PLEASANT RALLY SUNDAY

Not their Stepping Stone — In an extremely rare Sunday game, the Bruins fall behind 44-10 late in the 3rd, then finally stop Monkee-ing around and score 35 straight points — behind Josh Rosen’s 491 Passing Yards, and 4 Passing TD’s (all 4 in the 4th quarter) along with Caleb Wilson’s school-record 15 Receptions, and 205 Receiving Yards — to pull off the greatest comeback in UCLA’s history, as Rosen’s last-minute TD pass to Jordan Lasley (pictured above!) makes it 45-44 and has Bruins fans singing “I’m a Believer”

From no rally to greatest rally ever, this ultra-bizarre day will be remembered forever.  It started in horrible fashion, and I’m not even talking about the miserable first half of Football.  Before all of that, there was a tailgating tragedy that had me infuriated.  Due to a “breaking news” weather forecast that suggested a lightning storm was heading towards Pasadena, the University decided that our beloved Spirit Squad would NOT be allowed to come out to the tailgate area for their scheduled appearances or pregame rally with the Alumni Band.  Those of you who know me understand how devastating this tragic news was to me.  This is the first time in 12 years of doing this that this has happened.  I usually have 300 photos taken before going into the stadium.

Of course, I understand being cautious.  Obviously, I don’t want any of the cheerleaders to risk their health just to entertain us.  But at the time, there were zero rain clouds in the sky, and as it turned out, there was no lightning at all, all night.  So I was dying.  EIGHT brand new girls (6 Cheer, 2 Dance), and me with no chance to capture their beauty and essence close up (in the stadium I am 30 yards away from them instead of front row center at the pregame rally).

So the afternoon started out rotten.  Oh well, Cheerleaders are only half the event.  There is also UCLA Football.  But before all the tailgaters had even found their seats in the stadium, the Bruins were already sucking even worse than last year.

The Bruins had a decent first drive that resulted in a Field Goal, but then Texas A&M took over, and dominated.  The Aggies scored 31 straight points, thanks to completely controlling both lines of scrimmage.  The battle of the trenches wasn’t even close.  TAMU ran all over the Bruin D with absolute ease, while the Bruins couldn’t gain ANYTHING on the ground (just like last year).  Also, Josh Rosen was in a funk, throwing the ball into the dirt and missing targets by miles.  This was not the same Josh Rosen that looked so promising before his shoulder injury.

Not only was Texas A&M overpowering UCLA, but the Bruins also lost two fumbles in their own territory, one by Bolu Olorunfunmi, and one by Rosen on a Sack (Rosen would lose ANOTHER fumble on another Sack later in the game).

So it was 31-3 late in the 2nd Quarter, when the Bruins finally scored a TD, on a 2-yard run by Jalen Starks.  But anyone who thought the Bruins might actually have a chance were quickly silenced by a 61-yard TD run that put A&M up 38-10 at Halftime.

In the 3rd, the Bruins’ Offense still couldn’t find any rhythm, but the Defense started to gel, holding the Aggies to just two Field Goals.  So it was 44-10, with just a few minutes left in the quarter.  That’s when the light finally went on for Rosen & Co.  Rosen hit Caleb Wilson a couple of times and Theo Howard once, setting up a 6-yard TD run by Soso Jamabo.  Then in the 4th quarter, it was all Rosen and UCLA, as Josh threw 4 consecutive TD passes:  The first two to Darren Andrews, then one to Theo Howard with 3:10 left.  With the Aggies’ starting QB out injured, the back-up couldn’t move the chains to run the clock out.  The Bruins got the ball back with 2:39 left, and Rosen drove them down the field.  And with 43 seconds left, from 10 yards out, he found Lasley in the end zone to tie the game at 44.  The extra point made it 45-44, and then the UCLA D forced a Turnover on Downs to end the game.  It was close:  On 4th Down, the Aggie QB ran for the First Down, apparently, but on REPLAY REVIEW, the play was overturned, because he was stopped a yard short.  And thus ended the historic GREATEST COMEBACK IN UCLA HISTORY.  And only 1 point off the All-Time NCAA record.

So despite not getting any cheerleader photos during the tailgating session, I still took 870 photos at the event, and I have 100 of those ready to share now.  You can see some of the new additions to the Spirit Squad, albeit from afar.  Next week should be better.  I will break this collection into two halves, going chronologically.

But first, one other note:  F*** those evil people in my section who were harassing me throughout the game, just for diligently taking photos of the Spirit Squad.  You wouldn’t believe some of the nasty abuse I took from these so-called Bruin fans.  I even tried to explain that the members of the squad and many of the parents of those girls follow me on social media just to see these pics, but the vicious persecution continued.  Two female students sitting near me were SO mean.  I wish they could see this site, or talk to some squad members or squad member Moms, to learn that there is mutual respect. SMH.  SMH.  SMH.  SMH.  I wish I could change seats.  Anyway, here’s what I got…

Second Half of the photos coming in a few minutes, in a second post/article (for easier viewing on mobile devices).