Outside of a study group for a lower division oceanography
class, it was probably the last place I’d imagine myself on a
Saturday night in November.
Surrounded by 80,000 people who would have cursed or spat on me
if they found out where I came from, there I stood, a UCLA student
on the sideline at USC’s homecoming football game against
Arizona.
The irony of the experience sunk in a little earlier when I
entered the V.I.P. tent before the game, an open bar and buffet
line at my disposal. Students pay almost $30,000 a year in tuition,
and loyal Trojan alumni spend over $3,000 to get marginal season
tickets, and yet the exclusive access was going to feed a
Bruin’s appetite for chicken cacciatore and Heineken.
Maybe this was USC’s gesture of compensation for the
hassle they put me through after mailing me an application for
admittance. It wasn’t too fun having to take the trash out
that day.
Still, I wasn’t about to accept any apologies if offered
and decided instead to just grasp how the other half lives.
Throughout the entire night, I got a pretty good perspective.
The environment surrounding the Coliseum was very festive,
particularly when the fans had enough time to forget they had just
shelled out $20 for parking.
The on-campus setting and undefeated football team merely
enhanced the energetic vibe flowing all around me. Fortunately, the
water polo team’s loss to UCLA one hour before kick-off
didn’t seem to disturb anyone, except maybe the guy whose
T-shirt read “At USC we’re not snobs. We’re just
better than you.” (He looked a little agitated waiting in
line at the rest room.)
Walking along the dimly lit pathway between USC’s swim
center and Coliseum, I got the sense I was going to a lynching. But
rather than hoist torches and demand vengeance, Trojan fans donned
neon glow sticks and called out for more beer.
Once I finally stepped inside the stadium and walked down onto
the field, the grandeur of the atmosphere really hit me. Legions of
die-hard students had painted their faces and piled in early for
the best seat possible, completely unaware that a student who
normally cringes when seeing USC license plate frames had scored a
field-pass their tuition could never buy.
But as natural as it should have been for me to despise
everything around me, I became swept up in the crowd’s
emotion. I couldn’t rationalize hating an institution that
had invited me onto its sidelines, an opportunity I will probably
never receive at my own. Sure, I still wanted Arizona to win, but
at the same time, I’d like to see Gilligan get off the
island.
Accepting the inevitability of the outcome and realizing my
complete apathy toward it, my main goal became what so many
Angelinos desire ““ to be a part of the action. I stopped
being a fan and became a front-row audience member. I stopped
watching a football game, which turned into an extravagant
concert.
With USC driving for a touchdown on seemingly every other
possession, I only cared if they ran a play to the corner of the
end zone in which I was standing. And they obliged better than a
band playing an encore. Early in the game, the Trojans ran a
sideline sweep that ended right in front of my feet. By the fourth
quarter, I couldn’t help but clap in approval as Trojan
receiver Dwayne Jarrett brushed by me after catching a 20-yard
touchdown pass.
Feeling a little guilty that I was being treated to such a
spectacular show, I removed myself from the action on the field in
the middle of the game to get closer to the enthusiasm in the
stands.
Unfortunately, the seats at the 50-yard line didn’t help
that cause much. As the Trojan defense looked to make a third-down
stop, a pair of “fans” behind me seemed to be just
realizing the Trojans were on defense. They appeared much more
interested in conversing about their ski trips to Mammoth and
friendships their children developed on cruises.
Listening to them, I felt much less guilty about my own lack of
Trojan spirit. Which is probably a good thing since it spared me
the temptation of seeking out some glow sticks.
E-mail Finley at afinley@media.ucla.edu if you have an extra
field-pass to the USC-UCLA game on December 4.