Fans: Saturday’s sole disappointment

Monday, November 11, 1996

COMMENTARY:

Amazing record plays lost on empty seats at Rose BowlBy Rob
Kariakin

Daily Bruin Contributor

Attention students, faculty, staff and various other UCLA fans:
there was a football game on Saturday.

Really.

No joke.

There was running, passing and even defense.

There just wasn’t anyone there to see them.

The 40,421 who did make the trek to Pasadena were treated to a
record day by junior tailback Skip Hicks, a career day by former
walk-on wide receiver Danny Farmer, and a pretty nice day by Mother
Nature.

On the afternoon, Hicks rushed 24 times for 129 yards, caught 4
passes for another 59 yards, and scored 3 touchdowns. His 17
touchdowns this year tie him with Gaston Green and J.J. Stokes for
the UCLA single season record.

Farmer, for his part, caught 5 passes for 121 yards, including
one for 52 yards that set up Hicks’ second touchdown.

Farmer scored one of his own a quarter later on a bomb from wide
receiver Jim McElroy. The ‘Daily Bruin’ play, as the team calls it,
started with quarterback Cade McNown handing off to Hicks, who in
turn gave it to McElroy along the left side. After cutting back
across the hash mark, the junior flanker stopped and threw a 38
yard wobbler to Farmer on the two-yard line. Farmer somehow
wrestled the ball away from the two defenders covering him and fell
into the end zone for a 27-7 Bruin lead (28-7 after Bjorn Merten’s
extra point).

A truly amazing catch … in front of 61,662 empty seats.

"It takes something away (not to have more fans at the game)"
junior tight end Mike Grieb said. "I think that it really is
beneficial to have a full stadium, you know. You feed off that
energy from the crowd. Especially from the student section. That’s
always full."

Not on Saturday. So few of the ‘Bruin faithful’ showed up at the
Rose Bowl this weekend that the half time card show was condensed
from three seating sections to one.

"I’m just glad that the people are still coming out," Hicks
said. "I mean, last year about this time, what did we have; like
30,000? Something like that. The people are still coming, and we’re
just trying to make them happy. You know, give them something to
come back out for."

Maybe the Bruins should demand the return of their 12th Bruin
towels in exchange; it was quiet enough to hear the Rose Bowl grass
grow for most of Saturday’s game.

The climate might have had something to do with that ­
sunny and warm ­ nap weather.

But even if those fans were asleep, at least they were
there.

"You come out (today) and you say ‘wow, wish there were more
people here,’" Bruin head coach Bob Toledo said. "But when the ball
is kicked off, they forget about looking in the stands and they
start playing."

"(But), yeah, I hope maybe a few more people will come to that
last home game."

One final chance against USC two weeks from now.

Really.

No joke.