USC vs. Notre Dame: Watching with the Enemy

For tonight's big match between USC and Notre Dame, I didn't go to our alumni club gamewatch because many of my friends were in South Bend for the game. Plus my buddy Joe Quiroz was downtown for an afternoon wedding so we agreed to meet up somewhere and watch the game.

The only place guaranteeing they would have the sound on was my beloved Tilted Kilt. Problem was, that's where the Trojan Club of San Diego holds their gamewatches. We definitely wanted to hear, as well as see, the game so Joey Q. and I decided to muster our courage and go behind enemy lines.

I arrived an hour before the 4:30 kickoff to secure a good seat and saw that every table had cardinal and gold pom-poms. Long banners proclaiming Trojan loyalty were stretched out and hung on opposite sides of the room. Gulp.

Then I heard, "Alex!" and it wasn't a long-lost Kilt waitress. (Hey, I haven't been there since Friday lunch.) It was Mark McCord, the USC alumni club president, who I know through my co-worker Scotty Baird. Mark is a terrific guy and he greeted me warmly.

Not every fan who started arriving was happy to see a guy with an IRISH t-shirt in their midst. An older lady with dangling 'SC earrings said, "Ugh! You probably like that little troll on ESPN, Lou Holtz." I was ready to break a chair over her head for insulting Dr. Lou like that. Then a man seated next to her replied, "Ah, she's always giving us a hard time." He obviously knew her and was an ND fan.

I soon enough had some back-up as Quiroz and our friend Vernetti rolled in. Then I got a text from my boys Pablo and Andres, who are SDSU guys but like ND. They wanted to come support and arrived shortly thereafter. On the opposite end of the rooting interest, but still a welcome guest, was my friend Cheryl and her friend Melissa, both of whom are big 'SC fans. So we had a full table and Cheryl took this picture:

As I gazed lovingly at the Kilt servers, the game began. It was the first home night game at Notre Dame Stadium in 21 years (because of the NBC contract) and Rockne's House was, well, rockin'. Mark says to me, "I think tonight you guys are gonna give it to us pretty good." He offers up a lunch bet, though, and I agree to it.

The Irish start horribly and as 'SC piles up a 17-0 lead, the cheers from their fans are squeals of surprise. I've heard squeals like that before, I've made squeals like that. No one talks any smack, however, except Cheryl looks at me smugly because her and I have a lunch wager too.

I see my man Chuck Fox walk in. Chuck handles PR for the Kilt, along with his wife Sheila, and was an offensive lineman for USC in, I believe, the 1960s or '70s. He's told me before that as an Irishman, Notre Dame is his second-favorite team. At their table is a lady who's apparently a devout ND fan because when George Atkinson III returns a kickoff to the house to make it 17-7, she dang near punches Joe and me with excitement.

The Kilt has their A-Team here tonight. In particular I really like Lisa, a Hawaiian-Hispanic-I-think, really pretty girl.

One older gentleman comes up and says, "I've heard you speak before. Thanks for joining us, Eric!" Uhhhh...

Cheryl now has her pom-pom in her hair and when ND fumbles at the goal line after clawing back to within 17-10, I have my heart in my throat. So pissed. On that fumble, which was returned 98 yards, every Trojan fan naturally jumps up and down and screams and goes ballistic. The place is bedlam, 100 or so Southern Cal fans losing their mind. Never have I felt so mad amid such surrounding joy.

Lisa walks by and smiles. I feel better.

There is one Trojan fan, seated with three others, who I notice claps on every play. Loudly. USC goes up 24-10, he claps. We respond with a TD, he claps. The Irish stuff a running play and the Trojans lose three yards, he claps!  This guy is insane!

ND makes it 24-17 and Joe and I are hollering and high-fiving the other, few like-minded supporters. One blonde chick seated up front turns around and gives a dirty look. Otherwise no one boos or shouts anything.

Lisa walks by. 'Sup, girl?  The guy claps.

Matt Barkley, who had a perfect night until Melissa jinxed him, caps a sensational night with his third score and we are done. Of course, the guy claps.

I notice one 'SC fan has shorts that are way too short. Dude.

The game winds down and it is obvious USC will win it 31-17 so their fans assembled here get a free victory shot on the house. Our table is just watching the clapping guy because every play, good or bad, he stands and claps. We start clapping for him too and his friend laughs.

Time expires and Trojan alums file past our glum table (glum except for the two girls) and offer up: "Good game" and "you made a nice comeback" and "good luck the rest of the way".

This was college athletics at its finest, just knowlegable fans enjoying a good game, and being cool toward each other. Often times, fans love to villify the 'other' but we're all the same. When 'SC scored, their fans were delighted. When they screwed up, their fans threw their arms up and shook their heads.

