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alumni, Bruin Nation, Bruins, college, Crosstown Rivalry, Joe Bruin, national championship, NCAA, Pauley Pavilion, Rose Bowl, UCLA, UCLA Alumni Band, UCLA Baseball, UCLA Basketball, UCLA Bruin Marching Band, UCLA Bruins, UCLA Football, UCLA Gymnastics, university, University of California Los Angeles, Westwood
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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.
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UCLA alumni cheerleaders at a Homecoming football game in 2014. Photo courtesy of pinterest.com
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I WAS A PART OF THIS, FROM 1988-1990: The UCLA Bruin Marching Band. Photo courtesy of newsroom.ucla.edu
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A TRUE HONOR TO BRUIN NATION: The UCLA Gymnastics team after winning their 7th national championship in 2018. Photo courtesy of newwsroom.ucla.edu
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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.”
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UCLA football players celebrating their 2014 Crosstown Rivalry triumph over USC, which I had the pleasure of attending. Photo courtesy of youtube.com