Back at my elementary school, we had a poster in our
multipurpose room that read “High Expectation = High
Achievement.” It was our school district’s motto, and
as sixth graders we naturally felt the need to make fun of it. All
along, we probably knew that it was right, but it was sixth grade,
and we found snapping bra straps funny, too. The poster got me to
thinking. Sure, high expectation likely leads to high achievement,
but what about low expectation? I mean, if you stay out until 4
a.m. engaged in trench warfare with your liver and take a midterm
the next morning, you’re probably not expecting much. But it
doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve anything. If
you’re able to overcome the headache/burning/shame resulting
from your actions, you might just shock the world. If anything, low
expectations alleviate the pressure a bit. And that, folks, seems
to be the approach to this young UCLA football season. After last
year’s emotionally arresting sucker punch, fans seem wary to
lop on a required number of wins or any kind of lofty goals. The
team itself seems to feel similarly. Before the season began, Bob
Toledo and many of the players made it clear that in the wake of
the 6-0 to 7-4 charade of 2001, goals would be more realistic and
immediate. Win the game at hand, stop looking ahead, don’t
talk about bowl games, give 110 percent, no question about it. OK,
so I added those last two in there. But the important thing among
all of those platitudes is that this year’s version of the
Bruins, a team nobody expects to be contending for the Pac-10
title, can use this newfound mentality to play loose, que sera sera
football. Meanwhile, We the Fans get to go out, enjoy a beer or ten
on the golf course, and watch some entertaining football.
It’s a great little thing we could have going. If we win,
great. If not, well there’s no need to get our drawers in a
bunch like we did last year. It came as little surprise last night
when I started to hear the token Rose Bowl student section sarcasm
permeate the air with the Bruins down 10-0. I even did my part to
contribute to the noise pollution. But it was a decidedly different
kind of sarcasm than that which became popular when the Bruins lost
four in a row last season, leaving We the Fans wronged, betrayed,
kicked out on the curb like Spiro Agnew. Now we’ve got a
fresh outlook and a clean slate. We in the Land of Profanity and
Debauchery aren’t asking for much – maybe an upset or two and
(finally) a USC win – otherwise, we should be pretty content simply
enjoying ourselves out there. UCLA players, many of them young guys
thrust into important positions, seem to be taking the same
approach. When the normally reliable Chris Griffith bricked a pair
of field goals that would have tied the game, the panic of a team
held to an unrealistic standard wasn’t there. Lo and behold,
Drew Olson leads a charge for a TD early in the fourth, Ricky
Manning jars a game-changing hit that would make Lawrence Taylor
smile, and the Bruins are up, 21-13. No pressure. Just fun. On the
field and in the crowd, Bruins were having fun. We didn’t ask
for much, but now they were giving us much. Instead of nodding our
heads and groaning, “finally, they did something
right,” we were genuinely excited. When Bradlee Van Pelt and
the Rams stuffed an 80-yard drive straight down the Bruins’
throats, disaster could have ensued. But the Bruin defense, gutted
all night by Van Pelt’s option keepers, stayed with the fleet
quarterback and got an uber-rare two-point conversion runback. It
felt like a game of Madden ’93 out there. I mean, honestly,
who in real life runs back two-point conversions the length of the
field? Apparently, the Bruins do. Hopefully, they have a lot more
to show us that we never expected. Surely, our standards will
ratchet up if the wins do the same, but I for one am a fan of this
new, more reasonable fan mentality. Which gets me to thinking again
(scary idea, actual thought two distinct places in a single
column). Maybe we should make a poster of our own: “Low
Expectations = Aw, Hell, Whatever, Just Make Sure You Bring the
Beer.” Ah, if the Conejo Valley Unified School District could
see me now.