THE TWO SPORTS ACTIVITIES THAT I WOULD LOVE TO DO BEFORE I DIE
Second in a series
I’ll get right to the point…
These two sporting endeavors on my bucket list have been on such for more or less a long time,
And they are both baseball-related:
Participate in the Dodgers fantasy camp – spend a week playing baseball at Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers’ spring training facility where (I believe) they hold their adult fantasy camps in February – with fellow Dodger fans under former Dodger stars fulfilling my baseball fantasies
and…
Play either one baseball game or one pick-up softball game on the field at Dodger Stadium – whenever the Celebrity All-Star Softball Game is held during MLB’s All-Star week, I always find myself wishing that I was out there with the various celebs and former big league stars showing what I can do.
As sure as I’m typing this, I would have the ultimate great time playing baseball at a fantasy camp or playing (preferably) first base at a celebrity softball game in Chavez Ravine.
Back in 2011 and 2012, I had the extreme privilege of being on the field at Dodger Stadium behind home plate as a member of the UCLA Alumni Band, playing tunes on my saxophone during pre-game festivities and fulfilling a wish.
Now the next step is to actually play a ball game on those grounds.
Yes, I know that the chances of my actually achieving those dreams are twofold,
Slim, and…
None
But hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?
Dodger Stadium – where it would be ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE for me to play a baseball or a pick-up softball game…
The iconic Joe Bruin statue on the UCLA campus. Photo courtesy of ladyclever.com
LOOKING BACK (and forward) ON MY THREE AND A HALF DECADES AS A PART OF THE UCLA FAMILY,
AND A LOOK OF SOME MEMORABLE MOMENTS THAT I SAW
While I can’t speak for anyone else,
And at the risk of sounding very cliche-ish,
These three and a half decades as a student and alumnus of UCLA and a member of Bruin Nation have gone by VERY fast as thirty-five years ago this month, I began my first fall quarter classes in Westwood after transferring from Santa Monica College.
I wasn’t even expecting to be a Bruin as I was all set to attend Cal State Northridge, where I would eventually end up matriculating as a graduate student.
But when I received the thick manila envelope with the lead letter stating “Congratulations! You have been admitted to UCLA’s College of Letters and Science…” on February 13, 1988 – I even remember the exact date – well, let me express this analogy…
My getting accepted to what has been named the nation’s most applied to institution of higher learning and the nation’s #1 public university for the past seven years was and is akin to the nerdiest, dweebiest boy in the 1950s asking Marilyn Monroe to be his girlfriend,
Or asking the head cheerleader or homecoming queen at his high school the same thing.
Or asking Beyonce to dump Jay-Z and to marry him.
And Marilyn, Beyonce, the head cheerleader and homecoming queen all saying yes!
That’s what getting accepted to and being part of the UCLA community has meant to me;
It was that much of a dream school.
Of course while the elite-level education and the bachelor’s degree in history is something that I’ll cherish for all of eternity,
Getting to root for the Bruins in person was another dream come true as except for a couple of years in my early teens where I committed the grievous Bruin sin of being a USC football fan, complete with owning and wearing ‘SC shirts – which of course I repented of by the time I entered high school (I was actually a UCLA basketball fan at that same time, so like most kids it was more like I was a fan of winning teams and programs),
I grew up a Bruin and had UCLA as my #1 choice of college since my prepubescent days, my mother having influence in that as she is likewise a Bruin alum.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 22: The UCLA Bruin mascot Joe Bruin performs during the game against Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 159452612 Photo courtesy of baltimoresun.com
UCLA alumni cheerleaders at a Homecoming football game in 2014. Photo courtesy of pinterest.com
I WAS A PART OF THIS, FROM 1988-1990: The UCLA Bruin Marching Band. Photo courtesy of newsroom.ucla.edu
A TRUE HONOR TO BRUIN NATION: The UCLA Gymnastics team after winning their 7th national championship in 2018. Photo courtesy of newwsroom.ucla.edu
Legendary Bruin Ed O’ Bannon (#31) with his brother Charles (#13) celebrating UCLA 11th national championship in basketball. Photo courtesy of pinterest.com
Over these past thirty-five years I’ve had the pleasure to have witnessed many Bruin triumphs – and even moments where UCLA didn’t win but will still always be remembered – on the field, court, diamond, pool and in the gym, both in person and on television, providing some memorable memories.
To list all of those Bruin sports memories would result in a post that would practically be as long as War and Peace,
So I thought I’d list the UCLA athletic memories that are foremost in my gray matter, starting with the ones that came to pass
As a student…
October 15, 1988 – My first Bay Area trip as a member of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band, where I got to see the football team, in beating their Golden Bear brothers from Berkeley, earn their place as the #1 team in the nation. It was also the day that Kirk Gibson hit the most famous home run in Dodger history, and one of the biggest home runs in baseball history, at Dodger Stadium in Game 1 of the World Series; a bunch of my band friends and I were packed into one of the hotel rooms in OAKLAND of all places, as the Dodgers were facing the heavily favored Oakland A’s, to witness that piece of baseball folklore.
January 2, 1989 – The Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where I was as (once again) a member of the Bruin Marching Band, where I saw UCLA finish a very good season in beating an Arkansas team that brought pretty much the whole state to see them as that stadium was awash in red that day. The fact that the place became as quiet as a library by the end of that 17-3 triumph was particularly pleasing to me.
February 12, 1989 – Watching UCLA’s basketball team score an exciting victory over blue-blooded power Louisville in Pauley Pavilion, in which the students rushed the court – I wasn’t one of them as I was in the UCLA Varsity Band and was playing my tenor saxophone in the stands.
October 14, 1989 – This was a particularly prominent memory of my days in Westwood and with the UCLA band, as we embarked on a trip to Arizona to support the Bruin football team in their game with the U of A Wildcats in Tucson. I had the fortune of being able to go and share a bus with the Spirit Squad, who were a great group as I found myself playing blackjack with the yell leaders during the ride to Phoenix, where we stayed at a Holiday Inn while busing the two hours to the game in Tucson and back. I especially remember after the game, which the Bruins lost 42-7, walking a couple of miles with some band mates to a liquor store to get beer, which being over 21 years old I had the responsible of buying. The problem was, despite being a year and a half over the drinking age the guy at the counter initially refused to sell me the beer due to my having a California ID rather than an Arizona one, me being forced to sign some forms before being able to buy the alcohol. Yes, in retrospect I know that it wasn’t the right thing to do but hey, we and I were college kids and were behaving like such. Still, it was a fun time as one of my band friends said, “It was a great trip except for three hours.”
November 18, 1989 – Seeing the last tie in Crosstown Rivalry football history as what would have been a kick that resulted in an extremely stunning upset, being that the Bruins were a sorry 3-7 while USC was already Pac-10 Conference champs and headed to the Rose Bowl, bounced off the cross bar as that clash ended up in a 10-10 draw. I thought the kick was good as I saw the referee’s hands go up, before I saw the replay on the video board at the Coliseum.
December 23, 1989 – While doing my Varsity Band duties at Pauley Pavilion for a game vs Cal State Fullerton, I had the honor of meeting, shaking hands with, and getting an autograph from the greatest coach in the history of sports, him signing my game program “Merry Christmas, John Wooden”; I still have that program!
November 17, 1990 – My last game as a UCLA Marching Band member was an epic affair with USC, the Bruins and Trojans going back and forth before Todd Marinovich’s touchdown pass to Johnnie Morton with less than twenty seconds left settled things in the Trojans’ 45-42 win; the fact that it happened right in front of the band and me added salt to that wound.
After graduating a year later, I joined my friends in the UCLA Alumni Band, where I could continue to fervently root for the Bruins in person at the Rose Bowl and in other events.
Being that I have now been in that band for over thirty years, the number of memorable moments that I’ve seen while in that group – and outside that group as I’ve attended numerous UCLA sporting events as strictly a fan – are overwhelming.
However, here are my most memorable Bruin events and moments, in and out of the UCLA Alumni Band, that I was able to witness
As an alumnus…
October 5, 1991 – My first official game as a UCLA Alumni Band member as my friend took me to the Bruins’ annual clash with a Cal Bears team that was quite good, UCLA unfortunately losing 27-24.
November 20, 1993 – An epic, winner wins the Pac-10 title and goes to the Rose Bowl, Crosstown Clash at the Coliseum which I was shockingly able to see due to my friend, who had to go to a funeral, giving me his ticket literally the night before the game, 13 and a half hours before kickoff. I went with a young lady, where we ended up sitting among a bunch of USC students and fans; I was smart enough to stay cool as I didn’t want to get into any fights. I didn’t get to see Marvin Goodwin’s game-clinching interception due to my burying my head in my hands, figuring out how much time the Bruins had left to move the ball close enough for a winning field goal kick. Needless to say, I was ecstatic over what was UCLA’s third triumph in what is still a record eight-game winning streak over ‘SC.
