Troy Issac still remembers the excitement and awe he felt at his
first UCLA men’s basketball game as a freshman.
Two years and dozens of games later, he has rearranged his
finals schedule and is willing to pay hundreds of dollars to see
the Bruins play in the Sweet 16 this week in Oakland.
As the Bruins enter the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002,
some students are going to great lengths to follow the team despite
upcoming finals, an 800-mile round-trip, and the anticipated high
cost of tickets.
Issac, a third-year political science and psychology student,
arranged to move a final scheduled for Friday to Monday so he would
be able to go to the game this Thursday night.
He said his instructor was understanding.
“He told me to enjoy the game and root for the
Bruins,” Issac said.
If he is unable to acquire a ticket through the Central Ticket
Office or online, Issac said he would still make the trip to
Oakland with friends in hopes of buying a scalped ticket there,
adding that he is willing to pay up to $350 for the Thursday game.
He is willing to pay same price if the Bruins win Thursday and make
it to the Elite Eight.
“For some of us, it’s priceless to be there,”
he said. “But at a certain point, we can’t afford
outrageous prices.”
Issac said if for some reason he cannot get tickets for the
upcoming games, he plans to “support the team from outside
the arena.”
Jim Brandon, a third-year communication studies student, said he
plans to drive to Oakland with his roommates Wednesday night to see
the Thursday game, then drive back to UCLA on Thursday night so he
and three of his roommates can take their 8 a.m. finals Friday.
“I’m telling myself my final is on Wednesday, so I
will hopefully get all my studying done before the drive,” he
said.
Brandon said the experience of seeing his school’s team in
the Sweet 16 is worth the possibly damaging effect this trip to
Oakland could have on his Friday-morning final.
“I know that I won’t remember how well I did in that
class or even what class it was in five or 10 years, but I know
I’ll remember going to see this game with my
roommates,” he said.
Curt Frieden, a third-year Spanish student, said as dedicated
fans of the basketball team, he and his friends plan their study
time around the basketball game schedule. He said they went to the
game last Thursday in San Diego and studied in the car on the way
there and back.
“Studying is part of the routine,” he said.
“We are the die-hard of the die-hard fans.”
Issac, Brandon and Frieden have followed the Bruins since their
freshman years at UCLA and have often camped outside Pauley
Pavilion to get priority passes to sit in the Den for home
games.
Issac said he followed the team to watch it play against
California, Washington State and Stanford this season, and he
arranged his schedule so he didn’t have classes on Tuesday or
Thursday so they wouldn’t interfere with the basketball
games.
All three boast missing only a handful of games these past three
years and say the experience of seeing a team they have been
dedicated to for years reach the Sweet 16 and possibly the Elite
Eight is a reason to sacrifice time, money and possibly good grades
to go to the tournament.
Like Issac, Brandon is willing to pay hundreds of dollars to see
the Bruins play in the Sweet 16, and even more if they make it to
the Final Four.
“There’s something about seeing your team play in a
tournament while you’re at school there, it’s something
I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I would be
willing to spend hundreds of dollars to go see them play just for
the experience.”