By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Reporter
SAN JOSE, Ca – It was like going to a five-star restaurant and
ordering the filet mignon.
But before getting to the main course, a close UCLA loss to
Missouri, the crowd warmed up with an enticing appetizer.
Arizona versus Oklahoma was the escargot for most of the soldout
crowd at the Compaq Center in San Jose on Thursday. The vast sea of
blue and gold that surrounded the arena sat motionless, waiting for
their team, the filet mignon of their hearts and minds, to take the
floor.
"The first game got old after a while," said Gary Lieberstien, a
1976 UCLA alumnus from Napa Valley. "But we had the scoreboard, so
we were able to watch the Duke-Indiana game."
Many students found going to the game good stress relief after a
tough finals week. Others figured basketball took precedence over
finals.
"I have a final on Friday, but I came here instead," said Sunil
Dave, a fourth-year business economics student. "This is the Sweet
16. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There’s no question
it’s worth being here."
The UCLA Central Ticket Office sold 1,250 tickets as soon as
they went on sale this week, the maximum amount allotted by the
NCAA. Students, faculty and alumni all bought the tickets to see
their Bruins make a run at the Final Four.
Tickets cost $110 and guaranteed admission for both Thursday
games and the Elite Eight matchup on Saturday.
"San Jose is close. It is a lot different than if we were
playing in Lexington," CTO director David Lownstein said. "If we
were playing in Lexington, students would have a difficult time
getting there. This is similar to 1995, when we played in
Oakland."
A lot of alumni also live in the Bay Area, making it an easy
commute to see their alma mater in action.
"This is a Pac-10 area, so there are a lot of UCLA fans here,"
said Richard Kilwien, tournament manager at the San Jose site. "And
a lot of UCLA graduates live around San Jose, so it makes sense
that they outnumber everyone else."
But the Pauley-like atmosphere that existed in the first half
didn’t last, as UCLA’s sloppy play took the crowd out of the game
for much of the second half.
"In the first half, it seemed like a home game," UCLA point
guard Cedric Bozeman said. "The crowd is always good, but in the
end it’s the players who get it done."