April 3, 1995 – While I obviously wasn’t there as that affair was in Seattle’s Kingdome, it would be quite wrong to not mention the UCLA basketball team winning their (still) nation-leading 11th national championship, that 31-2 squad led by Ed O’ Bannon with that epic dash to the basket and game winning lay-up by Tyus Edney against Missouri in that NCAA Tournament being arguably the most memorable moment in Bruin hoops lore
November 23, 1996 – The Crosstown Rivalry Clash which I ranked as the Bruins’ greatest win over USC EVER, especially since the Trojans were walloping UCLA all game long and were ahead by 17 points halfway through the fourth quarter before those Bruins came storming back, tying the game up with less than a minute left and blocking what would have been the game winning field goal kick for ‘SC to spark what to this day remains the only overtime contest in Crosstown Rivalry football history, the two teams trading field goals before Skip Hicks’ 25-yard touchdown run and an interception on the game’s last play gave Bruin Nation a triumph that will never be forgotten even if every UCLA student, alum and fan developed Alzheimer’s. That game was SO intense that I, most unfortunately, called a female Trojan fan a name which I am most ashamed to think about today and which I completely repented of, and which I would once again like to apologize for in this post and front of the whole world.
November 21, 1998 – UCLA’s eighth straight win over USC, which I had the pleasure to see not only due to me being a die hard Bruin, but also due to me getting to take a very good lady friend to the Rose Bowl witness one of the most intense rivalries in college sports first hand.
March 16, 2003 – The beginning of a wonderful Bruin friendship that marked the UCLA Alumni Band’s first time playing for the UCLA gymnastics team. It was a quad meet in Pauley Pavilion that featured Oklahoma – who won the meet as the Bruins came in second – North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The Alumni Band was so well liked and enjoyed that day that thirteen days later, after getting an email saying “They want us back!”, we (including me, of course), played at the Pac-10 Championships where we were likewise a hit, coach Valorie Kondos Field – “Miss Val” – eventually inviting us to be “The Official Band of UCLA Gymnastics”
December 2, 2006 – UCLA 13, USC 9: The biggest upset in Crosstown Rivalry history, and I had the honor of being there! Those Bruins were a 23 point underdog to a Trojan team that only needed to beat UCLA to secure their place in the BCS National Championship game, and it was evident that the Bruins, their defense in particular, paid no attention to what more or less everyone was predicting as they completely shocked the college football universe! I especially remember these specific things about that day: the two teams almost getting into a fight in the middle of the fourth quarter, Eric McNeil’s tipped interception of SC quarterback John David Booty as the Trojans were driving for the winning score, Aaron Perez’ booming punt with roughly ten seconds left that sent Desmond Reed back twenty yards, which happened right in front of me, and noticing a USC fan throwing a temper tantrum outside the Rose Bowl after the game as he kicked trash all over Lot H, the grassy area south of the stadium
February 28, 2010 – Playing with the Alumni Band at the first Dodgertown Classic at Dodger Stadium, which saw UCLA’s baseball team play at that iconic ballpark in Chavez Ravine for the first time in facing USC! A small crowd of around 4,000 was expected, but over 15,000 Bruin and Trojan fans showed up, which was a large crowd considering it was February and surprised the organizers to the point where they had to open the outfield pavilions and found themselves out of hot dogs during the game with the Bruins, on their way to an eventual College World Series appearance, winning 6-1
November 17, 2012 – Another epic Crosstown Rivalry clash which decided the Pac-12 South, which saw the two teams play in the rain for the first time since 1961 and which saw a game played at a heavyweight championship fight-level, USC quarterback Matt Barkley getting knocked out – and his career as a Trojan ended – by Anthony Barr in that games’ key moment, which like the other UCLA vs USC games mentioned in this post I had the pleasure of seeing
February 4, 2018 – Being able to witness, with the Alumni Band, the greatest college gymnastics meet ever held as UCLA and Oklahoma engaged in a clash of the titans, trading perfect tens back and forth during the last rotation with the Bruins on floor while the Sooners, which ended up winning the meet by the slightest of margins, on the balance beam. The most significant part of that day happened after the meet when both teams, wearing teal armbands and hair ribbons, took a “Together We Rise” public stand against the molestation abuse that so many gymnasts endured at the hands of that USA Gymnastics doctor who is so vile, I refuse to state his name here.
April 20, 2018 – Like the basketball team’s 11th “Natty” over two decades before, I wasn’t at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis to see Christine Peng Peng Lee’s back-to-back perfect tens on the bars and beam propel the Bruins to an epic upset of a top-ranked and top-seeded Oklahoma team that was going for their third straight NCAA title. But it was a pronounced thrill all the same when I saw those Bruin gymnasts screaming and crying in ecstatic happiness when they learned they had won their seventh national championship. It was fun seeing them at their celebration on campus a couple of days later.
Bruin Fellowship and Bruin Band Reunions – Having been an member of the UCLA Alumni Band for thirty-two years and counting, I often find myself freaking out a bit when I think about how some of the band members’ kids who grew up in the band and going to games at the Rose Bowl, are now in their thirties with kids of their own. The UCLA Marching Band alumni reunions, which have been held every other year since 1990 until the pandemic started and which I had attended all but one, have been quite enjoyable as well as I’ve enjoyed the free t-shirts, sweatshirts, commemorative glasses, backpacks and shoes that were given out as a thank you to the band alums.
As you can see, many memorable moments regarding UCLA and my ongoing times there as a member of Bruin Nation are prominent in my mind, moments that serve as good life memories.
And this is just a partial list.
To sum all of this up,
I remember hearing about how baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, the one of the 56-game hitting streak and the ex-husband of Marilyn Monroe, once said,
“I thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee.”
Well, I would like to make this statement regarding my thirty-five years (and counting) as a member of the UCLA community…
“I thank the Good Lord for making me a Bruin.”
UCLA football players celebrating their 2014 Crosstown Rivalry triumph over USC, which I had the pleasure of attending. Photo courtesy of youtube.com
The North Carolina Central Sound Machine’s drum majors with the UCLA Alumni Band at the Rose Bowl’s Court of Champions; I’m standing third from left. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
ONE YEAR AFTER ALABAMA STATE MADE HISTORY AT THE ROSE BOWL AS THE FIRST HBCU TO PLAY UCLA IN FOOTBALL,
ONE YEAR AFTER ALABAMA STATE’S MARCHING HORNETS WOWED THE BRUIN FAN BASE,
ANOTHER HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY AND ITS BAND MAKES A MOST FAVORABLE IMPRESSION UPON BRUIN NATION
And I was so glad I was able to see it!
When it was announced that North Carolina Central, an HBCU from Durham, NC that happens to share the same town as elite basketball power Duke, would play a non-conference game vs my alma mater at the Rose Bowl,
After Alabama State made such an incredible impression last season, with their band getting a standing ovation after performing their halftime show,
I made it a point to be sure I was at UCLA’s longtime football home to see, in particular, what I was positive was a most outstanding college marching band.
Being that I’m a member of the UCLA Alumni Band and subsequently needing to be in Pasadena early to perform for the tailgaters at Lot H and at the Rose Bowl’s Court of Champions,
And being that this was my first UCLA game of the season as I skipped their previous contest vs Coastal Carolina,
I arrived at the Arroyo Seco at a little after 8:00 a.m. to set up my music stand and fellowship with other members of Bruin Nation, exclaiming how enthused I was over seeing another HBCU band as I was marking 35 years of seeing UCLA football in person.
Which of course seemed like 35 months, or even 35 weeks.
At roughly 10:00 a.m. I and other Alumni Band members set off on what is called “Port-A-Sons”, playing for the tailgaters cooking their burgers, hot dogs, and other sports food and watching other football games on their TVs.
Soon after we began, we spotted North Carolina Central’s marching band, the “Sound Machine”, which was exciting to see as before Alabama State last year, while being unable to speak for anyone else the only time I had ever seen an HBCU band was on TV and in the Nick Cannon movie “Drumline”.
We played our fight song, “Sons of Westwood”, for them, which they enjoyed, and I expressed how honored we in Bruin Nation were that they were there.
We were particularly honored to see them march off as I liked their bass drum beat in particular.
The NCCU Sound Machine providing pregame entertainment outside the Rose Bowl. Photo courtesy of youtube.com
NCCU’s Sound Machine in the Rose Bowl stands during the game. Photo courtesy of youtube.com
I and the rest of the UCLA Alumni Band members were particularly honored when the N.C. Central Sound Machine’s drum majors agreed to take a picture with us at the Court of Champions before the game;
You can see that photo at the top of this post, including me and my overweight form.
