Teams vie for bragging rights during crosstown competitions

  Daily Bruin File Photo Sean
Elenz-Martinez acts out his antipathy toward USC during
the annual car smash in November 1999. The UCLA-USC rivalry is
always a source of intense emotion and competition.

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Los Angeles is a city that stretches as far as the eye can see,
but it never has been quite big enough for UCLA and USC.

Sixty years ago, it began with a handful of USC students
stealing the keys to the truck that transported UCLA’s
infamous Victory Bell-a gift from the Alumni Association that rung
for every Bruin football touchdown.

From threats, destruction of property, taunting and teasing by
each student body, to intense emotion on the athletic battlefield,
this crosstown rivalry marches on.

“Sparks are going to fly as soon as we meet,” said
graduating senior Earl Watson, a guard for the UCLA men’s
basketball team, before an epic showdown this past season.
“It’s like two trains coming to a head and the toughest
team is going to win the game. It’s going to be a brawl. I
love being part of games like that.”

In the last four years, epic moments between the Bruins and
Trojans have continued the legacy left by athletes from both
schools. Marked by a rich tradition of animosity, the fight for
supremacy and bragging rights in the City of Angels is sure to
stand the test of time.

In men’s basketball, it was the ill-timed decision by fans
to throw water bottles onto the playing surface in the Feb. 8
contest at the Los Angeles Sports Arena that cost a ranked Trojan
squad an opportunity to stay in the race for the conference title.
A technical foul assessed, USC never clawed closer in a game that
had so much riding on it.

And in that same game, it was a composed Watson that shed
emotion to the rivalry by waving his hands and taunting a Trojan
crowd after fouling out of the game with the victory safe and
secure. In his last five years, Trojan head coach Henry Bibby, a
former Bruin basketball standout, is 1-9 against his alma mater in
the coaching box.

But in football, it was Southern California that got redemption
in 1999, handing UCLA a 17-7 loss at the Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum and ending an eight-year skid to the Bruins. And it was
the Trojans who would add insult to injury with a 38-35 shocker
this season at the Rose Bowl on a last-second field goal by an
inconsistent place kicker.

“This is prime time,” wide receiver Freddie Mitchell
said, a recent draftee by the Philadelphia Eagles. “This game
decides who gets to keep their heads up in the city and who has to
put them down.”

“I’m playing,” injured linebacker Robert
Thomas said during Big Game Week. “I’ve got to play.
It’s ‘SC week. Nobody’s hurt during ‘SC
week.”

This season in men’s water polo, it was an incident during
a late season contest that helped manifest the heartfelt dislike
for one another. At halftime, UCLA co-head coach Adam Krikorian
became angry after USC head coach Jovan Vavic bumped UCLA co-head
coach Guy Baker as the teams switched sides.

Krikorian grabbed Vavic, and according to spectators, began to
angrily question the motives behind such Trojan misbehavior.

Vavic later reacted unpleasantly to the fans after his team
defeated the Bruins. The university, in conjunction with the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, handed down a one-game
suspension prompted by Vavic’s actions.

And in track and field, the war on the oval singles out the
rivalry at one of the most crucial times of the outdoor season, the
dual-meet right before the conference and national championship
meets. Both UCLA and USC find themselves regularly battling for the
right to an NCAA title, and the dual-meets over the past four
seasons have exemplified the dogfight attitude that should carry
into the new millennium.

“In women’s track and field, the UCLA-USC rivalry
has become as great as the rivalry with the men’s
teams,” said Bruin women’s Head Coach Jeannette Bolden.
“I can remember the ’70s and ’80s with a crowded
Drake Stadium and world records were being set (at the UCLA-USC
meet). Now in the ’90s, both are still competing on a high
level.”

To get rid of one would dull the luster of the other.

There are some collegiate rivalries that raise the barometer for
competition in one particular sport. But the UCLA and USC rivalry,
and its coexistence in one of the premier sports cities worldwide,
spans every inch of the athletic gridiron.

FIVE YEARS OF UCLA VS. USC The Bruins have
dominated their crosstown rivalry with the Trojans in head-to-head
matchups over the past five years. Here are some stats from the
1996-1997 season until now:

Men’s athletics

Baseball – Between the pitches and home runs,
UCLA hasn’t fared well. As foul as it may seem, USC leads 18-12.
Basketball – The Bruins remain head honcho when it
comes to hoops. UCLA leads 9-1. Football – Despite
snapping an eight-game winning streak, UCLA still controls the line
of scrimmage 3-2. Track and field – UCLA can boast
the faster runners, higher jumpers and stronger throwers with a 4-1
lead. Tennis – The team aces when it comes to the
rivalry with the Trojans. The Bruins rule 7-3.
Volleyball – Ready, set, spike! Over the past five
years, the squad has remained above the net 4-1. Water
polo – Treading water, USC prevails. UCLA gives way to the
Trojans 8-11.

Women’s athletics

Basketball – Whoop! UCLA controls the court
6-4, while the Trojans take second in a two-team rivalry.
Soccer – Counting backwards, UCLA takes the
rivalry with three wins, USC comes in second with two, and each has
one tie. Swimming – USC proves to be a daunting
team underwater, taking the lead 5-0. Tennis –
Serving up wins, UCLA remains No.1 in this rivalry. The Bruins
string USC along 7-3. Track and field – In dual
meets, the towering Bruins leave USC in the shadows. UCLA dominates
5-0. Volleyball– Bruins and Trojans work up a
sweat in their rivalry, but UCLA ends up falling to USC 4-6.
Water polo – Training year-round in all weather,
UCLA earns its lead in the rivalry 10-7. Five-year wrap up:
UCLA leads USC 10-4 in overall series. SOURCE: UCLA media
guides, USC media guides Original graphic by JOAN ONG/Daily Bruin
Senior Staff Web adaptation by REX LORENZO