So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about
“character” lately.
You have to put it in quotes, because this is the sports page,
and we’re not talking about actual character. We’re
talking about “character,” the kind that the UCLA
football team says it has.
I suppose we take this “character” to mean that the
team never gives up, that it believes in itself and doesn’t
need validation from anyone else. It is self-motivated, and
successful because of it.
“Character” is a large part of this team’s
success.
That’s how it was for the first eight games this season,
when the Bruins went 8-0.
Comeback victory after comeback victory, we were led to believe
that character does indeed count. And perhaps it was
“character” that saw the Bruins to their four
improbable comebacks in five weeks.
But can “character” suddenly just disappear, like it
seemingly did last weekend in a cloud of Arizona desert dust?
My answer is no. You either have “character” or you
don’t. It’s not something that just comes and goes.
That’s why this weekend’s game against Arizona State
is without a doubt the most important game of the season. Saturday
is the day when we find out if this team truly is what it says it
is, or if it’s really no different from Bruin teams of the
recent past that crumbled when any sort of adversity befell the
program. This game, more than any other, is about
“character.”
“Right now, this team has done so many positive things and
has so much character, they don’t characterize any of those
bad issues that have happened before,” coach Karl Dorrell
said.
But those bad issues are difficult for Bruin fans to forget.
In 2003, Dorrell’s first season as coach, the Bruins lost
their last five games, went 0-4 in November, and finished the
season with a loss to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley
Classic.
Last year, the Bruins lost five of their last seven games. The
low point was certainly the team’s embarrassing loss to
Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Last weekend’s loss at Arizona was the first indication
that it might be happening again. That’s why this game is so
ridiculously important.
If you want to talk about a program turning a corner, about this
being a different team, about forgetting the past and looking
toward the future, then you absolutely have to win this game.
It’s as easy as that.
“This game is so big, so big,” tight end Marcedes
Lewis said. “This can make or break our season.
“If we win this game, we’re still in control of our
destiny. Everyone understands the focus at hand.”
And everyone had better understand. A win against Arizona State
makes it so much easier to say that the crushing loss to Arizona
was simply an aberration, something that happens every once in a
while in sports that is impossible to explain.
But it’s also something to learn from, and a team that
doesn’t learn from its mistakes is a team headed straight for
disaster.
“Losing, as bad as it hurts, is sometimes a great teacher,
so we’ll find out Saturday whether we’ve been paying
attention or not,” offensive coordinator Tom Cable said.
What if they didn’t learn? What if the same problems
arise? What if this team goes out and loses on Saturday?
Then you have a Bruin team that reminds you way too much of the
past, stumbling into a date with powerhouse USC. It’s not a
happy outlook.
And so we’re left with “character” to convince
us that this is different.
And, to be fair, it has been very different.
I’m certain that Bruin teams of the past would have lost
at least two of the four games that this year’s team came
back to win.
That’s why no one can give up yet. Sure, last weekend was
disheartening, but it’s not the time to be completely
disheartened.
It’s the time to pack up the car, drive to the Rose Bowl,
and watch with keen interest what will unfold on Saturday.
This game will tell you more about the Bruins than any other
game this season has.
This would be a win in the face of adversity, a win to silence
the band of critics, a win about a little something more.
This, Bruin fans, is about “character.”
E-mail Regan at dregan@media.ucla.edu