As for the game itself – well…
As I posted on this blog’s Facebook page,
“It wasn’t about the actual game itself, as was over after one quarter as UCLA scored 35 points in the first 15 minutes, including TDs on the first two plays with a 67-yard TD pass on the very first play!
And the Bruins’ 3rd and 4th stringers on both sides of the ball were in the game by halftime as UCLA was up 45-0 by then!
No, today was about the pageantry that was provided by N.C. Central and the NCCU Sound Machine Marching Band as they were, in a word, #INCREDIBLE.
Once again, #BruinNation was honored by the presence of that NCCU Band as well as their dance team and cheerleaders;
Their halftime show was OUTSTANDING, and we all loved having those Eagles there in general.
I didn’t even mind when they scored in the fourth quarter…”
Aside from that great band, it became one of what I call those “Pop Warner” mandatory play rule-type games as over a hundred Bruins saw action on the field in UCLA’s 59-7 slaughter.
Not that it mattered that much as in HBCU culture, it’s all about the bands and halftime as that is emphasized every bit as much if not more than the football team and the game.
Of course much like Alabama State’s Marching Hornets a year ago, NCCU’s Sound Machine got a standing ovation after their brilliant halftime show.
Here’s a clip of their performance, courtesy of YouTube (click on the link):
And they were very nice and friendly people who were evidently happy to be one of only two HBCU bands to have ever performed at what’s considered this country’s premier football facility.
After the game, I made it a point to stick around because I wanted to hear the Sound Machine perform their post game concert and see them marching out of the stadium, which are two more HBCU traditions.
And they did not disappoint as I especially liked their alma mater and their rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Liberian Girl”.
It should go without saying that I gave them my own personal standing ovation as they marched out of the visitor’s tunnel.
Being tired after a long but quite the fun day, I headed home after that, feeling thankful and honored that for the second straight year, I got to see a HBCU marching band in person.
I only hope that UCLA schedules more HBCU football teams and their bands to come to the Rose Bowl in future years;
I would particularly like to see,
Southern and their “Human Jukebox”
Grambling and their Tiger Marching Band, and…
Florida A&M and their “Marching 100”
Just something for UCLA Athletics to think about.
The Sound Machine beginning their halftime show on the Rose Bowl turf. Photo courtesy of youtube.com
The 2007 UCLA Gymnastics team with the UCLA Alumni Band, Pauley Pavilion. Photo courtesy of Joel Fierberg (Thanks, Joel!) P.S. I’m standing third from right
A CELEBRATION OF TWO DECADES OF A WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP IN WESTWOOD
Sunday, March 16, 2003.
The UCLA Alumni Band, an organization that was established in 1976 and has been prominent in Westwood ever since, was invited to play at a gymnastics meet at Pauley Pavilion featuring the nationally ranked UCLA women’s gymnastics team and three other squads; Oklahoma, North Carolina and Rhode Island.
I was there due to my being in the alumni band, having joined them after my graduation from that institution nearly twelve years earlier.
We first played a concert outside of Pauley for the 10.0 Club, the fundraising support group for the Bruin gymnasts, then after about an hour of playing and after partaking of the chicken and other edible goodies that were provided we took our instruments and entered the arena.
When we played the Bruin fight song, “Sons of Westwood”, upon entering, the gymnasts paused their warmups and clapped along, doing the “8-Clap” when it came up and showing how glad they were that we were there supporting them.
As for the meet itself, although UCLA finished second to Oklahoma I think I can speak for everyone in the Alumni Band when I say that we had a very good time playing our horns and supporting those Bruins, feeling the appreciation from them.
A few days later, we got an email from our then-band president that began with “They want us back!”, inviting us to play at the Pac-10 Championship meet that was being held at Pauley on the 29th.
Which we showed up for and had an even better time, watching those Bruin gymnasts take the (then) Pac-10 championship, highlighted by perfect 10s from Jeanette Antolin on the vault and Kate Richardson on the floor.
Fast forward two years…
At the Alumni Band’s annual rehearsal at the then-president’s house in Chatsworth that August, Valorie Kondos Field, the UCLA Gymnastics coach who is known to one and all as “Miss Val”, showed up as a special guest and promptly announced that she was making us the “Official Band of UCLA Gymnastics”, inviting us to play at their home meets on a regular basis.
Which of course we enthusiastically said “Yes!” to.
Thus solidifying, to quote Humphrey Bogart’s last line in the 1942 classic film Casablanca,
“…the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Which after twenty years and on its third head coach is as strong as ever.
I know, as sure as I’m typing this, that playing for those bunch of Bruin gymnasts has been most enjoyable on a pronounced scale for me;
So much so that a few years ago I mentioned to some of the gymnasts that in over forty years of playing my saxophone, I’ve never had more fun than I’ve had playing for that UCLA gymnastics program at their meets.
It has done more than serve to enhance my sense of Bruinhood and pride in UCLA after watching those student-athletes do their incredible routines on the vault, uneven parallel bars, balance beam and floor and while having so much fun doing such (check out their “Floor Party” during the floor exercise event sometime).
And I’m sure everyone else in the UCLA Alumni Band feels the same way.
That athletic program has provided many, many pleasant memories for all of us in the Alumni Band who have been privileged to play our instruments in support of them,
One of the memories that stands out regarding those Bruin gymnasts happened in 2007 – March 4th to be precise.
They were facing then-three-time defending national champion – and counting as they would win two more “nattys” – Georgia at Pauley, and it was a very hyped meet.
After UCLA pulled off the upset in ending Georgia’s long winning streak, with the Bruins jumping up and down on the floor in a group hug,
I remember reading in a recap of that meet that Miss Val gave the alumni band a shout-out for playing so well that day.
Other Bruin gymnastics memories that stand out to me while supporting them with my tenor saxophone are the spectacular floor routines performed by Sophina DeJesus, Hallie Mossett, Katelyn Ohashi, Nia Dennis, and Margzetta Frazier that went viral online and earned them interviews, props from icons like Janet Jackson, and appearances on TV shows like Ellen.
I will always remember with great fondness current Bruin standout Margzetta Frazier – “Marz” – conducting the band on numerous occasions and at the annual rehearsal.
As did Ohashi after her final presentation on the floor at Pauley during Miss Val’s final home meet in 2019, when she ran over to the band and conducted us as we played “Sons of Westwood” after she scored a perfect ten.
And even though the alumni band wasn’t there when it happened, that 2018 national championship in St. Louis that was the result of Christine Peng Peng Lee’s perfect tens on the bars and the beam is something I will always remember with much joy.
So much so that I still watch them on YouTube from time to time.
The Bruin Gymnasts with the UCLA Alumni Band at the Wooden Center, 2013. Photo courtesy of Joel Fierberg (Again, thanks Joel!)
There are tons of pleasant recollections of this idyllic partnership between those bunch of Bruins and bunch of Bruin alums that I could reminisce about,
But that would result in a post as long as War and Peace.
Instead,
I’m going to post comments and thoughts that express how special this Bruin Nation partnership has been and continues to be,
Starting with thoughts from Alumni Band president and music director Joel Fierberg:
“We are grateful for the opportunity we’ve had to support outstanding coaches and student-athletes, and to have them support us as well…we love how they treat us as part of the UCLA Gymnastics family. We’ve seen home events go from being attended by a few thousand fans to selling out Pauley Pavilion, and to be able to contribute to the electric atmosphere has been really fun. And of course, we’ve been able to witness some truly outstanding gymnastics…”
From current head coach Janelle McDonald:
“(I) love having the Alumni Band at our competitions. The energy they bring and the support of our program is something we’re grateful for.”
Former Bruin standout Hallie Mossett, who is currently an assistant coach at Stanford, had this to say:
“(I) love the alumni band, and have always appreciated the amount of support the band has for our team. (I) looked forward to the alumni band playing at our meets.”
Fellow gymnastics alum Janay Honest, an important part of the 2018 title team who now does color commentary for gymnastics meets on the Pac-12 Network, loved while in Westwood how the alumni band did so much to“…bring the most amazing energy. (I) really appreciate the Bruin love.”
Vanessa Zamarripa, a key member of the 2010 national championship squad whose 19 All-America nods are the most in program history, loved the“…unconditional support and love from everyone in the band. It’s very real and genuine, and nothing can replace it.”
Felicia “Fish” Hano, another essential part of that championship team in 2018, opins how “…the Alumni Band has been a major part of UCLA gymnastics meets. It’s really cool to see the Alumni Band come back and support us…it’s a cool feeling to have.”
