I love rivalries. Really, few things capture my attention like
disdain for an opponent that runs deeper than in an average
game.
Rivalries have the power to force droves of fans to put more
stock in what is often already heated competition. Rivalries can
breathe life into a dying season and get an entire campus
enthusiastic about athletics. Rivalries are great for sports, they
are great for schools, they are great for fans.
That said, we must still be careful to seek proper motivation
for the enmity we feel toward our rivals. There should be a better
reason than proximity to loathe an opponent. Hatred for an opposing
school should not automatically be inherited simply because we
share the same hometown.
One of the best rivalries in sports is that between the Boston
Red Sox and the New York Yankees. This is not a great rivalry
because the teams both play in the Northeast, but because the teams
actually hate each other. There is a buzz throughout the entire
city of Boston when a game with the hated Evil Empire
approaches.
Don’t dislike USC because you are an undergrad at UCLA and
you think that this is how you are supposed to feel. It is
completely ridiculous to give in to the rivalry for this reason,
especially when there are so many perfectly valid reasons to hate
the Trojans.
Don’t detest ‘SC because someone tells you that you
should detest ‘SC. Hate the Trojans because they are spoiled,
snotty snobs. Detest ‘SC because Mommy and Daddy are
unloading nearly 35 grand a year to put their sweater-vest-wearing,
yacht-club-attending spoiled little brat through school. There are
far too many legitimate reasons to get fired up about playing USC
to give in to the rivalry spirit without proper motivation. (I do
realize that the preceding paragraph perpetuates unfair stereotypes
about the University of Spoiled Children; I just don’t really
care to be politically correct in this matter.)
There is a definite power associated with the UCLA-USC rivalry.
Not often does a game between the No. 2 team in the nation and a
team that is on a three-game skid get so much attention from so
many faithful followers. It is because there is no love lost
between our campuses that we care so much about the game that will
be played Saturday. It is because of the rivalry that the otherwise
dismal football season is not already a bad memory, blocked from
many of our thoughts.
Guess what sports fans: UCLA is going to get trounced Saturday;
there is not much doubt about that. However, that is not a reason
to avoid lodging yourself directly in the ear of Trojan fans. Take
it upon yourself to keep the rivalry heated, because as hard as
they try, the football team isn’t going to help this cause
much. The battle for the Victory Bell is for you, the fans. Its
entire purpose is to excite and stimulate you into gearing up for
at least one game a year. UCLA’s fans are often characterized
as apathetic, but Saturday is an opportune time to prove this
observation wrong. Cheer if for no other reason than you quite
simply loathe USC and its stuck-up fans.
The final score isn’t going to matter come Sunday. The
only thing that is truly of consequence is how loud you were, how
obnoxious you were and how much you showed that you care about
Bruin athletics.
Rivalries are good for sports and better for fans. Make sure you
remember and enjoy this fact.
David has a number of friends at USC that he doesn’t
expect to hear from any time soon. E-mail him at
dgrahamcaso@media.ucla.edu.