BC$$

During Yard youth, the Cotton Bowl was the first game on New Years day. It was usually a Texas school versus Notre Dame. The Sugar Bowl came on midday but was the first bowl to be shuffled around a bit when TV started calling the shots. It was an intra-family rivalry between south eastern schools that offered educational services to athletes in exchange for football wins. The Rose Bowl has and always will be at 2:30 PST shared under a blue sky and thousands of out of town guests with a B-1 flyover. It was the first intersectional rivalry between Hollywood and the heartland. The Orange Bowl was at the end of that night when the women folk could dang not believe there was another frigging football game. It was usually Miami versus Nebraska or Oklahoma.

During the monetization of college athletics in the 90’s, the Cotton Bowl snubbed the BCS and joined the unkempt masses. The Allstate Sugar Bowl played on whatever night TV told them to play the game. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl emerged and became a similar TV slut with fine taco chip commercials. The Rose Bowl maintained their perceived dignity as the only bowl sponsored by but not beholden to the Fortune 500. The Orange Bowl sold their naming rights to Federal Express before naming rights existed. New Year’s Day became New Year’s week and it is not over yet!

UCLA played the Temple Fighting Owls for the first time in history at the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington DC on December 29. This was the most anticipated match up in the storied two year history of the only college bowl game to be held in our nation’s capital. UCLA playing in a bowl game at all was a surprise after a 6-6 season. UCLA playing a bowl game later in the bowl season than USC was shocking! UCLA and USC being the only Pac-10 teams to win bowl games...priceless. “NFL, we do not need no stinking NFL in LA.”

It was the Fighting Owls third bowl game in school history. UCLA rallied in the cold air to the surprise of many to win. Temple alumni, family and friends provided our safe passage, humiliation and redemption. We tailgated with three captains of their respective Temple football squads. Their passion for their team was not diminished by their results. There is no better wingman than a Fighting Owl.

USC AD Mike Garrett did what he had to by throwing the USC moribund basketball program to the wolves. USC football grosses $20 million a year. USC football built the Galen Center for basketball. USC football enhanced the BCS. USC football never wants to be accused of “lack of institutional control”. USC AD Mike Garrett enforced institutional control of his basketball program before the NCAA enforced control of his million dollar football institution.

USC Heisman winner Reggie Bush has stonewalled the NCAA about his infractions…allegedly. He is now subpoenaed. Pete Carroll is on the same summons. Joe McKnight is driving Range Rovers. It was time to sacrifice the basketball team. Reggie Bush’s civil suit will be settled out of court and sealed before institutional control is a question mark. USC basketball was the tax.