Current Bruin gymnasts have likewise expressed their appreciation for this longtime relationship between team and band, Brooklyn Moors remarking how the alumni band is “…an integral part of UCLA Gymnastics, especially at home meets,” while All-American and reigning Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles – who recently thrilled the crowd at Pauley with her perfect ten on bars against Stanford – mentioned how the Alumni Band “…gives us empowerment,” during the meets.
Valorie Kondos Field – “Miss Val” – the former head coach who is the reason why this great relationship between gymnasts and band exists as she has been and is one of the alumni band’s most fervent supporters if not the most fervent supporter,
Had a comment that I particularly liked that was quite poignant:
“As they say in ‘The Little Prince’, ‘Everything that is essential is invisible to the naked eye.’ It’s the Alumni Band’s heart, it’s their soul, and the feeling of one Bruin heartbeat,”
That has been the key to what has made this friendship between these UCLA student-athletes and UCLA alums so special, of which I’m sure she would concur.
To sum this all up…
Being a part of this UCLA Alumni Band that has played for and supported this true honor to Bruin Nation for two decades,
It would have been an absolute crime to not mark and celebrate this exceptional occasion on this blog, as I don’t think I could consider myself a blogger or a writer in general if I had let this noted milestone go by.
In the twenty years that the alumni band has played for those Bruin gymnasts,
I believe it is safe to say that that bunch of Bruin alums have become the gymnastics team’s biggest fans.
To put it another way,
If there is anyone – person or group – that is a bigger fan of the UCLA Gymnastics program than the UCLA Alumni Band, I would very much like to meet them.
This twenty-year relationship between these two Bruin organizations has been, is, and remains a most enjoyable one,
One that has been and is cherished by me and everyone else involved.
May the next twenty years of this beautiful friendship be as tremendous as the first twenty years has been.
The UCLA Alumni Band with the Bruin Gymnasts, 2010. Photo courtesy of Joel Fierberg (Once again, thanks, Joel!) P.S. I’m standing fourth from right wearing a UCLA letter jacket.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY IN THE ARROYO SECO IN PASADENA (as of this writing),
THE STADIUM THAT’S CONSIDERED THE BEST IN AMERICA,
THAT HOSTS WHAT IS CONSIDERED THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME,
THAT HAS HOSTED SEVERAL SUPER BOWLS, WORLD CUP SOCCER FINALS, AND CONCERTS FEATURING “A” LIST ARTISTS,
WAS BUILT.
BEING THAT I HAVE ATTENDED MANY FOOTBALL GAMES THERE AS A UCLA STUDENT AND ALUM OVER NEARLY 35 YEARS,
I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE SOME MEMORIES OF THAT PLACE…
Saturday, September 3, 1988.
That was the day I went to an event at the Rose Bowl for the first time after – like about a billion people worldwide – seeing that stadium on TV every January 1st for years.
Being that I was a brand-new UCLA student as I was in a summer program geared toward acclimating transfer students (I had transferred from Santa Monica College, fulfilling my longtime dream of becoming a Bruin), I was excited as the student rooter bus I was on traveled on the 134 Freeway and I got my first sight of the Rose Bowl from my window.
The Bruins were playing San Diego State and, led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, made it a no-contest affair in blowing out the Aztecs 59-6, on the way to what would become a ten-win season, a win in the Cotton Bowl, and having the distinction of being the top-ranked team in the nation for two weeks in the middle of that campaign.
A couple of weeks later, I joined the Bruin Marching Band and a couple of weeks after that, on October 8, 1988 to be precise, I got the privilege to march, stand, and play music on that Rose Bowl turf for the first time.
Six weeks after that, on November 19, even though the Bruins lost that clash I had the thrill of marching and playing “Sons of Westwood” and other tunes in front of over 100,000 fans as that was my very first Crosstown Rivalry game vs USC.
Thus began my relationship with that most iconic of stadiums.
Over the next three decades-plus,
I estimate that I have been to the Rose Bowl roughly 170 times for UCLA football contests.
I can safely say that I have seen games and moments in games that will be etched in stone in my memory banks even if I end up getting Alzheimer’s or Dementia.
Here are some of the games featuring my alma mater at that Rose Bowl that particularly stand out, the first one being a memory that I’m ashamed and embarrassed to think of today…
I. Crosstown Rivalry Game, 1994 – By this time I was a member of the UCLA Alumni Band, joining such three years before and doing pregame tailgating concerts at Lot H, the grassy area south of the Bowl, then sitting in the bottom ten rows of Section 2, which would be my home at the Rose Bowl forever after.
I was, admittedly and regretfully, also a loose cannon who had a bit of trouble controlling my emotions when it came to the crosstown rivals in particular; which manifested itself when I threw ice at USC’s Trojan horse mascot,Traveler, during the fourth quarter and got myself kicked out of the game, almost getting arrested and spending the rest of that fourth quarter at Lot H waiting for my friends. Even though the Bruins beat the Trojans that day 31-19, I couldn’t really celebrate that triumph as I was full of remorse.
II. Crosstown Rivalry Game, 1996 – The only overtime game in Crosstown Rivalry history in which everyone was so intense, especially at the end as UCLA not only came back from 17 points down to tie ‘SC in the fourth quarter, overtime was forced when what would have been the Trojans’ game-winning field goal was blocked.
Throughout that back end of the fourth quarter and those two overtime periods, I was standing there with my arms folded while everyone else was going crazy nuts, watching the action intensely and making a point to lie down and thank God when that last Trojan pass was intercepted to seal the Bruin triumph.
A big post-game memory was watching a USC fan who was obviously devastated throw a temper tantrum in kicking trash all over Lot H; that rivalry game was that intense.
III.Rose Bowl Game, 1999 – The last time UCLA’s football team played in the “Grandaddy Of Them All”, and the first time I saw that iconic American affair in person. I camped near the famous intersection of Colorado and Orange Grove the night before to get a decent spot for the Rose Parade the next morning, spending that New Year’s Eve freezing in thirty-something degree cold.
But although the Bruins ended up losing that game to Wisconsin, 38-31, it was more than worth it to see the Rose Parade in person as everyone should do that at least once in their lives, being that with all the flowers it even smells good.
I performed at the edge of Lot H after the parade and before the game with the UCLA Alumni Band, then my friends and I went to see the game; I still have the ticket stub to this day.
1 Jan 1999: Jermaine Lewis #23 of the UCLA Bruins carries the ball during the Rose Bowl Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the UCLA Bruins 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Tom Hauck /Allsport I was at this game! Photo courtesy of gettyimages.com
The Bruins coming out of their tunnel before facing Oregon State at the Rose Bowl in 2019…
IV.UCLA vs Michigan, September 16, 2000 – The overwhelming memory from that marquee contest – which the Bruins won, by the way, 23 to 20 – is summed up in one word:
HOT!!!
It was 110 DEGREES at that Rose Bowl that day, which I believe is still a record, and the roughly 90,000 fans felt it as after I got home, feeling the temperature fall twenty degrees as we crossed the Santa Monica Mountains over the Sepulveda Pass on the 405 Freeway going from the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys to the Westside, I put bags of ice on my chest and the back of my neck and turned on the TV where the local news was playing, the lead story being how fifteen people who were at that game had to go to the hospital for heat exhaustion.
I was just glad that with my sunblock, squirt bottle fan and LOTS of water, I managed to get through that day.
V. UCLA vs Ohio State, September 22, 2001 – This was a memorable affair because it was held on the first day that sporting events were allowed after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City eleven days before.
I remember everyone at the stadium remembering the victims of that tragedy with a big moment of silence beforehand after restrictions such as no bags or backpacks in the stadium were enforced, the Bruins’ and Buckeyes’ cheer leading squads holding hands together as someone screamed “God Bless America, yeah!”
I remember asking some Ohio State fans what a Buckeye was, being told that it was a nut native to that state.
And I also remember UCLA winning that game, 13-6.
VI. UCLA vs Washington, October 1, 2005 – This game was memorable due to history being made that evening;
It was the first time in the history of college football that both teams – that were not from Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) – were led by African American head coaches in a game, Tyrone Willingham for Washington and Karl Dorrell for UCLA.
Which being Black myself, I had good feelings about as that was a clear sign of racial progress in college sports.
I barely made it to the UCLA Alumni Band’s pre-game concert as I had a work-related function that I had to attend, but the game itself was quite exciting, the Bruins staging one of what were several fourth quarter comebacks that they had that season in beating the Huskies, 21-17.
VII. Crosstown Rivalry Game, 2006 – December 2nd to be precise;
An evening that would live in infamy for the Trojan Family and an evening that would live in ecstasy for the Bruin Nation as UCLA, a 23 point underdog, played like men possessed in beating a second ranked USC team that was one win away from the BCS National Championship Game, Eric McNeil intercepting John David Booty before Aaron Perez sent Desmond Reed back twenty yards with the greatest punt in Bruin history.
