While the focus remains on Saturday’s football match-up
between the rivals, for the past five days, it has been
UCLA’s other athletes who have made a name for themselves,
competing against USC in various sports.
From ice hockey to lacrosse and from flag football to rugby,
students across campus have gotten in on the action and have
brought a whole new meaning to the schools’ rivalry.
“Our goal is to not only get everyone excited for the game
but to unite the campus and make everyone feel like they’re a
part of the tradition,” Gitanjalie Misra of the Student
Alumni Association said.
Throughout the past week, the UCLA Recreation Department has
worked together with the Student Alumni Association to host a
series of athletic events pitting the two schools against each
other.
Foremost among these is the Crosstown Cup, a series of five
games between the two schools’ ice hockey teams. Every year,
two of the five games are held during the same week as the football
game.
However, this rivalry goes above and beyond football. In fact,
dating back to 1928, the two schools have been competing on the
ice, making their rivalry just as passionate as that between the
football teams.
“They don’t like us and we don’t like
them,” senior ice hockey player Eric Allen said.
“It’s all about crosstown bragging rights. Whatever
happens, you have to deal with the repercussions all year
long.”
In addition to ice hockey, the rivalry week also features
matchups of many other club teams, including rugby and
lacrosse.
“Even though they are not NCAA sports, these games mean
just as much to the athletes. By competing in this same week, it
gives them that same sense of atmosphere and intensity and it gives
them the whole school’s support,” Club Sports
Commissioner Adam Pruett said.
And then of course there are the students of both schools who
are not associated with any organized sports, who lace up their
shoes once a yearin order to take their shot at the crosstown
rival.
Among these are the cadets in the ROTC programs, who go
head-to-head every year in a brotherly, yet highly competitive game
of flag football.
Nicknamed the “Blood Bowl,” this game provides a
unique opportunity for men and women of the armed forces to come
together and earn some bragging rights for themselves.
“The game is a celebration of the rivalry between USC and
UCLA. After it’s all said and done, though, all of these guys
are just fellow brothers. They are big rivals one moment and
brothers-in-arms the next,” said Lieutenant Colonel Shawn
Buck, a professor of military science.
Many other campus organizations and groups engage in similar
competitions in the spirit of the week. Both the Rally Committee
and the Daily Bruin hold flag football matches against their USC
counterparts in the week prior to the big game.
But ultimately, these are all only undercard events leading up
to the main event. Regardless of what may have happened throughout
the week, there is only one “W” that will matter.