Thousands of miles from the Georgia Dome, groups of UCLA fans and students crowded together around TVs in Westwood. Popular Village spots Westwood Brewing Company and O’Hara’s were havens for multitudes of Bruins hoping to exorcise the year-old demons that were born after last year’s championship game.
Fans poured into the various Westwood locations ready to shout at the televisions, play backseat driver to coach Ben Howland and enjoy what promised to be a tough rematch.
The fans got their wish ““ for a while.
“It was rowdier than I expected,” said Andrew Vega, a fourth-year student and member of the UCLA marching band. “I had never gone to a bar to watch the game before. There was lots of cheering and 8-claps, you could tell that people were excited, even during the first game between Ohio State and Georgetown.”
The excitement had been building from the moment the Bruins cut down the nets in San Jose, signaling their second consecutive trip to the Final Four. For some, they couldn’t get to their spot to watch the game soon enough, showing up hours before the 5:40 p.m. tip-off.
“I was the first person there (at O’Hara’s) at 11:30,” fourth-year history student Cody Drabble said. “My friend Brian and I got the sweet long table by the TVs in the back. It was slow until 1:30, and then it got really packed.”
A year ago, that excitement barely made it past the tip-off, with Bruin fans having little to cheer about for the entire 40 minutes. Saturday seemed to be a different story. UCLA was not dominating, but was in the game even with key players on the bench in foul trouble.
And then something in Georgia changed, and so did the mood in Westwood right along with it. Florida jumped out to a big lead and kept the game in complete control for the majority of the second half.
“Even though we were down (six) at the half, people were pumped,” Drabble said. “And then when Florida ran away with it the whole room got angry and started yelling. Losing to Florida made it all the more painful.”
When it became clear to fans that the game was going to turn into another Gator victory, the excitement that had defined the crowds disappeared. Another opportunity had passed by and the shoulda-woulda-couldas began to fly around.
“The whole room got really bummed out,” Drabble said, “I was frustrated because I don’t think Florida is that good. UCLA’s been so strong all season, but no one was firing on all cylinders.”
While the game was tough to watch for fans in Westwood, some appreciated it. A year ago Vega was in Indianapolis for the Final Four, playing mellophone in the marching band. With different members of the band getting the opportunity this season, Vega took a little relief from the separation.
“Overall it wasn’t as bad as when I was in Indianapolis,” Vega said. “Being there, and in the hotel afterward, it seemed worse.”
This year’s loss seemed to sting fans less because it came in the semifinals instead of the championship. Fans watched last year’s game against Florida in Pauley Pavilion on the big screen while the police prepared for a rowdy college crowd that went home after the loss, instead of out into the streets.
After this year’s game, fans went the same direction.
“(On Saturday) everyone came out of Brew Co. and Maloney’s and walked home glum,” Drabble said. “Like they got the wind knocked out of them. (But) it wasn’t as bad as when we lost the championship last year. I watched the game in Pauley and then went to Westwood. I saw all the riot cops out and no (people) out there. The mood after that was awful. It wasn’t quite as bad (Saturday) night.”
While the result was not what anyone surrounding the televisions in Westwood was hoping for, fans did not go to bed completely dejected. With the UCLA basketball program back in national prominence, some students took solace in the promise of a bright future.
“After the game there was a lot of talk about next year,” Vega said. “People were optimistic.”