Rick Neuheisel ends his home game tradition of speaking before and after matchups
Rick Neuheisel, pictured here just hours before last year’s victory over Texas, is under pressure to pick up another win at the Rose Bowl.
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 13, 2011 11:59 p.m.
UCLA held on for a 27-17 win over San Jose State on Saturday night, but there was still an empty feeling inside the Rose Bowl.
The announced attendance of 42,685, well short of half the stadium’s capacity, probably had something to do with that.
But whoever was left at the end of the game and waiting for the most consistent part of last season could hear the void.
Those Rick Neuheisel win-or-loss post-game speeches? A thing of the past, according to the UCLA coach, who called them an unnecessary distraction.
“The media was making it more about me and my conversation,” Neuheisel said. “It wasn’t about the content of what I was saying. Therefore, it became, to me, a distraction. I talked about it with my bosses, and they agreed (stopping) it was the prudent thing to do.”
Neuheisel stepped to the microphone at the end of each contest during UCLA’s 3-3 home season in 2010.
His tone was apologetic after the losses and peppy after the wins, but he was always optimistic.
“I wanted them to know that all was not lost in days when things didn’t go well and how much we appreciated on days it did,” he said.
He added that he won’t hesitate to talk to the crowd again, just on a less consistent basis.
He’s also ditching his pregame speech for this week’s matchup against Texas, but only in favor of a luminary: Tommy Lasorda, the former longtime Dodgers manager and two-time World Series champion.
“I think he’ll be quite eloquent,” said Neuheisel, who joked that Lasorda was welcome to address the crowd afterward.
Even if Neuheisel had turned around to talk, he would have had a paltry audience.
With school not in session and the opponent a Football Bowl Subdivision cellar-dweller, Bruin fans decided the trip wasn’t worth it.
“We start school next week, so a win is just big for the fan base, for the students and Bruin Nation,” redshirt junior defensive end Datone Jones said.
“I never get disappointed at people who come to a game,” Neuheisel said. “Our job is to get more to come.”
