City Title Game Stirs Even Laid-Back L.A.

This is the week of traditional college football rivalries. Ohio State-Michigan, Stanford-California, Indiana-Purdue, Nebraska-Oklahoma, Washington State-Washington and Oregon State-Oregon.

But there is one rivalry, USC-UCLA, that is unique. The game usually has a bearing on the Rose Bowl race, as it does this year, but the distinction is that the city championship is at stake, bragging rights for an entire year.

There are no other major football schools in the country in such close proximity--13 miles from the USC campus near downtown Los Angeles to the Westwood campus of UCLA.

Players and students from the schools have often grown up together, attended the same high schools, had the same mutual interests and work side by side.

But this week they’re friendly enemies.

USC has won more often, holding a 30-18-6 lead in the series, but the tables have been turned in recent years. The Bruins have won four out of five in this decade, and if they win again Saturday at the Coliseum, they will have beaten the Trojans an unprecedented four years in a row.

USC once considered Notre Dame its most significant rival, given the national impact of the game. Many USC fans don’t feel that way now.

Some samplings from the USC and UCLA camps:

Ron Sarkesian, president of the Conejo Valley Trojan Club: “It’s a unique rivalry because people who grew up together went on to the two universities--like the McNeill brothers who played for USC and UCLA in the ‘70s. Because I live in the town and work with people, I’d rather beat UCLA than any other team. But most of all, I want USC to win because my sister went to UCLA.”

Bishop Oliver Garver, UCLA alumnus: “I don’t think there is the same kind of animosity that there used to be. Now there are so many big games for the kids every season. When UCLA was just getting started and USC was already well-established, that used to be the big thing--for UCLA to beat USC. But UCLA doesn’t really have anything to prove anymore. The kids on the team now really want to win it. It’s a very big game for them, but I think the only animosity comes from some of the older fans.”

Phillip Cohl, Encino stockbroker: “I hate the Bruins. I always have. I don’t like blue. I don’t like blue and gold together. After Frank Jordan kicked a winning field goal against UCLA in 1977 with two seconds left, I went down to the DMV and ordered license plates with the final score, 29-27, and gave them to Frank. After the 1967 game, I got license plates for my car that read 21-20.”

Patt Troutman, a secretary in the Wooden Center (intramural center at UCLA): “All year long, you think that you get excited for every game, every week, but when it comes time to play USC, that’s when you realize the difference. USC is the team you really want to beat. . . . My father adopted USC and had season tickets for 45 years. I saw a lot of USC games. But since I married Stan (who films the UCLA games and practices) and I adopted UCLA, I don’t see how I stood it all those years.”

Pat Haden, USC quarterback, 1972-74: “When I played in the game, the winner went to the Rose Bowl. Everyone talks about USC-Notre Dame being such a big rivalry, and it is. It’s historical and significant in that regard. But kids go to USC because they want to go to the Rose Bowl, and to do that you have to beat UCLA. So that game was the most critical.”

Norm Andersen, UCLA wide receiver ‘73-’75 and current assistant coach: “It’s the most special week in a Bruin’s career. I grew up watching the game on TV. It’s the pinnacle. I don’t think you really know what the game is about until you lose it. When I was a sophomore, we were supposed to win. We didn’t. The hurt was terrible. You think it will go away in a couple of days. It doesn’t go away in a couple of months. The first time I went through that I told myself I would never get that much into the game again. The next year, I did it again. I do it every year. It’s either total joy or total agony.”

Bob Murray, USC graduate: “I come from the Big Ten area that has great rivalries. But geographic distances are so great that they’re not the same type of rivalry as the USC-UCLA series. The toughest thing is to get up and read the sports page the next day if you lose. It’s like throwing salt into the wound. But should you win, you read it with glee over and over again. You can crow for a whole year, but it has been a while since we’ve crowed.”

Reggie Miller, UCLA basketball player: “Do I care? Heck, yeah, I care. Our football team has won the last three. I say go for four. Probably by a John Lee field goal. I’d like to see him come back and do that. We (the basketball team) didn’t do too well against USC last year, and I’ve heard enough about that. I’d like to see the football team come through for the school. There’s no jealousy between our teams. Anybody who can beat USC is OK with me.”

Terry Ragan, USC halfback in 1945-47: “I’m like most USC fans. There are two games that I want USC to win, UCLA and Notre Dame. Notre Dame to me is an institution in football since I was a little kid. When USC loses to Notre Dame, I don’t feel it’s a disgrace. UCLA has always been, well, UCLA. We’re not supposed to lose to them .”

Jerry Long, former UCLA assistant coach, now an assistant athletic director: “It’s so exciting. It’s the greatest rivalry there is. That’s why every year, you anticipate this game so much. You don’t know what’s going to happen. With the psychological factors, there’s always a good chance for an upset because emotions run so high. And there have been so many great games. I don’t think the emotions have changed much at all over the years.”

Ron Wilson, USC supporter: “I went to USC and my younger brother went to UCLA, and we were always bickering about the game. So my father came up with a spittoon that was called the Victory Bowl. When USC won the game, I kept the bowl, and vice versa. Then, my brother and I made a secret agreement that the loser would keep the spittoon because neither one of us liked it. And I’m getting damn tired of having that thing.”

Pete Dalis, UCLA athletic director: “It is as vital and as important to the community as ever. I remember being excited about the game of 1947. My impression is that the team is as excited as when I was an undergraduate. There is a lot of focus on this game. . . . To the players, it’s a very big game. To the fans, it’s more of a war than a game.”

Warren Bennett, USC supporter: “It’s bigger than a game. It’s part of my life. Not even the Notre Dame game means as much.”

Marc Dellins, UCLA sports information director: “I think it probably means the same to both schools, now. In the last half-dozen or so years, it’s been pretty even. In the ‘70s, USC won all but three games, and one of the ones they didn’t win was a tie. Obviously, there’s going to be a feeling of superiority of one school over the other. I don’t think those feelings are the same anymore. I think the series has progressed to the point that both teams feel like they can go out there and win the game.”

Scott Wolf, Daily Trojan sports editor: “As I was growing up, USC completely dominated UCLA and, when UCLA won, it seemed like a fluke. Even though UCLA is in the position that USC once was, UCLA continues to cultivate the image of being the underdogs and the ‘gutty little Bruins.’ It seems to me that they’re frightened to be cast as the favorite in the series.”

Greg Baker, junior political science major at UCLA, upon discovering Cardinal-colored paint dumped on the Bruin statue’s head: “If we lost to USC, that would bother me. But paint? No, that doesn’t bother me. That’s just silliness. . . . I have a girlfriend at USC, so I’m over there a lot. Every time I walk past Tommy Trojan, I flip him off.”

Nick Salata, USC assistant sports information director: “I got up to a get a hot dog at the 1967 game when I was only eight years old. USC’s Pat Cashman intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown while I was gone. I’ve never left a game since to get a hot dog, or anything else.”

Bob Stockton, Orange County Bruin Club: “We’re taking a couple of buses. It’s going to be a hell of a party. Of course, we have lousy tickets. It’s our turn to have lousy seats. But that won’t spoil the party.”