cherishes are the ones
we take for granted.
It’s a moot point whether Geisler’s job is over or
under appreciated because he’s the one doing all the
appreciating.
E-mail Finley at afinley@media.ucla.edu if you have a
favorite Game Staff Crew member.