I drafted a letter last week, after being at the Rose Bowl to see UCLA beat TN, 27-24, in a depressing, but exciting game. I was really disappointed in the UCLA fans for the three and a half quarters. They only seemed to realized that they were at a football game sometime in the fourth quarter.

But I waited too long to send the letter to the UCLA Athletics Dept. or to one of the local papers. Oh well…

Congratulations to the UCLA Bruins and Coach Neuheisel for an exciting
win last night. The Bruin defense really kept their team in the game in
the first half, and the offense came through when it mattered. The
resilience of the football team was impressive.

Unfortunately, the experience at the Rose Bowl as a fan was anything but
impressive. As a transplanted Volunteer fan, I was excited about the
chance to see Tennessee play in the Rose Bowl. I was sitting in section
14 with five friends, tickets that I was told were in the visiting team
section. In reality, it was a fair mix of Vol and Bruin fans. Bruin fans
appear to believe that when you go to a football game, you sit down and
don’t raise your voice until the fourth quarter. My friends and I were
on our feet cheering for most of the first quarter. That didn’t sit well
with the fans in our section, who called security over to tell us to sit
down. We were rather incredulous when the supervisor told us we were not
allowed to stand up again until halftime. Is that what passes for
football excitement for UCLA? I’ve never been in a quieter stadium
during a game in which neither team ever led by more than seven points.

The security supervisor was very cordial and told us that it was
considered UCLA courtesy at the Rose Bowl to stay seated. I hope every
Bruin fan who makes the trek to Knoxville next year realizes that they
probably won’t be able to see much if they stay seated. If the football
monopoly in Los Angeles is truly over, UCLA fans will need to be
educated about how to cheer at a real football game.