Letters

Memos to the football team As an alum of UCLA
and a season ticket holder, I am faced with a quandary: Should my
wife and I attend the game on Dec. 1 or stay home like our team did
against ‘SC? If we as fans are supposed to support the team,
what is the team’s obligation to its fans? I would assume the
answer is to try its best. Losing is not a cardinal sin, but not
trying is. With few exceptions, the team laid down and went through
the motions. It was not the loss ““ though losing to ‘SC
is never easy to take ““ it was the lack of effort. The
motivation or lack thereof must be the responsibility of the
coaching staff, and they failed. As a person Bob Toledo is
difficult not to like, but as a coach his abilities are in
question. Will someone please explain to us what happened? As of
this moment we are wondering whether or not to renew our season
ticket subscriptions for next year.

Newton I. Waldman Class of 1996

To say that Bob Toledo is a poor coach and a poor leader is an
understatement. The way that he has hurt the Bruin football program
is quite sad, just as sad as when you feel the loss of a loved one.
Was Bob Toledo the reason that UCLA won its first six football
games? No! The reason that the Bruins won their first six football
games was because of the caliber of talent that the UCLA team
possessed. I could have coached the first six games and would have
gotten the same result as Toledo did. Bob Toledo knew that after a
very disappointing football season last year, he and his assistant
coaches and staff needed to work intensively with both the
defensive and offensive lines. Also, Toledo would need to have a
quarterback that could throw the football, scramble when necessary
and take control of the game as a leader. Toledo had plenty of time
““ a whole year before the next season started. And did he use
the time to fully prepare? Toledo, in all of his wisdom, merely
concentrated on improving the defensive line, but forgot that it
takes more than just defense to have a well-balanced team, not to
mention a championship team. Ever since Cade McNown left,
Toledo has not been able to recruit one decent quarterback. Bob,
the last two minutes of the Oregon game tells it all. Not only do
you have no idea what you are doing on the sidelines, but you are
also destroying the careers of those young athletes and cutting the
hearts out of all Bruin fans. I could say without a doubt that this
year UCLA had the talent and the potential to go undefeated, ending
the season with a national championship victory at the Rose Bowl.
So, Bob Toledo, since your heart is not with the Bruins, step down
before this cancer that you created continues to spread any
further.

Salvatore Guerrero Rancho Cucamonga

Top reasons why Bob Toledo should no longer be head
coach: 1. If Toledo is going to play guys with a criminal
record, the least he can do is play good criminals. (Check the 2000
Oregon State Beavers.) 2. It’s darn near impossible to keep
tricks up your sleeves when you wear sleeveless sweaters. 3. If it
took this long for Bob to come up with a good defense, imagine how
long it will be before he finds a real quarterback… 4. The Rose
Bowl to “Who knows?” Bowl. 5. We need a coach who is
technologically up to speed. Obviously, all you need is a Play
Station to come up with better plays. 6. If we don’t change
now, I might not see UCLA beat ‘SC in football during my
four, or five, years here. And the final reason why Bob Toledo
should no longer be the head coach… He used to be an assistant at
USC! Disclaimer: This may have offended some and pissed off others,
but it is all meant to be a joke ““ a little humor to
counteract the disappointment that we Bruin fans are
enduring. Cheer up, it’s basketball season. At
least we know we’re going to the tournament in March;
that’s a pretty safe bet, even if we lost to Ball State.

Daniel Tatum Second-year Undeclared

To the UCLA Football Team:
Gutless. Spineless. Embarrassing.  Congratulations, Bruin
football, on a humiliating finish to the
season. Losing four straight games ““ getting outplayed
and outhustled in all four ““ was
bad. Getting destroyed by USC, a team that you had
the talent to beat easily, was even worse. But on top of all
that, between NCAA benefits violations and DUI convictions (but no
suspensions, of course), you managed to not just embarrass
yourselves, but the entire UCLA community as well.
(What’s next, illegally using handicapped parking
passes? Oh wait…) So far, the legacy of UCLA football in the
Bob Toledo era can be summed up in two phrases: mentally
weak and morally suspect. As a blue-and-gold-bleeding alumnus, that
makes me want to wretch.  How long till basketball season?

Bryan Peebler Class of 1993