The UCLA team showed up, we know that much. Hopefully the Trojans show up this weekend and don't shit up their backs during the 5PM Prime Slot for all to see. Best of luck masked man, at least if you lose you already have a disguise.
The students fucked it up. Royally. I blame them, fucking hippies. An on-campus stadium was proposed in the late 60s, with much of it being funded by each student paying something like fifty bucks a year for an ASUCLA card, or some such bullshit. They didn't even pay tuition in those days, but they still voted against it! That's one of the few things I don't like about UCLA, that historical blunder. Yeah, Angela Davis was a communist, and Tokyo Rose was a traitor, and that ain't good. But I'll bet both of those bitches wouldn't ponied up a lousy fifty bucks.
But this is all academic. Sort of. UCLA could still be putting 60,000 plus in the Rose Bowl, easily, with a consistent program. USC is, because they win more often. It's not rocket science, or even brain surgery. If it was, USC would've figured out the problem a long time ago and helped UCLA out with some expensive advice.
Even during the first three years of the Mora era, UCLA was getting about 65,000 or close to 70,000 for the big games. Sure, at least 10,000 of that was giveaway fluff, maybe more. But that ain't bad for a program that is never going to draw more than that with USC and the NFL in town. 40,000? That's bullshit. But the past five years have killed off a lot of people for good.
I doubt Chip can sustain this type of winning for long. They may not be done this season winning, and they have a really good shot at double-digit wins. But who knows what's in store for next year. Attendance will rise once they're in the B1G, but that's only because of greater attendance from hick transplants and the travelling minstrel shows.
When your athletic department cares only about money and not winning, Chip is as good as UCLA is going to get. How do you recruit players to play before no fans? I appreciate what he has done. He is a solid coach.
I think they're starting to turn that narrative around. They have no choice. Keep in mind, nobody knew Chip was going to be this version of Chip; they thought he was going to be Oregon Chip. Anybody who says otherwise is really full of crap. So, you could say that hiring him was a commitment to winning, even if it hasn't worked out. I will give Chip a lot of credit for developing an offense that is innovative and effective. But he just doesn't want to recruit, and I don't think he can live off the portal. I don't see that as sustainable moving forward.
Moving to the Big Ten was also a demonstration of some sort of a commitment. I guess we'll see. I think the next HC hire is really going to determine where UCLA is headed. You can't make money if you're not winning games.
The UCLA team showed up, we know that much. Hopefully the Trojans show up this weekend and don't shit up their backs during the 5PM Prime Slot for all to see. Best of luck masked man, at least if you lose you already have a disguise.
In mitigation, they had a lot working against them:
It was the conference "Game of the Year."
It was a 12:30 start.
The temperature was 80 degrees.
The Dodgers weren't playing.
The Ralphs ticket coupons expired the week before.
Who could expect a big crowd in those circumstances?
42,038 according to the box score in the LA Times.
Bosco vs Mater Dei drew 9,000 and Roosevelt vs Garfield drew 22,000.
El Doctor was present at the Roosevelt vs Garfield game. Right SC?
42,038 according to the box score in the LA Times. Right SC?