With 99 NCAA titles, unmatched athletic success and a football
and basketball program on the rise, there is no question that UCLA
is a great place to be for a sports nut.
But one of the coolest things about being a sports fan at UCLA
has nothing to do with the Bruin athletic program.
If you are entering campus as a fan of any of the in-state major
league baseball teams, you’ve got it made.
There are few other places in the world where you can find
plenty of ardent supporters of five major league baseball teams.
The fact that all of these teams are either competing against each
other for a division title or have some sort of history with each
other provides for a great setting for passionate conversation and
debate.
As a die-hard Angels fan coming into UCLA in 2003, I had spent
most of my life thinking I was the only person who even cared about
the team (until they won the World Series in 2002).
As a freshman at UCLA, not only was I surrounded by bandwagon
fans who suddenly loved the Angels, but also by people who
absolutely hated them. Giants fans were steaming over a crushing
World Series loss, while A’s fans couldn’t seem to stop
complaining about the Angels’ new crew of supporters. For the
first time in my life, I felt truly alive with baseball.
Fortunately, these tensions have not died down as time has
passed. There is nothing I enjoy more than listening to a Giants
fan whine about Scott Spiezio’s cheap home run in Game Six
and countering with the unbelievable moment when Darin Erstad made
the final catch of the series and Troy Percival pumped his fist in
victorious triumph.
The exception to all of the hoopla about baseball on the UCLA
campus is the Padres. Apart from the fact that they are obstacles
in the division for the Giants and Dodgers, no one really gives a
darn about the Padres except their own fans.
But on the bright side, there are enough people from San Diego
at UCLA to at least let the rest of the student body know that
there is a team in San Diego and that it has some supporters.
That’s just about as much as anyone who’s a Padres fan
can ask for as far as recognition is concerned. The fact that the
Fathers are likely to be a contender when school resumes in the
fall doesn’t hurt either.
But for the other four teams, there are just so many storylines
that make it fun to be at a place where baseball enthusiasts flock
like the salmon of Capistrano.
For A’s and Angels fans, there is “Moneyball”
versus, well, not “Moneyball.” The two teams with their
respective styles of play have been competing for supremacy in the
AL West almost exclusively since 2002.
For Giants and Dodger fans, there exists a long-standing history
that goes all the way back to both teams’ New York days in
the ’40s.
There is also a hero/villain named Bonds who is larger than the
game itself and stands firmly rooted in the center of the
rivalry.
Going to Dodger Stadium for a Dodgers-Giants game with a group
of friends who have equally divided loyalties is a very worthwhile
venture, and UCLA provides a golden opportunity to do so.
Listening to the Dodgers fans boo and heckle the lying cheater
while the Giants fans cheer on their innocent savior and make
vehement attempts to defend him throughout the game is hilarious
for an outsider and engaging for someone who is passionate about
either team.
Come September, it is likely that all of the California teams
will be battling each other for something meaningful. If that is
indeed the case, campus is going to be a pretty exciting place to
be for a baseball fan when the school year begins.
E-mail Azar at bazar@media.ucla.edu if you are still baffled
by the Angels’ decision to send Jered Weaver back to the
minors.