A Freshman Perspective: USC vs. UCLA Game Day

By Amy Wang ‘21

Before attending USC, and even before I was officially accepted as a student, there was a piece of advice I got from upperclassmen that was constantly restated: get a football student season ticket. As someone who knew nothing about football, I hesitated. Two-hundred dollars was a lot of money to ask for considering how much I already had to spend in preparation for college itself. I continued to ask upperclassmen for their input and was told the same. Ultimately, I bought the pass and have no regrets for doing so.

I went to the first game, and then the second. But after a while, my classes got more difficult and the number of hours of sleep I got decreased. This resulted in me transferring my tickets to other students weekend after weekend. Nevertheless, as the last game of the season and one that was against our biggest rivals, responsibilities could be put aside for just one day, or technically one week. As such an important game, dedicating one day to it was not enough. We needed to prepare for a week of friendly warfare.

As a freshman, seeing traditions being carried out was confusing at first. A wrapped up Tommy Trojan and Traveler made me wonder, “Is this vandalism?” Seeing a huge red box instead of Hecuba as I boarded to class in the morning almost made me fall off my board. I laughed later when I found out that these acts were actually done in an attempt to prevent vandalism. I knew the rivalry between USC and UCLA was intense, but these were my first experiences seeing the physical activities that occurred because of it. During the week leading up to the game, I began seeing articles and hearing stories about decades worth of pranks that each school would partake in against the other. In recent days, I even read an article by the LA Times about a prank from sixty years ago that was infamous enough to be remembered. There were other stories I heard, such as the one about UCLA students tracking down our Traveler horse for a prank a few years back, that I have yet to confirm as true and for all I know may simply be myths passed around by students for fun. Regardless, it was an enjoyable experience to talk amongst my other freshmen friends about the pranks we learned about through others. During this week, there were also events such as “Conquest! 2017.” USC did not disappoint as it hosted a carnival (that included an actual ferris wheel) and concert featuring rapper Lil’ Pump. All this was done to excite students as they counted down the days and hours until kick-off.

The USC vs. UCLA Game Day began like every other, but ended up being like no other. The usual schedule consisted of waking up, putting on your USC apparel, and getting outside for some tailgating before the game. However, this time around the atmosphere was so different that you could feel the immense pride the moment you stepped outside your door. My own day began when I was awoken by my floormates blasting USC marching band songs through a speaker in the hallway at 9 AM. Something about the color blue also seemed to hurt my eyes more than usual.

The game itself was also much more highly anticipated than others this season. Students, including my own friends and I, got in line earlier than we have in the past in an attempt to get better seats. Since UCLA was only a short drive away, many Bruins were also in attendance. Across the stadium, you could see the patches of blue, and even in the USC student section, a few dots of blue were visible here and there. Nevertheless, the crowd was still overwhelmingly cardinal and gold. After all, this was a home game and the Bruins were in Trojan territory.

Despite the pettiness we USC students knowingly involved ourselves in, with little acts such as carrying a Bruin bear around for people to step on throughout the week, it was all solely done for literal fun and games. The extreme rivalry between the schools is what makes this game day special compared to the others. Students may spend their day throwing insults and making jokes at the “enemy,” but ultimately the environment is warm and loving. Old high school friends who ended up at different schools reunite on campus for a Saturday to spend together as a family. Even some families are made up of Trojan and Bruin parents. In the end, the USC vs. UCLA Game Day was a day to meet and bond with not only our fellow classmates, but also with our rivals down the street. It was a day to do the Eight-Clap while also Fighting On!

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