SB Nation User Blog: BruinFan1

Pete's Response To Mark's Departure

BruinFan1 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:50:09 -0000

I think at this point you've all seen the hoopla about Pete's negative response to Mark's departure to the NFL. What is your general sense of the reaction? In all honesty, I can't think of one good reason why Pete would react the way he did.

First, I would assume that one would argue that he is doing this for Mark's benefit, but Mark is not under Pete's control anymore (unless, of course, Mark can reneg on his decision to declare for the draft, but I'm not too sure if he can...maybe someone else knows).

If not this, Pete may be making a statement for future recruits. I guess the statement would be that he is looking out for the best interest of the players but again, I can't really see how this helps because I'm very sure the two of them have been talking ad naseum about the draft. Negative comments to the public probably won't sway Mark if, as reports indicate, even his family is against the decision.

To me, this seems like a bad decision on Pete's part. First, the comments seem to poison Mark's draft stock. It is now out in the open that Mark's own coach does not believe in him. I can't imagine these comments will help bolster his resume. Additionally, it would seem that these comments will act as a deterrent in regards to future commits to the program. Why would anyone want to play for a coach that will publicly denounce your decisions?

I think you all know that I don't come on here to get a rise out of you guys but this is a situation that seems pretty wrong to me. What do you guys think?

Remembering What's Important

BruinFan1 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:08:46 -0000

Conquest Chronicles -

It's been a long time since I've been around to post on any of my favorite. Some of the reasons have been good, and some of the reasons for my absence has been unfortunate. Right now, especially in light of what will occur on December 6, we should all keep in mind what is truly important and not get ourselves mired in some of the uglier vitriol that we see in what appears to be an increasingly nastier rivalry, especially on the internet.

On June 21, 2008, I did what a lot of Bruin fans would consider treason. I married a Trojan. True, we met while we were both Anteaters (University of California, Irvine), but we did grow into our roles as heated rivals during my wife's second year as a grad student at USC and my first year as a law student at UCLA.

I remember how we first were during the our first football season as a couple. We were absolutely ruthless to each other. I got an earful during 66-19 and I cheered on the infamous 4th and 2nd during the 2005 championship game. Clearly, we were huge jerks to each other and sometimes, we genuinely did hurt each other's feelings.

Fast forward to 2008. We're now married and much more mature about our situations. In fact, we are highly supportive. When UCLA has the week off or if we go to a USC game, I'll wear some Trojan gear. If the same is going on with my wife's team, she wears this really cool Joe Bruin t-shirt that I wish I had. Yet, this coming Saturday, we are not-so-heated rivals again. As my wife so nicely puts it, "If it's you are me, I'd rather it be you" in reference to losing. I return the sentiment.

What I'm trying to get at here is that, in a heated rivalry, don't lose focus on what's important. It's not bashing your competition, it's celebrating your own team's accomplishments and enjoying a very special yearly event with friends (and then, a distant third, bashing your competition). It took me a little bit to understand this, but now that I have, football with the most important person in my world has never been more fun and enjoyable.

So while you'll surely hear a lot of trash talking over the next 6 days, I'll take a different route. Here is what it looks like when a Trojan and a Bruin come together:

Here's to an injury free game. If you win, and I hope you don't, best of luck in the Rose Bowl (although I really wish if you did make a BCS Bowl it would have been the Fiesta Bowl).

(PS - You should all consider yourself lucky that you have a great moderator in ParagonSC that understands this and runs a classy blog. Be very thankful.)

School Colors

BruinFan1 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:41:18 -0000

Good Day Gents.

I have a questoion regarding school colors.

I feel as though most schools do not do a good job at giving students their actual school colors. As a UCLA student, I can't tell you how many navy blue and yellow, blue and yellow, and navy blue and gold items I have been given when UCLA should be powder blue and gold.

USC is not different. My fiancee has 3 jerseys but we have a floor mat that is a literal gold and cardinal. It looks fantastic, but it isn't the normal "yellow" you wear during the game.

So what is it? Does USC (or UCLA) care about what color they really are? Does USC care about being "Cardinal and Gold" even though they wear "Cardinal and Yellow???"

Does UCLA have to be "powdered blue and gold???" Can they wear other colors???