Most interesting to me was when NBC flashed a graphic of the athletic program's ongoing sanctions (thanks, Reggie Bush), they just quietly sat there. Not a word. And like all sports fans do, when the ref made a call against USC, someone would yell, "South Bend home cooking!"  And when the call went against the Irish, a Notre Dame fan would yell, "Pac-12 refs!"

It was fun and was exactly what all sports, especially college, should be. The Trojan Club of San Diego members didn't make us feel unwelcome or ostracized and, in fact, were friendly and classy throughout.

I'm just ticked that I owe several lunches now. I was sad at how my team's four-game win streak ended but it was enjoyable watching "behind enemy lines". 

Bye, Lisa. Call me.

Tony Gwynn & UFC Gear: Winning!!!

Some thoughts on today: ten years ago - June 26, 2001 - I was struggling as a part-time Padres usher and full-time Hispanic Chamber of Commerce employee, when both of those jobs intersected. The Chamber held a networking mixer in the parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium and each attendee got to also attend that night's very rare interleague match between the Padres and Red Sox.

But big news broke when we arrived that afternoon for set-up: Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn, was announcing in a press conference his retirement from baseball after 20 seasons in San Diego. It was sad, but not altogether surprising, because injuries had made it harder for him to play. And Tony even said <chuckles while talking in a nasal tone>: "I wanna be the head coach at San Diego State. I ain't goin' anywhere, people, I ain't leavin'."

A decade later, as a Pads full-timer now who often feels overwhelmed by the work volume, today I got to experience a couple cool things. A family of three won a behind-the-scenes tour of PETCO at a Friends of Scott Foundation fundraiser so I took them into the press box. We slipped into the Channel 4 booth and there was Tony in the broadcaster's chair - white shirt rumpled, blue slacks neatly pressed, scorecard updated every few seconds, and that loud chortle every time he or partner Mark Neely made an observation. The family was definitely in awe.

About an hour later the Pads wrapped up a 4-1 win over the Braves and I headed out into a sun-drenched afternoon at the Park at the Park. There, Tony was on his way, after changing from suit to uniform pants and a Padres windbreaker and cap, to deliver a motivational speech and batting clinic to fans. Because one of my responsibilities today was overseeing Baja Little League Day, we made sure the kids and parents who traveled from numerous Baja cities got to the centerfield bleachers to see him. Tony didn't disappoint, talking about work ethic and batting tips (which the kids got personal instructions on later on the field) forged in his career as a Padre and current SDSU head coach. It was awesome, man, it was an exhausting day but I just felt blessed to see all this.

Afterwards, I met up with my friend Brooke for dinner at the Kilt and Rock 105.3-FM was there, giving away door prizes. Brookie won a pair of Del Mar, errrrrrr, SD County Fair tickets...which she kept...and a red UFC hat and blue UFC t-shirt...both of which she gave to me. I actually like UFC gear better than I do UFC fights. Does this mean I must now get a tattoo?

Friends and Football

I love sports, especially football, but not just because of the hard hits or adrenaline or gratutious shots of cheerleaders. Football, probably more than any other sport, gives people a reason to get together, to congregate, to make a party out of watching the actual game.

Today I posted on Facebook pictures from my journey to L.A. two days ago for the Notre Dame - USC game. For the last ten years - literally a decade - every time I went up there I questioned my loyalty to the school as ND spiraled downward and USC shot to the top. Saturday was a reminder that I chose that university b/c of its blend of spirituality, sports, academics, and rah-rah alumni. USC is awesome too and I love their campus but ND was just a better fit for me (plus I wanted to explore life outside of Cali).

On the spiritual tip, I was blown away by God's small favors. A free ticket from my classmate Chad, little traffic (a minor miracle), literally running into Joe Quiroz on the way to the tailgate we were looking for, and after climbing up a loooooong stairwell finding that our seats were just three rows down - with seat backs! Plus I met a Hollywood actor, Milo Vetamiglini (sp.?), seated right in front of me and girls apparently love him.

What else? It rained but my Padres jacket and cap were perfect resistance. And I met the guy that dresses up as a Trojan warrior and we playfully sparred for pictures' sake. Frankly, a lot of 'SC fans were rude and condescending. But history has shown me that those tend to be just 'fans' of the team whereas most alumni are classy and good sports. Like the Trojan warrior - he was cool.

And that's what football is all about. Fun and good times. I capped the weekend by going to the Tilted Kilt on Sunday night with Rossi, Slick Nick, Soltren, Ana, D-Hanse, Rochis, Katie Barba, Ari, and Phil. We watched the Chargers pound the Colts 36-14. The Irish's 20-16 triumph could have been watched at home and I would've been dryer and warmer. The Charger beatdown could have been watched at home as well. Thank God neither were.