Rantings of a Bruin Lunatic:

Okay, this IS a football post: This was originally posted on a Bruin Football Forum. If you're an SC student, you may want to skip this post

S

ome Bruin think we will lose. They are entitled to their opinions, as rationally analytical as they may want to be. But reading their comments got me thinking about how I feel about this game, this rivalry, our school, and how I want to be. And I've concluded that every year, during this one week, I become totally out of touch with reality...

In life, I like to think I'm a realist. As a college insructor, I cannot hype up my students too much. I try like heck to maintain an even keel so they get neither too high nor too low when it comes to a variety of things: grades, graduation, the job market. It can be a downer, especially in this economy, but I have to let them know what to expect, but at the same time be encouraging. In general, I am like this in my private life, even with my expectations for our Bruin football team.

But there is one time when I throw caution to the wind. There is one time when I want to believe with all my heart, regardless of the odds. That time is THIS WEEK. SC is ranked #1. Leinart is first team Pac-10 QB. DO was not a finalist for the O'Brien Award. Bush runs for more than 1000 yards. Crap! Lendale White ran for a whole bunch too. SC vs. Texas will be the game of the year. The Fiesta Bowl MIGHT choose Oregon. Blah, blah, blah.

BIG DEAL. Every freakin' year, I wait for this game, in the hopes--no, in the belief that we will beat SC. EVERY YEAR I believe. Many will think I am living in a dream world. Some have called me a Pollyanna--Beta for one, I think. A SC fan called me idiotic. Well, you know what? I don't care. Because I believe in the Bruins. I believe in the Blue and Gold and UCLA and all it stands for. I believe that UCLA is BETTER than SC in every way. EVERY WAY: Academics, research, environment, girls(!), closer to the beach, Westwood, Royce Hall, John Wooden. Which SC student want's to party in South Central? NOoooooo. They all wanna go see a movie in Westwood, our backyard! So why not in football? Well, I believe we are better. EVERY YEAR I believe we are better. Since the mid 60s, I have been disappointed a number of times. I knew we were better, but we lost anyway. But the following year, I believed all over again. Because I feel that I must. I feel obligated to show my love for UCLA unconditionally. And my love for my school is expressed though my confidence in them. EVERY YEAR. Yes, maybe I'm a fanatic. Maybe I'm a few marbles lighter than your average Bruin.

But consider this: Bruin football version 2005 was supposed to be middle of the road. Pre-season, maybe 4th or 5th in the Pac-10. I wanted to believe--desperately--that we are better than this. I wanted to believe that we could eek out 7--dare I hope 8--wins. Then we beat Oklahoma. Woo hoo. What a game. Then DO and company mount comeback win after comeback win for 4 consecutive weeks. It was amazing, wasn't it? If nothing else, did not those four games tell you that this is a special team? That against the odds, it was okay to believe in this team? Ok, ok, so the defense ain't so special, mostly. But the team, THE TEAM was special. You had to feel it, didn't you? Man, after the Stanford game, weren't you delirious? I hadn't felt so high since 1984 on that night at Mom's when... um, nevermind.

So haven't these Bruins, version 2005, given us something we as a group haven't felt in quite a while? Given that, shouldn't be be rooting for this team 100%? Shouldn't we believe that they CAN and WILL beat $C? We didn't believe they'd be 9-1 at Thanksgiving--unless you're related to Nostradamus--but they did it. So who knows? Express your passion for the Bruins. Let's give them our support and our confidence.

JUST BELIEVE!

We are the Mighty Bruins! Hear our mighty roar!

Go Bruins! (insert your own 8 clap here)