So everyone has jumped on the bandwagon to ridicule the ucla seniors who organized a "Ditch Day" during spring practice. Oh, its well deserved as we have had to listen to the nauseating claims by some in the bruin blogosphere about how relevant ucla football is and how it will be prominent again in the future. That may be but the fact is this is not the start that Rick Neuheisel wanted and it shows that some players just don't seem to get it.
Heck, they couldn't even get the tradition right. They went through the gate instead of "going over the wall" as the tradition has been. Former ucla head coach Bob Toledo suspended the tradition during his tenure ensuring that he got everything out his players. The tradition was re-instated by Karl Dorrell and we all know how that worked out...
Norm Chow's quote said it best:
Can you imagine the look of shock that was on Chow's face when this happened!
I guess some of the players didn't get the memo that these sorts of stunts are for those who have already won something and consistently get it done on the field. They clearly have either not heard or misunderstood Slick Rick's message. Actually you could really see some thing like this coming with ucla's clamoring to be like USC or to try and take some of the attention away from them. Well it might have worked this week but for all the wrong reasons. I guess the inmates really are running the asylum over there.
Man, that's just rich!
In trying to make their own identity they blatantly ignored and disrespected their coaches andthey made fools of themselves in front of prospective recruits and coaching pipelines.
Neuheisel apologized to an officiating crew that was assigned to work scrimmage portions of the practice.
Meanwhile, coaches from La Palma Kennedy High, who had come to Westwood to see practice, left shaking their heads.
"I guess that's why they're in the Lay's Potato Chips Bowl every year," said Chris Pascal, Kennedy's freshman coach.
Coaches from Encino Crespi High also left with a vivid impression.
"Let me put it this way, they wouldn't have done that at Fresno State," said Coach Jeremiah Ross, a former Fresno State player.
Pascal said he and other coaches had yet to receive an explanation or apology from UCLA as of Wednesday afternoon even though they were required to leave their e-mail addresses when they signed in before practice.
"They had recruits there, and can you imagine what they think after being driven there and being sent back onto the freeway at 5 p.m.?" Pascal said. "The four of us were standing there for a half-hour, someone could have said something. On the way home we thought about going over to USC because we knew they would be on the practice field."
Way to go slick!
The comments from the media and the bruin fans themselves have called these clowns out for putting a stupid tradition over trying to rebuild their football program. Of course just like I noted yesterday the one excuse being put forth is that this is a lingering effect of the Dorrell regime.
This picture says it all (from WeAreSC):
Your Caption Here!
FIGHT ON!