In Southern California, the question on everyone's lips this Friday is, where are you watching the game? Usually that question is reserved for playoff baseball and football or the Super Bowl.
Not this weekend. USC, our equivalent of a professional football team, has a BIG game on Saturday and we have all been told to expect a blowout. You'd think that would dim the anticipation and fervor with which fans talk about the contest.
You'd be wrong because college football fans love to murder their opponents, run up the score and hear the band play the post-touchdown music over and over. Part of it stems from the wacky way that college football bowl games are earned. The other part is that it just gives the fans more reason to party.
The local sports talk radio station here in Los Angeles has been touting this game for almost two weeks since USC's first game and first win of the season. The broadcasters expect that a full seven hours prior to game time, the parking lot will be full, the streets surrounding the stadium will be packed and neighbors of the university will have that entreprenuerial experience of charging Trojan fans an arm and a leg to park their cars in private driveways and on front lawns.
In a typical LA scenario like this, the status you gain grows with your ability to get up close and personal to the team and the field. Names of celebs who usually populate the floor seats at Laker games are popping up on lists for sideline passes. That's the other thing that makes this a typical So Cal experience: the star power.
Wouldn't it just be a shame if Ohio State, with its best running back in the lineup, spoils the party for USC? Of course it would, but as they say in Vegas: Don't bet on it. Oh, yeah. By the way, the line on the game is 11 points.
For a full analysis of this game and other weekend college contests click over to Jacob Osterhout, College Sports Examiner
Comments
Interesting question: Why can't Angelenos embrace the NFL the same way they do their beloved Trojans and Bruins. Don't get it!
Niners Fan: it's all about taxpayers shelling out money for a new stadium. The Trojans play in the ancient Coliseum.
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