In starting the painfully obvious, it was the biggest upset in Crosstown Rivalry lore.
And I had the pleasure to have been there, Perez’ booming punt happening right in front of me and the rest of my UCLA Alumni Band mates.
VIII. Crosstown Rivalry Game, 2012
November 17th.
A Crosstown Rivalry Clash that would go a long way in deciding the Pac-12 South.
Where for the first time since 1961, it rained.
Looking back, I shouldn’t be that surprised regarding how UCLA played that wet afternoon, the Bruins having been humiliated by ‘SC at the Coliseum the year before 50-0, the two teams trading blow after blow before Anthony Barr delivered the proverbial knockout punch with his vicious sack of Matt Barkley as he was driving the Trojans, who were ranked #1 in the preseason, to a score and ending his college career.
I remember thinking that I shouldn’t have worn my regular hoodie as it got soaked.
And I shouldn’t have screamed “F**K ‘SC!!” after the game was over.
But it was a great day all the same.
IX. Crosstown Rivalry Game, 2018
This one was memorable for the shock value, being that with a pathetic Bad News Bruin-ish record of 2-8, that football team of my alma mater’s was the worst in my lifetime that year.
While although at 5-5 USC wasn’t that much better, being that there was no way they would beat an undefeated Notre Dame team that was headed to the College Football Playoff the Trojans HAD to beat the Bruins in order to earn bowl eligibility.
So what happened that day, as I sat in my usual Section 2?
Nothing much, as Joshua Kelly gained a Crosstown Rivalry record of 289 yards on the ground and UCLA shocked and essentially humiliated USC’s world, winning 34-27.
Though it was a happy shock on my part, it was still a shock as I found myself consoling Trojan fans with the speculation that their coach, Clay Helton, was probably getting fired in their team’s locker room as we spoke, having lost to a two-win team.
Which he – again, shockingly – didn’t as he was back on the sidelines losing to Notre Dame the next week, his walking papers not coming for another two and a half years.
SO AS ONE CAN SEE,
I have a lot of memories of being at the Rose Bowl over the decades.
There are more memorable games that I saw there, but if I mentioned them all this post would turn into a full-fledged book.
Outside of games, there were other personal Rose Bowl memories that stand out…
Playing with the UCLA Alumni Band – It’s safe to say that I have spent my entire post-college adult life playing tenor saxophone with this alumni group, walking around Lot H playing for the tailgaters, doing our pre-game concert under our tent and having the UCLA Spirit Squad join us for some tunes during such, then playing for another half-hour for the fans at the Rose Bowl’s Court of Champions in front of the place before walking through the visitor’s tunnel to our Section 2 for the game. Being that the Alumni Band is quite popular in the Bruin Nation and being that it has been and is a great way for me to stay connected with UCLA, I have not only enjoyed the experience, I am looking forward to continuing such.
The (now-defunct) Alumni Cheer Squad– Featuring Frank Foellmer, who went to UCLA in the 1940s, Lucy McClave, who attended UCLA in the late 1930s (Rest In Peace to both), and the greatest yell leader of all time, Geoff Strand, with his “I want every man, woman, and child!” in leading the Bruin spell-out, and “Not yet, not yet, but now!!” in getting us in the alumni section to scream our heads off when the opponents were threatening to score and the rest of the Rose Bowl to do the same when the game was on the line.
The UCLA Marching Band Alumni Reunions – Where I both enjoyed and enjoy saying hi to old band mates and meeting band members from before my time, hearing stories about what the Bruin band was like back in the day before practicing our halftime show and getting free UCLA gear – shirts, shoes, back packs, hoodies, commemorative glasses – for the occasion and getting to go onto the Rose Bowl turf to perform at the half.
Like I said,
My memories and experiences of that stadium in west Pasadena are many.
It has been a big part of my adult life.
I compare it to an old friend that I’ve known for three and a half decades that I reconnect with every fall,
That every time I do so, despite the renovations to the place it’s like nothing has changed.
I’ll be there for UCLA’s Homecoming game vs Stanford, doing my duties with the Alumni Band at Lot H and the Court of Champions.
And I’ll be looking forward to saying hello to my old friend once again.
A nice shot of the Rose Bowl turf during a UCLA contest; I’m sure I’m in the stands facing the ten-yard line. Photo courtesy of ucla.edu
One of the drum majors for the Alabama State Mighty Marching Hornets leading the band during their halftime show at the Rose Bowl. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com
SEEING AN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TEAM – AND ESPECIALLY ITS MARCHING BAND – FOR THE FIRST TIME
Ever since I saw Southern University’s “Human Jukebox” and Grambling State University’s “Tiger Marching Band” performing in their “Battle of the Bands” at the Bayou Classic on TV in 1991,
I have wanted to see a marching band from an Historically Black College/University in person.
Being that no HBCUs exist west of the Great Plains, and being that UCLA has never played an HBCU in football,
I didn’t think I would ever get that chance.
Until this past Saturday.
Because Michigan canceled a home-and-home series with the Bruins, which left athletic director Martin Jarmond needing to schedule another team to fill the opening in the football schedule,
I and the rest of Bruin Nation received the significant honor of having the football team and (espcially) marching band of an historically black college/university, the Alabama State Hornets from Montgomery, making history by playing and performing at the Rose Bowl for the very first time.
I was personally excited to finally see an HBCU band for the first time in person when I saw that Alabama State was on this year’s schedule, as I was determined to have that school be one of the four opponents that I would see play the Bruins this year, the others being Utah, Stanford, and USC.
It was evident that God had blessed the whole affair with considerably cooler weather after the excruciating 100-plus degree heat that blistered the Rose Bowl, UCLA’s football team, and everyone else who was there the previous week.
I arrived early to the Rose Bowl due to my being a part of the UCLA Alumni Band and subsequently being involved in its pregame duties; going around playing tunes for the tailgaters and doing concerts at Lot H outside the stadium and at the Court of Champions in front of the Rose Bowl.
Beforehand, however, I made it a point to journey to where the UCLA Black Alumni Association was having a tailgating party for Alabama State’s fans in the Fan Zone, where I chatted with a few of the Hornet faithful; they were very nice, outgoing, friendly, and showed their happiness at being at what is considered the most famous football stadium on the country.
I was glad to be able to return with the UCLA Alumni Band to play tunes for them, as they were very receptive and welcoming; it was good time playing for them.
Alabama State’s dance team, the Stingettes, during the Mighty Marching Hornets’ halftime performance. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR) throwing a pass during the Bruins’ 45-7 rout of Alabama State. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com
After playing the concert at Lot H, while we were waiting to enter the Rose Bowl I and the rest of the Alumni Band got the extreme privilege to watch the Alabama State Mighty Marching Hornets march into and through the southeast tunnel and onto the field.
Though they were only marching into the stadium with the best yet to come, those Mighty Marching Hornets’ marching style was incredible, so much so that we gave them an ovation as they passed by, me standing up while clapping.
As for the game itself,
It went as expected and the way it was supposed to, UCLA taking a 31-7 halftime lead on their way to winning 45-7; it was no contest, with Alabama State being an FCS program and subsequently not having the personnel to match the Bruins; I left with my friends, some of them I hadn’t seen in years, after the third quarter.
But in stating the obvious, it was NOT the football game that interested me and the rest of Bruin Nation. At all.
Those Mighty Marching Hornets took the field at the beginning of intermission, and it was everything that I thought black college bands would be like as before this past Saturday, I had only seen those groups on TV and in the movie “Drumline” starring Nick Cannon.
Simply and bluntly put, two phrases best described that marching band and their performance…
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE and INCREDIBLY AWESOME!
And I don’t like to use the word “awesome” as I’ve always felt it was an overused description, but as far as that Hornet band, that’s the best way I can describe them.
As evidenced by the loud standing ovation at the end of their halftime show, the rest of Bruin Nation agreed with me.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Here’s a clip of that spectacular show, courtesy of YouTube (click on the link):
My impressions of those Mighty Marching Hornets were so pronounced, I made it a point to congratulate one of their dance groups, the Honey-Beez, in the Rose Bowl tunnel after the show, telling what an honor it was for all of us in Bruin Nation to see them and the rest of that band.
After the game when I arrived home, while I was posting my thoughts of the game on this blog’s Twitter page (http://www.twitter.com/socalshfanatic), along with singing the Alabama State band’s praises I appealed to Jarmond – I’m sure he didn’t see it, but still – to schedule these three other HBCU football teams and their bands for future years…
Southern University and their “Human Jukebox”
Grambling State University and their “Grambling Tiger Marching Band”
and,
Florida A&M University and their “Marching 100”
It’s my obvious hope and prayer that Jarmond and the rest of the UCLA athletic department will make that happen.
