I’m in a weird position here in L.A. First off, I wasn’t born here- wasn’t raised here- and CANNOT for the life of me get into this whole USC/UCLA rivalry thing. These guys don’t know sh_t about rivalry unless they’ve experienced rivalries like they have out in the SEC. Now I’m not saying any of that because I dig all you folks here at RBR and my favorite team growing up was the Tide. I’m saying that because people in my extended family attended/graduated from 2 SEC schools (Alabama and Georgia) and a host of my high school friends went to schools in and around there (Emory, Vanderbilt, Miami, and Florida). Now I’ve witnessed firsthand a homecoming game (at least I think it was- it was in 1994 Georgia vs. Georgia Tech at Stanford Stadium) and that was the most bananas-atmosphere I’ve ever experienced at ANY football game before or since. Generations (GENERATIONS I TELL YOU) of families were all parked and picnic-ed IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREETS from 4-Points all past the practice fields in and up to the steps of Stanford Stadium. And THEY WERE INTO IT! It wasn’t hate, it was HISTORICAL PARTISANSHIP! I was verklempt. Bedazzled. Left in a wake of wonder!

Now that’s RIVALRY.

Out here, I’ve got just as many UCLA friends and co-workers as I do Trojan. I live 3 miles from the Wastewood campus, whereas my campus was almost 24 miles away on the 2nd WORST freeway in Los Angeles (they’re all the worst, depends on which one you happen to be driving on at the time). I hardly spent time on the Figueroa campus (main campus that’s close to LA Memorial Coliseum and has the famous Heritage Hall- all those Heisman’s, it’s pretty awesome)- my campus is the Health Services Campus at the Keck School of Medicine right smack dab at County-USC Medical Hospital (my ER rotation was sickening. from Mon- Sun: stabbing, gunshot, car accident victims galore. Blood, blood, blood!).

So, it’s weird for me. I can’t get into hating all things Bruins. But. . . . .those knuckleheads around town like those that frequent BruinsNation- luckily they’re far and few in between. If this place was littered with them, no. . . . uh-uh. . . .I definitely couldn’t get along out here.

No thanks. NorCal is my culture and sensibility. SoCal is a little too laid back or. . . it’s TOO MUCH HATE. Nothing in between.

I actually, just now, just got all that! (I seriously gotta LAY off coffee, yesterday was a doozy. ask me how that meeting went? couldn’t tell you. i was counting people’s freckles)

So, homepiece is talkin’ ‘bout this year’s class? Hey, Mr. Magoo- what about your undefeated season? What about you? Got Vindictiveness? Or Got a Championship? (whatever)

Carry on bamavicki. . . . .