What say you?

Questions Re: Saturday's Game

BruinFan1 — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:56:29 -0000

I have a few questions/statements re: Saturday's game at Galen:

First of all, feel better Paragon.
My fiancee and I are thinking about heading down to SC to watch the game there. Besides Traditions and the Two-Niner, are there any other bars/restaurants around or on campus that are game friendly?
I saved that sports illustrated cover with Love and Mayo on the cover in hopes of getting both their signatures. Any suggestions on when the USC team leaves Galen and is available for signatures?

Thanks guys.

A Fantastic Win Over Cal!

BruinFan1 — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:04:12 -0000

I mean that in all seriousness simply because we beat Cal. Cal, for some reason, brings out the very worst in me. I don't think I've ever come across a more pretentious group of fans that have no freakin' clue about sports or what it means to be a winner.

Yes, they piss me off more than SC fans. I can deal with the obnoxiousness of SC fans because that can be explained by success going to one's head. I don't like it very much, but I can deal with it and it can be explained (also, I find that band wagon fans are extremely volatile wherever you find them and SC has a good share of them). You can also explain it through general dumbassery. Cal, on the other hand, cannot be explained.

Message to Cal fans - you have done nothing for the Pac-10. Football championships from the time when Jesus was turning water into wine are irrelevant to me. Was the forward pass even invented yet? Co Pac-10 Championships are merely cute if you can only do it once. Being perennial Holiday Bowl contestants does not make you an important team.

You will never matter in the the realm of football and basketball. Your teams continually crap themselves when they have to perform in high pressure situations. Your "god" Tedford has a LOSING record against Coach Sleepy. Do you understand that? Coach Sleepy has your number! That is beyong pathetic and emblematic of your sports in general. "Little sister" is roughly 70 years your junior and has over 70 more championships than you! Save me your speeches on your intermural rugby team. We all play by the same NCAA rules. Cal just ended up being good at a sport that is irrelevant. That is nobody elses fault but your own. Quit complaining.

Oh...and another thing. If I have to hear that "You're stupid and couldn't get into Cal" argument one more time, I'm going to go insane simply because of that pure stupidity of the statement. UCLA is still a flagship UC school and UCLA is still world renowned for its academics. Your diss is the equivalent of a Harvard grad telling a Stanford grad that (s)he is an idiot for not getting into Harvard. Ha! Stanford is still a phenomenal school. Speaking of Stanford...that is all YOU ARE. You are Stanford rejects that end up at a school and is only slightly better than UCLA academically with no sports history and very hairy women. You could only dream about being the best academic-athletic school in the nation.

We have been having conversations on here about why wins don't feel good under Coach Sleepy. This is the one game where I feel FANTASTIC after winning. To knock Cal fans off their damn pedestal that they created with their own sense of self-importance is a very, very good feeling. Cal, you have no idea what sports are about. You have no idea how to act. Even mentioning the idea of firing Tedford because of this loss illustrates that fact that you are not deserving of a good football team. You are ridiculous. You are sad. You are embarassing for the Pac-10. You disgrace Cal fans that actually have a clue (I know many).

Until you can learn how to act, this will be a game I will truly enjoy being the victor of. Saturday, despite the fact that Coach Sleepy did everything he could to lose the game (punting on Cal's 38!!!!!!!), was a very good day.

End of rant. It is 4:50am my time and I'm thinking I should go to bed. My apologies for typos due to a lack of sleep and over-studying. Go Bruins!

How USC May Have Helped UCLA

BruinFan1 — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:33:47 -0000

It is quite possible that the USC debacle helped UCLA in a couple areas. While it has already been stated that USC's loss took a lot of the thunder out of KD's epic failure, I do believe there are a few positives that need to be mentioned:

Stanford was able to beat the #2 team in the nation with a back-up quarterback with negligible experience. KD's game plan prevented UCLA from succeeding in the face of Ben Olson's unintended injury. Stanford proved that success is possible with untested talent. KD proved that he cannot win when things don't go his way. In fear of beating a really dead horse with a huge stick, I will quickly mention that it is uterlly ridiculous to not have a better QB plan set up when you are one injury away from disaster. Stanford, with inferior talent, took it to USC in their home and blew away their 35-game home winning streak. In summary, my point here is that good coaching overcomes adversity. Bad coaching creates adversity. 18% of the nation saw the latter.
This point is both good news and bad news mixed into one. While USC's loss definitely overshadowed ours in the media, don't think for a second that the media didn't notice. Here's a local example - I was driving home from UCLA last night and was listening to John Zigler (KFI 640AM). For those of you who do not listen or get this program, it is essentially a program dedicated to the day's news. John decides to take a left turn with the program and talk about UCLA's deplorable showing at the Rose Bowl. It was quite interesting to here from a guy who does not care about UCLA one bit. On the national level, Jay Leno just said that UCLA stands for "U Can Lose to Anyone" during his monologue. Again, I understand that being the laughing stock of college football is not something to celebrate, but it is a good sign that both the local and national media still think UCLA's important enough to mention and that they notice the terrible job KD is doing. At the very least, they are making KD's incompetence apparent.
Beating USC will not save KD's job this year. They have already lost to Stanford and had a poor showing against Washington. I am willing to bet that USC drops at least one more game to either Cal, ASU, or Oregon. They have some real issues on that team that stem from a lack of execution and preparation (injuries are surely playing a huge role as well). If UCLA goes into the Coliseum when USC has nothing on the line besides a Holiday Bowl (Cal, I'm looking at you to ensure this), then even a win over USC does not have nearly the same effect that it did last year. Beating what would be considered the weakest USC team in years would not be an accomplishment for one to hang their hat on. Knowing KD, he'll probably win this game out of pure dumb luck. That's why I thought this was important to mention.

There's really not a lot to be happy about in the realm of UCLA football. I just thought there might have been a few beneficial points that were missed because our thoughts on our football program are clouded with negativity (who could blame us?).

I'll leave you with a positive quote that I read in the Daily Bruin today. This is how Shannon Tevaga responded to MBT's play during the ND game:

"I don't even know what was going on (with our pass protection). I'm speechless. (Bethel-Thompson's) a soldier. Mac has the biggest heart on the team. The job he did to come in, on the third string, break the huddle - he's a soldier. I'd go to war with Mac any day."

We appreciate your efforts too MBT.

No Change, No Change At All!

BruinFan1 — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:44:48 -0000

To be completely honest, I was not at all excited about this upcoming football season. I'm the type of guy that takes UCLA football and basketball far too seriously. If something is wrong with my team, it can literally make my stomach hurt. I remember distinctly after our terrible loss to Notre Dame last year, I actually shed a tear. It was completely demoralizing and disheartening to see my Bruins go down in the fashion that they did.

I feared this year because I just knew that Dorrell will not live up to our loft expectations. I know I have many stomach aches to worry about on Saturdays (maybe I should have brought to Pepto with me to the game this last Saturday).

It took me me a while to figure out what I feared about this season. To not be excited at all about football is an insane and almost unthinkable thing to say. Then it dawned on me. I know exactly what I feared. This classic episode of The Twilight Zone explains it all.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9DNbyOKd9YM

(I intended to embed the video, but I the this site won't let me for some reason. Maybe Nestor can figure it out.)

I didn't fear regression. I didn't fear the inability to live up to our lofty expectations (and maybe I shouldn't say "our" since the AD has the same expectations). I feared no change. I feared no change at all. I belive this is quite different than the former two items. Even without change, Dorrell could ostensibly find success this year. If that is to happen, I would rather not have success.

I would rather Dorrell become an "in your face" type of coach that is willing to take blame for losses and sh*tty play calling and be 8-4 as opposed to Dorrell staying who he is and being 11-1. Each win is unenjoyable with Dorrell. Doom feels like its right around the corner with each win. 11-1 with Dorrell would feel like 5-7 plus each game probably takes off 3 days from our life span just from the stress. Wins with Dorrell, in my opinion, are simply not worth it.

I went to the game this Saturday. I saw what you saw. I saw no change. I saw what I feared. I saw a win that felt like 2 losses. I saw the need to run down to Costco to purchase the economy sized Pepto. I saw all the signs that we need for the immediate removal of Karl Dorrell. That will not happen because 2007 is not the year of change; it is the year of the status quo.

