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USC-UCLA College
Rivalry
It's Not the Game That's
The Attraction but The Tailgate Party!
UCLA fans go
"bongers" with the Bruins' big upset over USC in 2006.
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PubClub's Top Party Schools!
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USC's Song Girls – the #1 Cheerleaders
Rivalries.
In college football, there is the Iron Bowl and the Big
Game. Texas-OU and Ohio State-Michigan. Florida and Georgia play in
what by fans is known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail
Party." There's even Harvard-Yale and Army-Navy.
One of the nastiest is LSU-Mississippi, an annual slugging
match in which the teams' records can truly be thrown out the window.
The PubClub Party
Bus has the motto of Go Hard or Go Home.
And in sunny Southern California, there is USC-UCLA. Things
are a little different in this mostly laid-back setting. Whereas in
the Deep South or the heart of the Midwest, fans spend "Rivalry
Week" dressing ONLY in their teams colors – right down
to their underwear – several people in Los Angeles who arrive
on game day are concerned more about fashion style points than points
on the scoreboard.
That's because what's really important here is not necessarily
the outcome of the game. It's the party.
While the annual affair – played in two historic
locations, the Los Angeles Coliseum one year and the Rose Bowl the other
– is not exactly two-hand touch at the beach for the players, it's
part sporting event, part social affair for the spectators. Where else
would people go to a major event with little or no intention of actually
getting into the event?
None of these PubClubbing
tailgaters ever go into the game.
Simple. It's all about the party.
Each year, PubClub.com teams up with UCLA alumnus Dave
Munoz and an organization called Buzz at the Beach to organize a party
bus to the USC-UCLA game. While the very vocal Munoz is definitely
all Bruin, the rest of the 60+ people are a mixed bag – they care
less about who wins and loses as long as they can socialize. Witness
the 500 Jell-O shots The PubClubettes brought on board in '06.
And they are not alone. Groups put up TVs in tents all
around the stadium and dozens gather to watch the action happening just
over their shoulders. Vodka bottles hang from ice luges. Plastic funnels
are put to use as beer bongs. Liquor bottles sit on tables that are
better stocked than some bars. People jockey for position around the
jockey boxes pouring beer from kegs. This happens not only before and
after the game, but during, as well.
At the Rose Bowl, the center of activity is "the
backstop," an actual fence backstop at the end of a huge field.
From there, corporate sponsors, alumni groups and other tents fan out
for more massive tailgating. About two hours before kickoff, an area
is roped off by security and the UCLA team walks through the cheering
crowd.
 .
Munoz –with
PubClubette Brittany – celebrates UCLA's '06 upset.
At the LA Coliseum, the spectacular
USC Song Girls lead the Spirit of Troy marching band on a
procession that leaves many tailgaiters wagging their tails. (USC's
band plays awesome spirited songs and the Song Girls accentuate this
by precise dance routines that leave other cheerleading squads in the
dust. You have to see this live to really appreciate it.)
The UCLA cheerleaders are fine, but nothing beats the USC Song Girls.
In each case, anyone wanting to participate had better
follow this rule: Get there early. Two hours before kickoff is considered
late. And if you can't get into the game, don't worry. There's often
more scoring opportunities outside the stadium than on the field.
The reason for the off-field debauchery is simple. In
LA, there's too much to do than worry about the outcome of a football
game. The sun was out yesterday, it's out today and win or lose, it
will be out tomorrow. The waves are always rolling for surfers, the
sand is sensational for beach volleyball and the Hollywood
clubs continue to crank.
In parts of the Midwest and the South in particular, football
is a 365-day obsession. Come game day, people are seated at least one
hour before kickoff and will not move until it's over (bathroom breaks
and trips to the concession stand for sodas to mix with the smuggled-in
bourbon being obvious exceptions). While at SC and UCLA games it's expected
to hit on the (hopefully) single guy or girl around you in the stands
at any time during the course of the game, in the South don't even think
of talking to your seat neighbors during a play. After all, this year-long
passion only comes 12 Saturdays a year (plus a bowl game, ideally after
New Year's Day).
 In
the South, tickets are a premium product. Don't have 'em? Expect to
pay double or triple face value, even for minor games. At any USC or
UCLA game, don't sweat it. Obtaining tickets for face value or less
is commonplace. If not, no worries; there's always the tailgating option.
So if the aspects around the football game are so intoxicating,
what about the rivalry itself? Well, it's had quite a few heart-stopping
moments. Take 2006, for example. USC came in ranked #2 in the nation
aiming at a third consecutive national championship game and walked
away a 13-9 loser. It was the forth time the "gutty little Bruins"
as the late, great Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray called
them, upset a Top 10 Trojan team.
In the 1990s, with nothing but pride on the line, the
teams played perhaps the greatest string of exciting games in all of
college football. One team would score with a couple of minutes remaining,
only to to be beaten by a last-second winning drive. Check the scores:
45-42 in 1990, 24-21 in 1991, 24-20 in 1995, 48-41 in 1996, 31-27 in
'97. That's just pure entertainment.
Yet despite these memorable moments, the unique aspect
about SC-UCLA is not just the football game. It's all the sports the
two schools play against each other. UCLA is, first and foremost, a
basketball school. And while the Trojans tend to dominate football and
the Bruins hoops, the other sports are also significant. Volleyball,
baseball and even water polo also share the stage. After all, the depth
of athletes in all areas of Southern California are unsurpassed anywhere
in the country.
There's even an all-sports trophy between the two schools,
the Lexus Gauntlet. Each year they trade it out as if on cue.
To prevent any college pranks, each school covers its mascot during
game week.
The history of the all-sports rivalry is expertly chronicled
in a book. Lonnie White, UCLA beat writer for the Los Angeles Times
and a former Trojan football player, has recorded the historic rivalry
in all sports with a book titled "UCLA vs. USC. 75 Years of
the Greatest Rivalry in Sports." It's a must-read for any true
Trojan or Bruin fan.
Plus, the schools are in the same city and are only about
15 miles from one another. True, it's about the same distance as Duke
and North Carolina, but they are in Durham and Chapel Hill, respectively.
It's almost two different worlds. USC and UCLA are together under the
same LA landscape.
So is this the greatest rivalry in college athletics?
Overall, yes. For the football game? No, but who can argue with the
party?
After a party bus, Jell-O shots and tailgating, two PubClubettes take
a rest.
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Top Party Schools
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