As such,
It’s safe to say that it was a very good day and a very good time at the Rose Bowl, as Alabama State and their band in particular very much honored us with their presence.
May it be much sooner rather than later when Bruin Nation sees another HBCU band.
Another one of the drum majors for the Alabama State band during their halftime show, the first ever performance by an HBCU band at the Rose Bowl. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com
BRUIN SOFTBALL SENIORS BEING CELEBRATED (from left to right): Taylor Sullivan, Delanie Wisz, Holly Azevedo, Briana Perez and Kinsley Washington. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
IT HAD BEEN FOUR YEARS.
At least, I’m about 99% sure it has been that long since I had last been to Easton Stadium in the far upper northwest corner of the UCLA campus to see the 13 time national champion Bruin softball team,
The COVID-19 pandemic being the reason why.
Being that softball (along with baseball) has been my sport of background since the 1980s, having both played, coached, and umpired games at mostly the youth level over the course of a more than twenty-year period,
I always make it a point to go to at least one game a year at Easton, particularly when the UCLA Alumni Band (of which I’ve been a part of for thirty years) is invited to come and play tunes at the game.
This past Saturday was no exception as I journeyed to my alma mater to watch a team that has been among the ultimate elite programs of college softball and – having won more NCAA championships than any other school – are essentially the New York Yankees of the sport.
Especially when they wear their pinstripe uniforms as their Yankee look certainly shows through then.
EASTON STADIUM – Home of UCLA Softball and which I visited for the first time in years. Photo courtesy of woodenathleticfund.com GOOD MEMORIES: Bruins in the traditional dog pile after winning the national championship in 2019. Photo courtesy of onlinegambling.com
So I got to UCLA and began walking up the steep hill past Drake Stadium (where the track meets are held), the student dorms/suites, and the Spieker Aquatics Center (where the swim meets and water polo games are held), having to stop and rest along the way for a few minutes due to my not being in my twenties and thirties anymore.
The fact that it was also hot, with L.A. going thru a weekend heatwave, didn’t help things any.
Neither did my carrying my tenor saxophone in its soft case, which is not exactly feather-light.
At least I got some excellent cardio exercise out of it.
The Bruins were having their batting practice when I got to Easton, which has always been my favorite part of going to both baseball and softball games; it’s always been my favorite part of going to Dodger Stadium as I’ve always made it a point over the years to get there early to watch the players hone their craft with the bat.
It was a case of “ditto” at Easton, and I got to meet a former major leaguer who is an assistant coach on the team, Don Slaught, a UCLA alum (like the rest of the staff) who played mostly for the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1980s and early 90s.
Being a baseball-obsessed high school and college kid at the time, it was very nice to meet someone who was in “The Show” during my formative years.
I asked Don about Barry Bonds, who was one of his teammates, and his personality during his days as a Pirate. His answer wasn’t surprising as it was similar to pretty much everyone else’s when asked about the all-time home run leader; not a likable guy, but a great hitter.
It was fun watching the Bruin players hit; Maya Brady’s – niece of Tom – swing reminded me a little bit of seven-time batting champ and Hall of Famer Rod Carew’s;
Maya will become much more prominent later on.
So the rest of my Alumni Band mates showed up at around 1:00 pm, I/we put our horns together and we began playing a couple of songs before the big pregame Senior Day ceremony in which five Bruins were honored, with their mothers throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to them.
We also spotted Bruin gymnastics superhero Kaitlyn Ohashi and shouted hello, which she enjoyed.
It was my particular hope that UCLA would mercy-rule California (their opponents), softball rules dictating that the game be called if one team was up by at least eight runs after five innings because it was so hot and – in what I see as its only flaw – Easton Stadium had very little shade.
As for the game itself…
While it wasn’t a mercy rule blowout, the Bruins did handle their business in beating the last-place Golden Bears 5-0, completing the weekend sweep and earning themselves both an overall #5 seed and the right to host both the Regionals – which begins this coming Friday – and the Super Regionals over Memorial Day weekend.
Assuming UCLA wins their regional, of course.
Which with all due respect shouldn’t be too difficult as their neighbors from Westchester LMU, Grand Canyon, and Ole Miss are coming to Easton with Ole Miss the only team that, while I don’t see them having much of a chance to beat the Bruins, I think is capable of giving them a game.
Then again, none of those three teams has anything to lose.
Which will make them dangerous.
So we’ll see.
One of the Bruin seniors, Holly Azevedo, did a nice job in the pitching circle as I was particularly impressed with her change-up; I told her so after the game.
Oh, about Maya Brady…
She was crystal clearly the stud player of the game with her two doubles, three runs scored, and monster home run.
Which should have been two home runs and a double as she hit a blast in her first at-bat that we all thought hit the scoreboard beyond the fence, as she definitely inherited her uncle’s athletic genes.
Summing up the experience…
Though I wished it were fifteen degrees cooler,
I had a fun time being back at Easton and supporting a longtime beloved asset to Bruin Nation.
Being that they are more or less UCLA’s last hope to win a “Natty” this school year,
That I wish them the utmost best of luck this postseason should go without saying.
Oh, and by the way,
As always, the Alumni Band sounded great; I particularly enjoy playing Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoia” due to the tenor saxes having the melody on those two classics.
Apparently the Bruin softballers enjoyed having us there as well, being that they gave us an “eight clap” after the game.
TWO BRUIN SENIORS: Briana Perez (#3) congratulating Holly Azevedo (#4) after UCLA 5-0 win over Cal in their regular season finale. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
An official photo of the 2022 UCLA Gymnastics team. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
UCLA WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS – A LOOK BACK AT THE 2021 SEASON:
Final Regular Season Record: 14-7
Finished third in the Pac-12 Conference between Utah and California
Finished second in the NCAA Regional Semifinals behind Michigan
Finished third in the NCAA Regional Finals behind Michigan and California
Final National Rank: 12th
Season Average Score: 196.667
Season High Score: 197.275 at the NCAA Regional Finals on April 3rd
Total number of scores at 9.95 or above: 15, led by Margzetta Frazier with five on the uneven parallel bars
2021 Pac-12 Individual Champions / Honors:
Margzetta Frazier: BARS CHAMPION
Sekai Wright: VAULT CHAMPION
Chae Campbell and Pauline Tratz: CO-FLOOR EXERCISE CHAMPIONS
Chae Campbell: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Pauline Tratz: SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Qualified for 2021 NCAA Championships:
Chae Campbell – ALL AROUND
Nia Dennis – VAULT
Margzetta Frazier – BARS
2022 Preseason National Rank: 8th
Coach: Chris Waller, 3rd season
First Meet: at Minnesota – Monday, January 17th, at 10:00 a.m.
First Home Meet: vs Arizona – Sunday, January 30, at 2:00 p.m.
Key Home Meets:
Friday, February 4th vs Utah, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 6th vs California, 12 noon
Key Gymnasts (and it’s a long list):
Margzetta Frazier (Sr): The 2021 Pac-12 champion on bars, qualifying for Nationals on that event. Her floor routine, featuring the music of Janet Jackson, was one of two (along with Nia Dennis’) to go viral as it earned her appearances on Good Morning America, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight. Co-founded the Black Student-Athlete Alliance. A charismatic character who will be one of the leaders on the team this year. Has all-time highs of 9.95 on bars and floor.
Norah Flatley (Sr): Her injured ankle during warm-ups before the first meet last year, resulting in her competing in only the last three meets, was a big factor in the Bruins’ (somewhat) disappointing season results as though she is strong in all four events, her prowess on beam and bars, where she has scored a near perfect 9.975, is sorely needed.
Pauline Tratz (Sr): The reigning Pac-12 Co-Floor champion along with Chae Campbell and (more importantly) the 2021 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a Scholastic All-American for three straight years. Very strong on the vault and the floor, where she has scored a 9.95 four different times.
Samantha Sakti (Sr): Beam specialist, scored a 9.95 in her first Bruin performance at the 2020 Collegiate Challenge after transferring from William and Mary. Made first team all Pac-12 in that event last season.
Sekai Wright (Sr): The reigning Pac-12 vault champion, she has scored as high as 9.95 in that event. Though she will be desperately needed on the vault, she’s also strong on the floor, scoring a 9.875 on four separate occasions.
Kendal Poston (Sr): Another three time Scholastic All-American, her specialties are the vault and beam, where she scored as high as 9.875 in those events last season, and has a career high of 9.90. Has made the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter at UCLA, and she will be sorely needed on vault and beam this year.
Sara Taubman (Sr): After working SO hard for two years, Sara finally got her chance to perform in the Bruins’ first meet last season. And with a score of 9.825 on the bars, she didn’t disappoint. Like Kendal, she has made the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter.
