UCLA’s Big Ten opener: New rivals, new friends

Three hours before the Bruins' Big Ten football opener Saturday against Indiana, the UCLA band kicked into high gear, heralding the team's arrival at the Rose Bowl with the fight song. The players, led by new head coach DeShaun Foster and wearing matching light-blue suits, emerged from the team bus and made their way down a long, bright blue carpet lined on both sides by cheering fans, family and friends.

The "Bruin Walk," a football tradition that went dormant during the Chip Kelly era, had been resurrected by Foster, who has sought to revive the connection between the team and its fans as UCLA embarks on its first season in the newly aligned, coast-to-coast Big Ten Conference.

"Thank you, DeShaun Foster, for bringing that back," said Mike Hunter, who plays trumpet in the UCLA Alumni Band. "The crowd loves it. The band loves it. It's going to be a really, really fun day."

The new Big Ten energy was palpable across the Rose Bowl's parking areas and UCLA's Fan Zone, with tailgating Bruin supporters eager to kick off an era of new rivalries and greater national attention.

"It kind of excites the Rose Bowl again, gets it filled back up," said longtime season ticket holder Colby Estes, who recalled big Bruin games against teams like Michigan and Alabama at the Rose Bowl nearly a quarter-century ago. "Different teams, more exciting national teams - I want that again. Let's do it! It's exciting."

It was also an opportunity for new UCLA students to get on board the Bruin Big Ten train. Irene Hang, a transfer student who will soon begin her first quarter at UCLA, was thrilled to be attending her first-ever game and "making some UCLA friends."

The UCLA Fan Zone and parking lots gradually filled with groups of tailgating fans, Bruins, naturally, and more than a few Hoosiers - not surprising given that Southern California has long been a prime destination for Midwestern transplants.

"We're excited, a little selfishly," said Lily Schairbaum, who graduated from Indiana in May and moved to Los Angeles with some friends to find work in the film and television industry. "Now we can come out to the Rose Bowl and support Indiana - it's a little taste of home."

"There are a lot of 'mixed' families out here," said Lisa Eberhart, an Indiana alumna sitting with a group that included her son-in-law Nick Koop, a Fox Sports Radio commentator for UCLA games and co-host of the "Bruin Insider Show."

"They do support me," Koop joked of his in-laws and wife, Alayna, who hail originally from Mishawaka, Indiana. "Any other game, they'll have their UCLA hats on."

"We've never cheered against UCLA, ever, until today," said Koop's father-in-law, Brian Eberhart, also an Indiana alum, who noted that the last time the Hoosiers played in the Rose Bowl was New Year's Day, 1968, when they lost to USC in the national championship game - a game his parents traveled from Indiana to attend. "I was 9 years old," he recalled, "and I said, 'Dad, can I go too?' My dad said, 'You can go next time.' And 'next time' is today."

Nearby, Indianapolis resident and Indiana alumnus Mike Murray, whose daughter lives in Los Angeles - and whose cousin, John Isenbarger, coincidentally played for the Hoosiers in that 1968 game - said he understood the new conference realignments but was a little nostalgic for the "old" Big Ten and even the "old" Pac-12. At the same time, he said, the opportunity to visit the Rose Bowl, one of the nation's most iconic football venues, and the chance for Bruins and their fans to experience Big Ten stadiums was a major plus.

"You go into the Big House at Michigan, the Shoe at Ohio State, Camp Randall at Wisconsin - they're going to get a new feel," he said. "They'll say, 'Whoah, these guys are intense.'"

The nearly 48,000 fans in attendance soon began filing into the Rose Bowl, its field emblazoned with Big Ten logos, with a new student cheering section set up behind the opposing team's bench. On the gridiron, things quickly turned in Indiana's favor, with the Hoosiers jumping out to a 21-7 lead by halftime. After an on-field ceremony honoring the newest members of the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame,things didn't get much better for the Bruins.

But none of it could quell the UCLA fans' enthusiasm. As Indiana continued to pull ahead in the third quarter, one of a group of spirited Bruins in the stands shouted to some Indiana supporters, "You're wearing the wrong colors, bro!" Reminded of the score, they all shared a laugh. Near the concessions, two fans - one a Bruin, one a Hoosier, each balancing a large amount of food and drinks - eyed one another. "Race you," one jokingly challenged, and the two took off, stopping after a few feet. "Take care," one said, smiling. "Enjoy, man."

"It's just like a crazy mix of bringing people together," said Dominic Pascale, a UCLA student who had come to the game with his friend Tyler Weakly, an Indiana alumnus. "It's about learning and meeting people and networking."

It was a poignant - and perhaps fitting - moment when, late in the fourth quarter, with the Hoosiers leading 42-13, an employee of Indiana University who had made the trip to California looked over at a UCLA fan in a wheelchair with a bandaged leg as the two rode the elevator together. "We're genuinely happy that you joined the Big Ten," she said. "Truly."

After the game, Coach Foster acknowledged that there was work to be done before the Bruins face Louisiana State University next weekend in Baton Rouge. UCLA will welcome new Big Ten rivals Minnesota and Iowa, along with Oregon and USC, to the Rose Bowl later this season.

Mike Regalado-Bruin Report Online

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