Sitting in Pauley Pavilion on Monday night, it hit me.
UCLA basketball is back.
I know this seems like an odd thing to say after a loss.
But as I sat in college basketball’s most hallowed arena,
watching the clock wind down and Florida’s Corey Brewer dance
ridiculously with the ball, I was witnessing something that seemed
unimaginable only a few years ago.
Pauley Pavilion was louder and more animated than I’ve
ever seen it. Thousands of fans, the overwhelming majority of them
students, packed the arena even though the Bruins were playing in
Indianapolis. The only empty seats were those that had a horrible
angle at any of the screens on which the game was being
broadcast.
The fans made plenty of noise throughout the game, even when
UCLA was down by 20. They still believed their team could come
back, and the place went crazy when the Bruins cut it to 61-49 with
a few minutes left. The fans cheered every defensive stop, basket,
rebound and favorable call. They reacted after every play.
And most surprisingly of all, the fans stuck around, even at the
very end when it was clear Florida was going to win. They even
applauded after the game was over, as if the team was actually in
our presence.
It wasn’t always like this, as those of you who have been
around know.
It was only a few years ago that the UCLA program was so down, I
could show up to a game only a few minutes before tip-off and get a
great seat. It was only a few years ago that UCLA students were
mostly apathetic toward UCLA sports.
So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Don’t get too down over last night’s loss. Remember,
the Bruins weren’t supposed to get this far. At the beginning
of the year, the realistic goal was reaching the Sweet 16. And that
was before all the injuries.
Last year, the Bruins lost in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament. And it was only a few years ago that the team struggled
to win 12 games in an entire year, let alone 12 in a row like the
Bruins did this year.
The program matters at a national level now.
And the fans are back.
They were waiting outside of Pauley Pavilion before 4 p.m., in a
thick line stretching from Pauley all the way to the dorms for a
game that started over two hours later and would only be seen on
television.
UCLA fever hasn’t returned with just students either.
I met alumni at Pauley who had either left work at noon or not
showed up at all just to make sure they could watch the big game at
Pauley.
These things haven’t happened in Westwood for a long time.
These are the fans that will continue to be enamored with UCLA
basketball. These are the fans that will fill Pauley for every home
game, make noise and give UCLA a true home-court advantage.
UCLA basketball matters again, even without winning a national
championship.
The fans care again.
After the game, a dance party was scheduled, win or lose, at
Pauley.
No one stayed for it. No one took the invitation to go down onto
the court and dance to the music, because all they cared about was
the game.
UCLA is a basketball school again.
And before we close out the 2005-2006 season, I ask one thing of
UCLA fans. Focus on the positives more than on this one loss.
Remember the amazing comeback against Gonzaga. Remember the
defensive display in the wins against Memphis and Louisiana State.
Remember the relief of escaping against Alabama with a win.
And remember the amazing regular season with all of its ups and
downs (mostly ups). It was a great season.