Perhaps it is a testament to the nature of the Los Angeles
sports fan that it takes a football game to attract people to a
water polo game. Perhaps it is a testament to the nature of the
sport itself and its lack of acceptance as a mainstream sport.
Whichever the case, the fact remains that in order to attract
the amount of fans that should be inherent to a perennial national
title contender, the UCLA men’s water polo program has been
forced to switch some of its main rivalry games to the Rose Bowl
Aquatic Center.
“Our goal with the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center has been to
get the maximum number of people to see both teams,” said
Associate Athletic Director Ken Weiner. “Generally, it has
been with a main rival, on the same day as a football game with
them.”
First utilized for water polo by then-coach Guy Baker in 1991,
the center allows for a larger number of comfortable seats than is
available at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, where the team
plays the bulk of its home games.
Where the recreation center has two small banks of bleachers,
the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center has a permanent concrete bleacher
section that spans the length of the pool, as well as metal
bleachers on the opposite side.
Along with the seating, there is a grassy hill just outside of
the center that allows spectators to watch the game while nursing
beverages not allowed in the pool area.
To combat the seating problem, plans are currently in the works
for a new on-campus aquatic center.
According to Weiner, the Athletic Department hopes to have
funding from donors within the next few months.
For the water polo team, the interest in having the games at the
Rose Bowl is not entirely a matter of attendance. Coach Adam
Krikorian feels there actually isn’t a significant difference
between attendance at the Rose Bowl games and attendance at the
Sunset games.
Instead, he feels the games at the Rose Bowl offer the
opportunity to act as ambassadors of the sport.
“The neat thing about those games is that they allow a lot
of people to come to the games who normally wouldn’t or who
don’t know a lot about the sport,” Krikorian said.
“It’s a chance to showcase the sport and get people
hooked.”
In a city where success is usually the main component to
attracting fans, the UCLA men’s water polo team, which won a
national title last year, has not attracted large crowds. The
Sunset Canyon area may be an explanation.
“Yes, I’m disappointed with the amount of fans who
come out, but at the same time, we have facility issues that keep
us from attracting the consistently large crowds,” Krikorian
said.
“We’ve had some pretty big crowds in the past, but a
lot of people are forced to sit on the ground or stand because
there isn’t enough seating.”
The games at the Rose Bowl also have added benefits for the
team. Whereas Sunset Canyon is essentially as quiet and secluded a
place as there can be on the UCLA campus, the games at the Rose
Bowl Aquatic Center allow the team to participate in the pageantry
of college football.
“I always look forward to the games at the Rose
Bowl,” goalkeeper Will Didinger said. “You kind of feel
like a football player, because everyone takes care of things for
you, which doesn’t happen at Sunset. The barbecues and
tailgating afterward are always fun.”
For Didinger, the games themselves are always a bit bigger than
the rest of the home games, which he said helps to motivate
him.
“It’s just a bigger complex, and usually a bigger
game than the games at Sunset,” Didinger said.
“It’s nice for the alumni who want to stay outside and
drink, and just having a lot more alumni there kind of puts the
squeeze on you and makes you want to win that much more.”
The effect of opposing fans also helps to give the games an
especially big-game feel. The added aspect of fans getting angry
with each other and yelling helps to push the team to a higher
level.
“It’s especially fun to get the opposing fans
there,” Krikorian said.
“It’s just a neat environment (playing before the
football games). Against Cal, we even had Geoff (Strand), the yell
crew guy from the football games, leading some cheers.”
Two of the team’s biggest victories of the past two
seasons, this year against No. 1 Cal and last year against then-No.
1 Stanford came at the Rose Bowl, but for Krikorian the victories
were not a product of the specific location and every man, woman
and child there, but were simply a product of playing at home.
“There’s not much correlation between those
victories and playing at the Rose Bowl,” Krikorian said.
“It’s just playing at home. We’re always really
confident and comfortable playing at home. There’s always
that added excitement of playing in front of the hometown
fans.”
Playing at the Rose Bowl, though exciting and often a very fun
environment for the players and fans, can be wearisome at
times.
For instance, when there is a 12:30 p.m. football game, the
water polo game is forced to start as early as 10 a.m. It can be a
stretch for many people to show up for games that early, no matter
what the location.
“I usually come to the water polo games if they are early
afternoon at the Rose Bowl,” fifth-year David Blair said.
“But if they are too early in the morning, I can’t
really find the motivation to get out to Pasadena.”
While the games at the Rose Bowl are good opportunities to
introduce the sport to those unfamiliar with it, for Krikorian,
true home remains at Sunset, despite its imperfections.
“Sunset is just unique and beautiful,” Krikorian
said. “All the blood, sweat and tears for the team happens
here.”