‘UCLA is magic’: 90-year-old Bruin fan’s passion manifests in tailgates, tradition
Constance Stricklin stands for the national anthem at the Sept. 28 UCLA football game against Oregon. The 28-year season ticket holder will celebrate her 91st birthday Sunday. (Courtesy of John Levulis)
By Saya Mueller
Oct. 27, 2024 8:24 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 1 at 11:23 a.m.
To understand Constance Stricklin’s passion for the Bruins, look no further than the handmade quilt on her kitchen wall.
The quilt – made entirely with 20 years of UCLA merchandise – is a tribute to a lifelong passion. Many things set Stricklin apart from the average Rose Bowl fan. She’s an Air Force veteran, former basketball player and a great-grandmother, but her 28 years as a UCLA season ticket holder are what set her apart from the thousands of cheering fans who pour into the Rose Bowl on game day.
For one, Stricklin said she has been a fan since she was eight years old, growing up in West Hollywood.
“I first became acquainted (with the Bruins) on the radio because of my father,” she said. “He took us to Bruin games when we were kids.”
What started as a childhood custom quickly morphed into a years-long tradition when Stricklin’s husband gifted their family season tickets for Christmas in 1996, she said. From there, the family tradition of UCLA football games and tailgates started, said John Levulis, Stricklin’s son.
The tradition continued throughout the family as more members were added to the season ticket holder list, said Krystine Iele, Stricklin’s granddaughter.
“It started with her and trickled down to my dad, then to me and my sister, then to my husband,” Iele said, “I converted him to Bruin-ism.”
During the curtain raiser of the 1997 season, Stricklin’s family embodied the full UCLA football experience, tailgating with a hibachi grill in parking lot H of the Rose Bowl, Levulis said. However, the excitement around the game came to a halt as Stricklin was overcome by the heat, Levulis added.
“The first game (of the 1997 season) was against Tennessee and Peyton Manning, and she wound up in first aid for heat exhaustion,” Levulis said.
Yet, despite experiencing an ordeal that may deter other fans from returning again to games, Stricklin continued to show up to cheer on her team.
“Nothing keeps her from the games,” Levulis said.
Along with every game came a tailgate. The Stricklin tailgates started out small but grew to be an event of their own as they expanded and drew in other UCLA fans, Stricklin said.
“We had a gigantic grill and a little oven, all kinds of little things,” Stricklin added. “We used to have large tailgating adventures, where people would come and visit us and say, ‘Where’d you get that?’”
Stricklin and her family have always shown up, Levulis said, having bought 12 season tickets for in-laws and children one year. Stricklin has only ever missed three games during their 28-season streak, Levulis added.
“Sometimes we go in the morning, and we’ll make pancakes and bacon and breakfast burritos,” Levulis said. “Even if it’s raining, it doesn’t matter – we’re tailgating.”
As an Air Force basketball player, Stricklin’s love for the Bruins extends beyond football to basketball as well, she said, adding that she would listen to UCLA basketball games on the radio. She said she remembered listening in during John Wooden’s legendary seasons but continued long after he retired.
After moving to Philadelphia, if there was a particularly exciting basketball game, Stricklin would have to go to a nearby movie theater to watch, she said.
“When I got married back east, if I wanted to see UCLA, we had to go to a movie theater,” Stricklin said. “If there was a really big game, like when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was playing Houston, it was a huge game, and they showed it in movie theaters in Philadelphia.”
When asked about the most exciting football game they attended, Stricklin and Levulis reminisced about the 1996 UCLA vs. USC rivalry game, where the Bruins beat the Trojans in double overtime after a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, they said.
“I screamed my lungs out,” Stricklin said. “It was wonderful.”
At games, Stricklin’s enthusiasm infects her family and friends as she encourages them to stand up, cheer and do the eight-clap.
“She can get up, scream and cheer on the crowd – she does what she can,” Iele said. “She’s very passionate.”
After the emotionally charged games of the past, Stricklin said in recent years, a lack of unified spirit in the crowd has made games feel more isolated.
“It’s like nobody’s a part of the whole thing,” Stricklin said. “Last week at the Indiana game, I tried to convince some of the people around me to do an eight-clap – and they did nothing. That’s sad.”
Levulis added that cheers from the fans are what help motivate the players, making the fans an important part of the Rose Bowl experience.
When asked about advice she would impart to new UCLA students who are attending their first football games in Pasadena, Stricklin said new Bruins should be as spirited as possible by learning the songs and traditions.
“Stick with UCLA,” Stricklin said. “For me, UCLA is magic.”