I guess I just have to be patient, but here is a quote to think about:

"When you are through changing, you are through." - Bruce Barton

I'm convinced Dorrell is done changing.

Letter From Outgoing Chancellor Norman Abrams

BruinFan1 — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:25:34 -0000

Just received this in my e-mail box today:

To the UCLA Campus Community:

As my time as chancellor of UCLA comes to a close, I want you to know that it has been a joy for me to work with so many of you as we have met the challenges that confronted us over the course of the year. For me, this period has been an opportunity to further serve the institution that I have loved for almost 50 years. It has been a year that has enriched my life.

I always knew that UCLA was made up of the best and brightest, but I have been struck by the talent we have here and the willingness of everyone to step forward on behalf of the university and its mission. I have gotten too much credit for many things that actually have reflected the efforts of dozens of people. The support of the campus at large has been crucial, too, for the measure of success that we have had. I am deeply grateful to all of you for the help you have given me.

Although we have faced some tough issues this year, there have also been important triumphs. I hope you share my sense of pride in our accomplishments. We have moved the campus forward and, if anything, have gained, rather than lost, momentum.

I am now passing the baton (at full speed, without breaking stride) to Gene Block, confident that rapid progress will continue under his leadership. UCLA is very fortunate to have found him and lured him to the West Coast. I know that all of you join me in wishing him and his wife, Carol, great success as Chancellor and First Lady of UCLA.

Go Bruins!

Sincerely,

Norman Abrams
Acting Chancellor

I'm sure people on here have an opinion of him here. I really don't have one except I HIGHLY disagree with his stance in regards to an on-campus pub. Regardless, I wish him the best.

Another Dorrell Juxtaposition

BruinFan1 — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:29:32 -0000

I'm not exactly a huge Charlie Weiss fan, but 19 wins in 2 seasons does raise your credibility a bit. He also seems to be a pretty good guy (that sounds familiar). My respect for the guy just went up a few notches when I read this quote from him:

"My goal this year, and next year, and the year after that, will be to win every game. And that's my goal this year. And I'll never have it go any different than that."

Weis just lost Brady Quin, Jeff Samardzija and Darius Walker on offense and he is still sets the high standard of winning every game. That's quite amazing to me but a lot of things are amazing when you know who is leading our football team.

Compare this to the unbearable statements some of Dorrell's players have been muttering recently. Over 20 returning starters and our players don't expect to win every game. The difference between the programs is shocking to say the very least. In reality, I don't know why it is shocking. Nothing should be able to shock me now that Dorrell has survived into his fifth year.

You can catch the whole article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19681120/

PS - Does UCLA have a quantum mechanics major on campus? I'm thinking that the easiest way to get rid of this guy is to have someone build us a flux capacitor and return to 2003 so we can stop this nonsense.

My Terrible Mistake

BruinFan1 — Wed, 23 May 2007 10:21:03 -0000

I recently made a comment on BN that was poorly worded and not well thought out. If you remember, there was a person on here that asked for some pointers for a debate he was in regarding the merits of UCLA and USC.

I gave a few points that were not that great, but I said one thing that was not such a good idea. I made the statement that "Trojans are pedophiles".

Now, in my little ol' noggin this statement was fairly innocuous because I knew exactly what I meant. In these three words, I was trying to reference Trojans as historical figures. They were known to have sex slaves and sometimes these slaves were young males. I was, in my mind, knocking their mascot as a pedophile.

But where was my mind at the time? As I read that statement again I cringe. I'm so painfully unclear at what I'm referencing it is ridiculous. My statements were interpreted (and rightfully so) as attacking members of the Trojan Family. I never thought I could take something on a blog so seriously, but I am beyond ashamed at this.

Obviously, my biggest apology goes to CC and members of the Trojan family. I hope my apology is accepted as sincere. It is.

My second apology goes to BN. A statement like this, even though it was not meant the way it was interpreted, is a blemish on the reputation of BN.

The ironic thing about this is that I'm probably one of the least likely to throw insults at Trojans. While I still fully intend on poking fun at Trojans, hopefully this mistake will serve as a reminder for others to think a little bit harder before they write something.

And maybe, just maybe, this can serve as an opportunity to have a few more cordial discussions with members of CC like we have done in the past.