Chloe Lashbrooke (Jr): Along with Flatley’s injury, Chloe’s torn Achilles tendon last year cost her the entire 2021 season and hurt the Bruins’ chances. Is solid on vault and floor with high scores of 9.825 and 9.90 respectively; she will be needed in those events.
Emma Andres (Jr): A floor specialist, scoring as high as 9.90 during her time in Westwood, she will be counted on in that event. Also scored a high of 9.825 on the vault last season.
Chae Campbell (Soph): The reigning Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. The reigning Pac-12 co-Floor champion. Qualified for Nationals in the all-around, where she scored a 9.925 on the beam. A three-time All-American on beam, floor, and the all-around. Had high scores of 9.95 on the vault and floor. Was undoubtedly the Rookie of the Year for this team and the nation, and will be particularly counted upon.
Frida Esparza (Soph): A solid performer on bars and beam, she scored highs of 9.925 and 9.90 in those events respectively. Won the Mexican national all-around and bars in 2018.
Katie McNamara (Soph): A transfer from Washington, where she was their all-arounder, I was impressed with her performance on the beam at the Meet The Bruins event in December; she scored a high of 9.90 on that apparatus as a Husky, and she will be needed there.
Jordan Chiles (Fr): The jewel of what’s considered one of the Bruins’ best recruiting classes ever if not THE best, having won the team silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Was on the U.S. National Team for eight years. Won the all-around at the 2021 U.S. Championships. Arrived at UCLA after doing a post-Olympics tour and didn’t miss a step, impressing at the Meet The Bruins event.
Emma Malabuyo (Fr): Was an alternate for the Olympic Team in Tokyo. A five-time member of the U.S. National Team. Favorite event is uneven bars, and she won the floor exercise at the 2017 International Junior Gymnastics Competition.
Brooklyn Moors (Fr): A member of Canada’s 2020 Olympic team, she redshirted from the Bruins last year to prepare for those Tokyo Games, where she was a finalist in the all-around. Was an all-around and floor finalist in three straight World Championships from 2017-19.
Ana Padurariu (Fr): Was a Canadian National Team member for five years, from 2015-2020. An apparent beam specialist, winning the silver medal in that event at Worlds in 2018 and qualifying for the finals in that event in 2019.
HIGHLIGHTING THE BRUIN GYMNASTS’ TRADITION OF INCLUSIVE DIVERSITY (left to right): Margzetta Frazier, Samantha Sakti, Frida Esparza, Sekai Wright, and Chae Campbell. Photo courtesy of twitter.com Bruin gymnasts during introductions at the recent “Meet The Bruins” event at Pauley Pavilion. Photo courtesy of twitter.com THE COACHING STAFF (from left to right): BJ Das, head coach Chris Waller, Kristina Comforte, and Dom Salange. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
THOUGHTS:
I’m really praying three specific prayers for this team this year…
That none of them tests positive for COVID-19 again and is forced to go into protocol
That the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak restrictions that UCLA is currently imposing at their indoor sporting events, limiting spectators at Pauley Pavilion and the Wooden Center to family members, are lifted by their first home meet on January 30th due to (HOPEFULLY) the number of cases lessening, and…
That everyone stays healthy and doesn’t go down to some injury
After only seeing those Bruin Gymnasts through live stream last year with only a cardboard cutout of me at the meets,
While I – along with the UCLA Alumni Band, which I’m a part of – had a great time at the recent Meet The Bruins event due to getting to see that team in person for the first time in nearly two years,
It would be crushing if the fans (except for relatives) were banned from seeing this honor to Bruin Nation in Pauley this season.
There is concern in that area as they, along with all but one of the other six teams as it turned out, were forced to pull out of the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim on January 8th, which ultimately got cancelled, due to apparently at least some of the Bruin gymnasts testing positive.
However,
I am confident that things will turn out OK and Chris Waller’s team will be able to compete, starting this coming Sunday in Minneapolis against Minnesota.
The BIG thing that needs improvement from last season,
The thing that, along with the injuries to Flatley and Lashbrooke, was the main factor in UCLA missing the Nationals for the first time in sixteen years, making 2021 the most disappointing in that span,
Which desperately needs to improve if those Bruin gymnasts are to return to their rightful place in Fort Worth, TX with a shot at winning their eighth national championship this coming April,
Is the balance beam, as fall after fall occurred on that four-inch wide and four-foot high off the ground piece of wood.
The talent is there for the scores to improve; it’s a matter of better execution.
Granted,
As I had stated in the wrap-up post I did for this team last year, you don’t lose nine seniors, among them two Olympic gold medal winners, with one of them being probably the greatest UCLA gymnast of all time with perfect tens galore throughout her time in Westwood (For those who may not know, I’m talking about Kyla Ross),
And not have it affect you in some kind of negative way.
And to be honest, those Bruins did miss Kyla, fellow Olympic Gold medalist Madison Kocian, Felicia “Fish” Hano, Gracie Kramer, Grace Glenn, and the rest of that wonderful class last season.
They’ll have no such excuses this season.
They have a freshman class that’s considered by many to be their best ever.
And as is always the case, the talent they have is top-notch whose capabilities are more than enough to see the results – winning the Pac-12 and the Regionals and going to the finals at Nationals – that they have been used to for seemingly forever.
The key for this team’s success this year, along with everyone making good contributions and better execution on the beam in particular?
I’ve said this every year since I began covering this program, and this has been my solid belief ever since I started watching this team nearly twenty years ago.
In a word…
Health.
Like I was telling people at the Meet the Bruins event,
If those Bruin gymnasts stay healthy with no one going down, their chances of going to the finals at Nationals will be very good.
If someone who’s a key member goes down like Flatley did last year, they’ll be in trouble as every year that someone went down for a long length of time or the season was a year that UCLA didn’t win the NCAA title.
While the years that those Bruins did win it all were the years that they stayed healthy.
As such,
Provided that this Omicron outbreak eases up,
I’m very much looking forward to seeing this bunch of Bruins, who remain my favorite team in the sports universe, at Pauley,
Because since 2003, when I and the rest of the Alumni Band began playing at their meets, I’ve had nothing but fun and good times supporting this program of my alma mater’s.
My fingers are certainly crossed for the possibility of those restrictions lifting.
The Bruin gymnasts at the Beat SC Rally and Bonfire. Photo courtesy of twitter.com
Bruins celebrating their second touchdown, opening a 14-0 leadduring their game vs Oregon. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com
SEEING A UCLA SPORTING EVENT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NINETEEN MONTHS
The last time I was at the Rose Bowl for a UCLA football game was on November 30, 2019;
Two days after Thanksgiving and almost two full years ago.
The Bruins were playing Cal and were finishing yet another bad season in which they won only four games.
Playing at what had become their usual sub-par level and in front of a pretty sparse crowd on a cold, wet evening, they lost to their Golden Bear brothers from Berkeley, 28-18.
Not that I saw the entire game as I left during the third quarter, not being able to watch the Bruins’ crappy play anymore, feeling glad that the football team’s campaign was going to mercifully end and eagerly awaiting the start of gymnastics season, very much looking forward to watching a UCLA team that actually won.
Nobody knew at that time that a worldwide pandemic that would cost three million lives worldwide and over 700,000 lives in the U.S. would arrive that following spring, as the last sporting event I attended that involved my college alma mater was a gymnastics meet at Pauley Pavilion in which I played with the UCLA Alumni Band and had the usual great time.
That was on March 8, 2020, and which was the last time I was at any event involving UCLA.
Until this past Saturday…
I had been planning to attend Bruins’ game vs Oregon since the beginning of the season, because I reckoned that the risks due to COVID-19 and the various variants would be lesser by that time.
Those risks were one reason why I didn’t attend UCLA’s four previous home games, along with other factors such as,
Not wanting to deal with the heat at the Bruins’ first game vs Hawai’i
Being VERY concerned with what I’m sure would be a large number of un-Covid vaccinated LSU fans at that game, as Louisiana is a state with a low vaccination rate and high numbers of anti-vaccine folks – at least higher than in California – where there had been a COVID-19 outbreak in Baton Rouge, where LSU is located, that week
The games vs Fresno State and Arizona State starting at 7:30 p.m., combined with me promising myself that I would not attend anymore games that started that late due to being sick and tired of coming home at 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning
However,
When I noticed that there were no COVID-19 outbreaks at the Rose Bowl following games,
Nor did I hear of anyone I knew who got sick,
And when Los Angeles County issued a mandate that all those attending sporting events must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of such event lest they be banned from the facility,
I reckoned that it would be OK to return to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl not only for what was a big game vs a top ten team,
But also for what was UCLA’s Homecoming.
