There comes a point, I imagine, in every fifth-year’s life
when you feel like your time has come.
For some, it comes early.
For others, it may not come until year six.
For me, it came yesterday. Or maybe it was the day before.
In any event, the point is, I’ve reached that point.
The things that used to excite me are no longer quite as
exciting. School is school, work is work, and the prospect of the
real world is situated somewhere between semi and very
terrifying.
I have neither the energy nor the ability to write haikus about
UCLA basketball (haikus that would have made Matsuo Basho
exceedingly proud, by the way). The walk to O’Hara’s
(that’s its name, after all) on Thursday night seems longer
and colder with each passing week. “You’re still
here?” is becoming an all-too-familiar greeting on my walks
to and from campus.
I feel old.
But with age comes experience, and with experience comes wisdom.
Or something like that.
Which ultimately brings me to my point.
(Brief aside: It’s snowing right now! It’s not
supposed to snow in Westwood, but it’s snowing right
now!)
My point is that I’ve seen a lot here (snow included), and
though I won’t go so far as to say that UCLA athletics has
“made” my UCLA experience, it has certainly made my
UCLA experience significantly better.
In four-plus years as a sportswriter and (more importantly) as a
sports fan, I have forged a number of memories that will
undoubtedly stay with me forever.
So when I begin to get down about the real world, about the
prospect of graduation and all the uncertainty that goes along with
it, I think back and remember the amazing things (some triumphant,
some heartbreaking) that I have seen and experienced.
Because I feel like lists are a bit contrived, and because each
moment and subsequent memory is special in its own right,
I’ve resisted that temptation.
I remember my first men’s basketball game as a student
much more vividly than my first class.
I remember when Ben Howland left a message on my voice mail to
apologize for hurting my feelings back when I was a wee
third-year.
I remember the kamikaze bird that soared directly into the
flight path of a tennis ball in an NCAA semifinal match.
I remember seeing a UCLA goalkeeper completely miss the ball on
a back pass, and I vividly recall the look of horror as the ball
trickled into the net.
I remember my first interview with Billy Martin.
I remember the triumph of the women’s gymnastics team in
Pauley Pavilion.
I remember the heartbreak of the men’s volleyball team in
the same venue.
I remember Jesse Melgares winning the Cingular Wireless
SuperShot.
I remember a confident men’s tennis team blown off the
courts in Tulsa, Okla.
I remember an even more confident men’s tennis team
pulling off the most improbable of improbables one season later to
win the national championship.
13-9.
I remember Steve Lavin.
I remember the tingle I felt as Luc Richard Mbah a Moute laid
the ball in to beat Gonzaga in last year’s Sweet 16.
I remember the wit and charm of Jill Ellis.
I remember the deafening silence of the UCLA locker room after a
Las Vegas Bowl loss to Wyoming.
I remember the moment when I realized that UCLA basketball had
returned to its rightful place among the nation’s elite.
And I remember so much more.
We all do. And we all should.
There really is a lot to that tired “enjoy your time
here” cliche, just like there really is something to the
sports column a young Daily Bruin writer will produce without fail
every year, explaining the merits of UCLA sports teams that
aren’t called football or men’s basketball.
This school is a special place with special people.
Treasure it, enjoy the snow, and, go Bruins.
E-mail Regan at dregan@media.ucla.edu if you want him to
continue publishing columns for the Daily Bruin.