For Bruin Fans, Some Roads Are Best Left Untraveled

On second thought . . .

I wrote last week that UCLA football fans should be embarrassed because only about 3,500 can be expected to travel with the team for a bowl game. Kansas State took 10 times more than that to the 1997 Cotton Bowl.

But after listening to Tennessee fans sing “Rocky Top” after each Volunteer first down Saturday night, I’ve reconsidered. We should applaud UCLA for keeping college football in perspective.

Their fans don’t wear hog hats, scream “War Eagle” or “Roll Tide” at the top of their lungs, imitate Native American war chants or travel in great multitudes to bowl games.

I’ll never forget the despair in former Boston Globe columnist Leigh Montville’s voice when he covered Doug Flutie’s Boston College team in the 1985 Cotton Bowl victory over Houston.

Noting that more than a few BC fans wore baseball caps with flapping eagle wings attached to the sides, Montville said: “After years of going to bowl games and making fun of the fans, I’m embarrassed to find out Boston has the same yahoos.”

When it comes to yahoos, UCLA football will never be ranked among the top 25. We in L.A. don’t have to worry about embarrassment.

At the same time, we’ll have to live with the probability that UCLA needs to go undefeated to earn an invitation to an alliance bowl game outside Pasadena.

That’s the alliance’s loss. The bowls would rather have teams with frenzied fans who yell “Hook ‘em Horns” or “Gig ‘em Aggies,” paint their faces in school colors and spend, spend, spend in places such as Bourbon Street or Miami’s South Beach. There’s no accounting for taste.

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Despite a high ranking, his football team was ignored by the alliance and could never challenge basketball for popularity on campus. . . .

No, I’m not talking about Bob Toledo. . . .

I’m referring to Mack Brown. He left North Carolina last week for Texas, where football is still king. . . .

But after the Bruins were shut out of the Sugar and Fiesta bowls, is it possible Toledo suffers from similar frustrations? . . .

Although Toledo recently received a contract extension, you can bet some prominent football first schools will try to find out when they have openings. . . .

He’s on a short list of hot coaches along with Georgia’s Jim Donnan, LSU’s Gerry DiNardo and Tulane’s Tommy Bowden. . . .

In a story about North Carolina’s search to replace Brown, the Raleigh News-Observer called Toledo the Steve Spurrier of the West Coast. . . .

I’m pretty sure it was meant as a compliment. . . .

North Carolina’s informal inquiries about Toledo led to the conclusion he’s set at UCLA. . . .

Unless an NFL team calls. . . .

Fiesta Bowl officials showed no class in refusing to return UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis’ phone calls last week. . . .

So I’m boycotting this year’s game. . . .

It’s a huge sacrifice. I’ve always wanted to see Syracuse play Kansas State on a New Year’s Eve. . . .

Let’s see if I’ve got this straight. . . .

After Elvis Grbac has a bad game, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown calls the quarterback “an embarrassment to humankind.” . . .

But after Latrell Sprewell assaults and threatens to kill P.J. Carlesimo, Brown says we shouldn’t rush to judge the player. . . .

The Warriors took the appropriate action. I can’t think of anyone in any line of work who wouldn’t be fired for attacking the boss. . . .

David Stern, however, overreacted. He should have put Sprewell on probation for a year and wished him luck in seeking another NBA job, just as a judge would have if Carlesimo had filed charges. . . .

Maybe Carlesimo doesn’t want to testify about the names he calls players. . . .

Wilfredo Rivera is my definition of a tough guy. . . .

Unable to open his right eye because of the cut above it, his face shredded, Rivera told Larry Merchant on Saturday night that Oscar De La Hoya isn’t a strong puncher. . . .

Marquis Grissom probably is relieved to hear Fred Claire say the Dodgers aren’t interested in him. . . .

The Cleveland center fielder’s best friend is Delino DeShields, who doesn’t have flattering L.A. stories. . . .

Attention Mike Garrett: The season is finished.

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While wondering what Al Michaels will have to say tonight about Jerry Jones, I was thinking: The Raiders continue to prove Michaels right, Jim Kelly was wrong about Jim Harbaugh, there’s no reason to play the Super Bowl if Brett Favre stays healthy.