THE ROSE BOWL: A place that I have certainly missed. Photo courtesy of uclabruins.com UCLA Basketball legend Bill Walton (left) on ESPN’s College Game Day on the UCLA campus with Lee Corso (wearing Joe Bruin’s head). Photo courtesy of si.com
So that Saturday morning, October 23rd, – twenty-three months after my last sojourn there – after watching much of ESPN’s College Game Day, which was being held on the UCLA campus for the first time,
My friend, a good friend of mine who I marched in the UCLA Band with during our time in Westwood and who I’ve known for over thirty years,
Picked me up at my house in Culver City for the drive through the heart of L.A. on the 10 and the 110 freeways, making left turns on Orange Grove Blvd and Rosemont Blvd, and arriving at the Rose Bowl at roughly 9:00 a.m.
Being that we were (and are) members of the UCLA Alumni Band, we headed straight for their tent at the edge of Lot H south of the Rose Bowl as their pregame concert for the tailgaters was scheduled to start at 9:30.
To state the obvious,
It felt good – very good – to see my fellow Alumni Band mates and other members of Bruin Nation, friends that I’ve known for so long, some of them since I first matriculated in Westwood in 1988 and many of them since I first joined the Alumni Band in 1991;
That’s right, this year marks thirty years that I have been in that UCLA alumni organization.
After exchanging happy greetings to so many Bruin folks, I got out my tenor saxophone – which I was happy to find out still worked after not touching it in over a year and a half – and went with about half of the band to do what is called “Port-A-Sons”, walking around Lot H and playing UCLA’s fight song for various groups of tailgaters,
Who enthusiastically cheered us as we were playing and as we were walking by, leading me to wonder to someone,
“Are we the Alumni Band or the Beatles?!”
After we returned to our tent we started our concert, me apologizing in advance if my playing, after not doing so for so long, was not up to snuff;
Rusty in other words, as I had sort of expected.
As it turned out, though I was certainly not by any means a virtuoso on my tenor sax, I did fairly OK; it was a case of the proverbial “like riding a bike” in that I actually played the right notes (about 98% of the time), a fellow tenor sax player even telling me that I sounded good.
Plus in another happy surprise, my back actually held up without pain as that wasn’t necessarily the case in the past.
After our pregame concert at Lot H and another thirty minute pregame concert in front of the Rose Bowl at the Court of Champions, I went down the east tunnel, came out the other side, and for the first time since that Cal game in 2019 saw the inside of a stadium that I’ve been to an estimated 150 times, dating back to September 3, 1988, when UCLA blew out San Diego State 59-6 (Ah, the good old days!).
As for the game itself, just in case you missed it because you were in Siberia or someplace like that,
The Bruins started off great, scoring the first two touchdowns, the second one off a blocked punt; I noticed how pumped they were on the sideline.
Unfortunately, reality set in as it all fell apart in the second and third quarters, me seeing UCLA’s flaws on defense in particular as well as the inconsistency of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, or DTR, first hand as he threw an interception where he threw the ball right at the Oregon guy.
I had to leave a few minutes into the third quarter, right after those Ducks from Eugene scored to put the Bruins in a 28-17 hole.
I do give those Bruins much credit for fighting back and making a real battle of it in the fourth quarter as they cut their deficit to three points,
But another Duck interception at the end was the lethal blow in UCLA’s 34-31 defeat.
I told a few of my Alumni Band mates in the stands and in a comments section on Facebook that the worst case scenario for the Bruins for the rest of the season will be,
They’ll definitely beat Colorado and will likely beat Cal, which will give them a total of seven wins, bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015, and a spot in what I think will be the new L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Which will technically be an improvement over the previous five years, in which UCLA sported a record of 20-36 during that span.
Which I will honestly be encouraged about as I stated at the beginning of this campaign that it would be good to see the Bruins get six wins and another win in a bowl game
Because that would mean that football program would have made some progress.
Which has been desperately needed for the past several years.
BOTTOM LINE:
Despite the loss, I had a great time being back at the Rose Bowl among my fellow members of Bruin Nation after such a long time away;
Nearly two years since attending any event involving the colors of blue and gold and the letters U, C, L, and A.
It was fun seeing everyone again.
As such, I’m planning on being at UCLA’s regular season finale against – you guessed it – those Cal Bears this Thanksgiving Weekend.
And I completely expect those Bruins to have those six wins and bowl eligibility by that time.
Until then…
With the UCLA Marching Band in the background, Zach Carbonnet (#24) tries to get some yards during Saturday’s clash with Oregon. Photo courtesy of dailybruin.com
Carrying the torch before the opening of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of YouTube.com
A fellow UCLA Bruin honoring a truly great UCLA Bruin on the occasion of his passing
Let’s see…
A Gold Medalist in the Decathlon in the 1960 Rome Olympics, setting the world record in the process, where he was also the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremonies; the first African-American to be so honored
A Silver Medalist in the Decathlon in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics
A SIGNIFICANT supporter of the Special Olympics, including founding the California Special Olympics in 1969 and serving as its president for ten years
Was a true Renaissance Man at UCLA, not only starring in track and field and playing for John Wooden on the Bruin basketball team, but also becoming the first African American to join an all-white fraternity and the first Black student body president
Even though he had not played football since high school, was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1959
Acted in several films, including Wild In The Country with Elvis Presley in 1961
Was heavily involved in Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968, including – along with football player Rosey Grier and journalist George Plimpton – tackling and disarming Sirhan Sirhan after he murdered Kennedy at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel after winning the California Primary
Famously lit the torch at the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics at the Coliseum
Continued to be heavily involved with UCLA Athletics throughout his life, serving as a special advisor to former athletic director Dan Guerrero and being a regular at various Bruin sporting events, eventually having the track at Drake Stadium on campus named after him and his wife Betsy
Personally, what I’ve concluded from these exploits, and in my humble opinion (and mine alone, as I don’t speak for anyone else),
Rafer Johnson is the second greatest UCLA Bruin of all time, second only to Jackie Robinson.
I used to think this conviction was a case of no one coming close to the former Dodger who broke baseball’s color line as far as UCLA’s greatest Bruins.
But after reading and researching Rafer’s accomplishments and impact on sports and society in general,
While I still consider Jackie the greatest Bruin to ever come out of Westwood,
Rafer comes in at a much closer second than before; his impact on Bruin Nation, the country, and the world was that significant.
And I’m sure I would get an argument from some of my fellow UCLA people that Rafer was a greater Bruin than Jackie, which would be okay by me as that Olympic legend certainly has a case.
My two prevalent memories of Rafer Johnson was seeing him at many of the gymnastics meets, of which I’m sure he was a big fan of,
And him conducting the UCLA Alumni Band (of which I’m a member of) during the athletic department’s True Blue Celebration fundraiser at the Wooden Center on campus back in either 2008 or 2009, in which I was one of the band members who had the honor of shaking his hand afterwards.
At the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Games at the Coliseum in 2015. Photo courtesy of newsroom.ucla.eduIn the midst of winning the Gold medal for the Decathalon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Photo courtesy of cbs46.com
I think the perfect thing I can say about this man was that if there were a Mount Rushmore of all-time greatest Bruins, Rafer Johnson would definitely be on it along with Jackie Robinson and – in my view – Arthur Ashe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and John Wooden, making it a five-person monument instead of four because it would be absolutely impossible to leave any of those great human beings who did so much for UCLA and the world out.
Though a strong case could be made for many other UCLA legends like Red Sanders (the former football coach who won the Bruins’ only national championship in 1954), Ralph Bunche, Kenny Washington, Gary Beban, Bill Walton, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Lisa Fernandez, just to name a few.
Like everyone else in Bruin Nation, I was very much saddened to read the news of Rafer’s passing away at the age of 86.
The things that he accomplished, the examples he set, the role model that he was, and the impact that he made puts him on the rarest of stratospheres, as I particularly loved and appreciated his advocacy for the Special Olympics and the special needs population, being that I have a cousin who has Down’s Syndrome.
Along with him being a fellow Bruin of course, which to state the extreme obvious is one of the biggest reasons why I’m proud to have had matriculated and graduated from that top-ranked public institution in the country.
Not to mention how everyone saw him as a wonderful, caring, outgoing, and just plain nice human being, which all of the comments that I’ve seen on Facebook talked about.
I know this is likewise stating the extreme obvious, but to say that Rafer Johnson will be missed on a pronounced scale is perhaps the biggest understatement ever.
So I’ll just say, as a comrade in true blue and gold…
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE, RAFER.
THE ENTIRE BRUIN NATIONIS IN MOURNING OVER YOU AND WILL MISS YOU DEARLY.
PLEASE GIVE MY AND OUR BEST REGARDS TO JOHN WOODEN, JACKIE ROBINSON, YOUR COACH DUCKY DRAKE, AND ALL OF THE OTHER BRUINS UP THERE.