What's in a rivalry? UCLA's newcomers get a lesson on it

Red Sanders, the legendary UCLA football coach, once said the rivalry with USC wasn't life or death, it was more important than that.

- By Ben Bolch

SAM GREENE and USC took down quarterback Ethan Garbers and UCLA last year at the Rose Bowl.

(Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times)

Now, some 70 years later, almost half the Bruins’ roster needed a primer on what it means to play the Trojans.

"We have so many transfers and things," interim coach Tim Skipper said, "so I wanted to make sure everybody knew how significant this game was."

That could make Ciaran Dooley, the team’s creative content producer, a rivalry hero rivaling John Barnes, Anthony Barr and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Dooley produced a video that tried to pack the essence of a nearly century-old rivalry into about five minutes.

Putting aside any worries about where college sports are headed when one needs to explain anything about their biggest rival, the video had its intended effect, sparking cheers nearly a week before kickoff.

Starting with a one-minute hype reel narrated by Barr, the video explained some of the rivalry basics, such as both teams wearing their home uniforms and the winner getting to take possession of the 295-pound Victory Bell before painting it in their primary school color— preferably blue.

"A lot of it was like clips I've already seen being from L.A. and around the game," freshman linebacker Scott Taylor said, "but a lot of the guys who haven't been here don't understand how big a deal this is to L.A. and how special this win can be."